Boston, May 11, 2016, — U.S. Secretary of Education John King recently announced the selection of William Wang of West Roxbury, MA and Zlatomir Fung, a resident of Westborough, MA as 2016 U.S. Presidential Scholars. Wang attends Boston Latin School in Boston, and Fung(pictured below), an accompanied cellist, attends Oak Meadow School from home.






The other two MA students named to the list are Dianne Lee of Needham High School and Samantha N. Dorwin of Charles H Mccann Technical School. This year’s list has 160 outstanding American high school seniors who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, artistic excellence, leadership, citizenship, service, and contribution to school and community. The U.S. Presidential Scholars will be honored for their accomplishments in Washington D.C., from June 19-21.

“This year’s class of Presidential Scholars continues a more than 50 year trend of honoring students who’ve shown excellence in their educational, artistic and civic pursuits,” King said. “Thirty years ago, the program was expanded to include students in the arts, which is critical to providing students with a well-rounded education. Now, we’ve added 20 more slots to honor our highest achieving students in career and technical education, reflecting the Department’s belief that a quality education must be a well-rounded education that prepares students for college, careers and any other civic service.”

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, appointed by President Obama, selects honored scholars annually based on their academic success, artistic excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership, and demonstrated commitment to high ideals. Of the three million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 5,600 candidates qualified for the 2016 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT and ACT exams, and through nominations made by Chief State School Officers, other parter recognition organizations or the National YoungArts Foundation’s nationwide YoungArts™ competition.

The 2016 U.S. Presidential Scholars are comprised of one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and from U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large, 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts, and for the first time 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in Career and Techncial Education.

Created in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored almost 7,000 of the nation’s top-performing students with the prestigious award given to honorees during the annual ceremony in D.C. The program was expanded in 1979 to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, literary and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields.

Since 1983, each Presidential Scholar has been offered the opportunity to name his or her most influential teacher. Each distinguished teacher is honored with a personal letter from the Secretary of Education. The teacher chosen for recognition by Wang was Ming Yang of Boston Latin School in Boston, MA.

Scholars for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program May 2016

[*] Asterisk indicates U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts
[**] Double asterisks indicate U.S. Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education [***] Triple asterisks indicate a dual winner, U.S. Presidential Scholar and U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts

Scholars are grouped by their legal place of residence; the state abbreviation listed, if different, may indicate where the scholar attends school.

Alabama

AL – Helena – Peyton D. Strickland, Pelham High School
AL – Madison – Sabrina A. Chen, Bob Jones High School

Alaska

AK – Anchorage – Elana N. Fortson, West Anchorage High School
AK – Valdez – Michael T. Radotich, Valdez High School

Americans Abroad

AE – DPO – Jonathan R. Barney, American School of Dubai
AP – FPO – Yuuta R. Kendall, E J King American High School
GU – Yigo – Danielle M. Stephenson, St. John’s School

Arizona

AZ – Anthem – Calen A. Firedancing, Glendale Preparatory Academy
AZ – Tucson – Natalie Ezeugwu, University High School

Arkansas

AR – Jonesboro – [**] Jordan Lee, Nettleton High School
AR – Texarkana – Leah C. Crenshaw, Texas High School
AR – West Memphis – Bryan K. Conston, West Memphis High School
AR – West Memphis – Ryan K. Conston, West Memphis High School

California

CA – Claremont – Diana Chao, Claremont High School
CA – Cupertino – Albert S. Zeng, Monta Vista High School
CA – Fremont – [*] Pavithra Nagarajan, American High School
CA – Ladera Ranch – David D. Bao, Santa Margarita Catholic High School
CA – San Diego – Emmit K. Pert, Westview High School
CA – Santa Monica – [*] Ben L. Ross, Santa Monica High School
CA – Torrance – [*] Ruwanthi N. Ekanayake, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School

Colorado

CO – Centennial – Danielle Newton, Eaglecrest High School
CO – Fort Collins – Blake J. Salvador, Ridgeview Classical Schools

Connecticut

CT – Darien – Katie F. Tsui, Darien High School
CT – Ridgefield – Gunnar P. Smith, Ridgefield High School
CT – Stamford – [**] Tanusri V. Balla, Academy of Information Technology

Delaware

DE – Hockessin – Rahul S. Subbaraya, Archmere Academy
DE – Newark – Jayna P. Lennon, Charter School of Wilmington

District of Columbia

DC – Washington – Noah B. Kravitz, Georgetown Day School
DC – Washington – [***] Rachel S. Page, Woodrow Wilson Senior High School

Florida

FL – Boca Raton – Devin J. Barkey, American Heritage School   Boca/Delray
FL – Coral Gables – Christina H. Cruz, Carrollton Sacred Heart
FL – Fort Lauderdale – [*] Nadia Wolff, Design & Architecture Senior High School
FL – Land O Lakes – Jeffrey W. Gu, Land O Lakes High School
FL – Miami – [*] Diana Eusebio, Design & Architecture Senior High School
FL – Miami – [*] Katerina M. McCrimmon, New World School of the Arts
FL – Miami – [*] Sean J. Stack, New World School of the Arts
FL – Miami – [*] Cornelius A. Tulloch, Design & Architecture Senior High School
FL – North Palm Beach – [*] Zachary H. Rapaport, Alexander W Dreyfoos School of the
FL – Sanford – David Zuluaga, Oviedo High School

Georgia

GA – Columbus – Markeisha J. Wagner, Carver High School
GA – Hampton – Olugbenga J. Ojo-Osagie, Lovejoy High School
GA – Roswell – [**] Jose L. Espinel, Alan C. Pope High School
GA – Sautee-Nacoochee – [*] Victoria Canal Tinius, International School of Berne

Hawaii

HI – Honolulu – Michael L. Chen, Punahou School HI – Honolulu – Eileen C. Liu, Punahou School
HI – Mililani – [**] Joseph A. Fujinami, Mililani High School

Idaho

ID – Boise – Phillip H. Cathers, Borah High School
ID – Boise – Aurora G. Cossairt, Centennial High School

Illinois

IL – Cerro Gordo – [**] Sierra R. Day, Cerro Gordo High School
IL – Chicago – Samuel H. Detmer, Walter Payton College Preparatory School
IL – Chicago – [**] Madeline P. Poole, Chicago Hs Agricultural Sci
IL – Hinsdale – Elizabeth H. Keller, Hinsdale Township High School Central

Indiana

IN – Carmel – Cynthia D. Yue, Carmel High School
IN – Crown Point – Paul M. Dawley, Crown Point High School

Iowa

IA – Alden – Joseph L. Tibbs, Iowa Falls High School
IA – Cedar Falls – Sarah Gao, Cedar Falls High School
IA – Iowa City – Sonali G. Durham, City High School

Kansas

KS – Leawood – Jenny Huang, Phillips Academy
KS – Olathe – Nicolas Rodriguez, Olathe Northwest High School

Kentucky

KY – Danville – [*] Lydia G. Graham, Danville High School
KY – Glasgow – Gunnar M. Eaton, Barren County High School
KY – Louisville – Xinlan E. Hu, duPont Manual Magnet High School

Louisiana

LA – Baton Rouge – Stefan R. D’Sa, Baton Rouge Magnet High School
LA – Baton Rouge – Anna Jang, Baton Rouge Magnet High School
LA – Kenner – Mayank Mardia, Jesuit High School

Maine

ME – Bangor – Paige E. Brown, Bangor High School
ME – Cumberland Foreside – Matthew A. Pisini, Greely High School

Maryland

MD – Fulton – [**] Meghna S. Sreenivas, Reservoir High School
MD – North Bethesda – Nikita-Girey N. Demir, Georgetown Preparatory School
MD – North Potomac – Anna Lavrentieva, Richard Montgomery High School
MD – Severna Park – [**] Norman Xiong, Severna Park Senior High Sch
MD – Woodstock – [**] Nicholas M. Santangelo, Marriotts Ridge High School

Massachusetts

MA – Needham – Dianne Lee, Needham High School
MA – North Adams – [**] Samantha N. Dorwin, Charles H Mccann Technical Sch
MA – West Roxbury – William L. Wang, Boston Latin School
MA – Westborough – [*] Zlatomir Y. Fung, Oak Meadow School

Michigan

MI – Bloomfield – Mandy Lu, Phillips Exeter Academy
MI – Coldwater – [**] Mindy S. Young, Coldwater Senior High School
MI – Shelby Township – Daniel T. Mathew, Henry Ford II High School

Minnesota

MN – Roseville – Anna B. Biggs, St. Paul Academy and Summit School
MN – Sartell – Gopi N. Ramanathan, Sartell High School

Mississippi

MS – Corinth – Emma K. Knight, Corinth High School
MS – Starkville – Nathaniel A. Barlow, Mississippi School for Mathematics & Science

Missouri

MO – Parkville – Grant S. Pace, Park Hill South High School
MO – Strafford – Faith W. Wen, Strafford R-VI High School

Montana

MT – Billings – Trevor Canty, Billings West High School
MT – Missoula – Rosemarie C. McCormack, Loyola Sacred Heart High School

Nebraska

NE – Lyons – [**] Brent R. Miller, Lyons-Decatur Northeast Schls
NE – Omaha – Bridget V. Mizener, Westside High School
NE – Omaha – Raymond C. Thai, Millard North High School

Nevada

NV – Alamo – Brook Higbee, Pahranagat Valley High School
NV – Las Vegas – [**] Mackenzie R. Wooten, Northwest Career and Tech Academy
NV – Reno – Haydn L. Bradstreet, Davidson Academy of Nevada

New Hampshire

NH – Dunbarton – Elizabeth G. Krogman, The Derryfield School
NH – Franconia – Nathan J. Sampo, Holderness School

New Jersey

NJ – Edison – Dennis A. Aldea, John P. Stevens High School
NJ – Palisades Park – Hye Rim Jang, Academy for Medical Science Technology
NJ – Parsippany – Shagun Vashisth, Morris Hills High School

New Mexico

NM – Albuquerque – Sage Marie M. Herrick, Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School
NM – Capitan – Oliver S. Schultz, Capitan High School

New York

NY – Brooklyn – Amrit A. Hingorani, Stuyvesant High School
NY – New York – Caroline S. Engelmayer, Trinity School
NY – New York – [*] Dario L. Natarelli, Fiorello H. Laguardia High School of Music

North Carolina

NC – Chapel Hill – Jay G. Pande, East Chapel Hill High School
NC – Elon – Samuel S. Lowe, Western High School
NC – Huntersville – Sharon J. Chen, The North Carolina School of Science & Mathematics
NC – Mount Olive – [**] Carter M. Jones, Southern Wayne High School

North Dakota

ND – Bismarck – Sedalia D. Mahlum, Century High School
ND – Casselton – Ian Saum, Central Cass High School

Ohio

OH – Avon Lake – [*] Audrey Spensley, Avon Lake High School OH – Beavercreek – Richard Huang, Beavercreek High School OH – Bexley – Venkatesh S. Sivaraman, Bexley High School
OH – Cleveland Heights – [*] Isabella M. Nilsson, Hathaway Brown School
OH – Shaker Heights – [*] Lauryn Hobbs, Shaker Heights High School
OH – Westlake – Kavya Ravichandran, Hathaway Brown School

Oklahoma

OK – Enid – Ryan Tom, Chisholm High School
OK – Tulsa – Katherine G. Rule, Cascia Hall Preparatory School

Oregon

OR – Portland – Alexander Z. Zhang, Lincoln High School
OR – West Linn – Angela Tang, Phillips Academy

Pennsylvania

PA – Bryn Mawr – Katherine Hung, Radnor High School
PA – Harleysville – Hirsh S. Sisodia, Souderton Area High School

Puerto Rico

PR – Bayamon – Carlos G. Velazquez, University of Puerto Rico Secondary School
PR – Guaynabo – Luisa G. Baez, St. John’s School

Rhode Island

RI – East Greenwich – Grace E. Miner, East Greenwich High School
RI – East Greenwich – Xiao Yi Wu, East Greenwich High School

South Carolina

SC – Greenville – Jonathan J. Michala, Eastside High School
SC – Greer – Karen R. Zhao, Riverside High School
SC – Spartanburg – Jessica L. Marlow, Paul M. Dorman High School

South Dakota

SD – Mitchell – Shelby M. Riggs, Mitchell High School
SD – Pierre – Austin J. Lentsch, Theodore F. Riggs High School

Tennessee

TN – Collierville – Sneha Mittal, Collierville High School
TN – Collierville – Swarna Sakshi, Saint Mary’s Episcopal School
TN – La Vergne – Aison J. King, Ensworth High School
TN – McMinnville – [**] Marlie A. Montandon, Warren County High School

Texas

TX – Dallas – [*] Jared Brown, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts
TX – Houston – Francisco J. Cernada, YES Prep Gulfton
TX – Houston – Liana Wang, Bellaire Senior High School
TX – Plano – [*] Kaylin A. Sturtevant, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts
TX – Spring – [**] Mohammad H. Rahim, Carl Wunsche Sr. High School
TX – Sugar Land – Amy H. Ma, William P. Clements High School

Utah

UT – Bountiful – [**] Makayla Hendricks, Bountiful High School
UT – Logan – Jennifer A. Ban, Logan High School
UT – Orem – [*] Aubree A. Oliverson, Mountain Heights Academy
UT – Sandy – Anthony L. Cheng, Hillcrest High School

Vermont

VT – Essex Junction – Chloe M. Lemmel-Hay, Essex High School
VT – South Burlington – Alan B. Chiang, South Burlington High School

Virginia

VA – Blacksburg – Genty Daku, Blacksburg High School
VA – Fairfax Sta – Peter Wang, South County Secondary School
VA – Glen Allen – Reshini D. Premaratne, Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School

Washington

WA – Bellevue – Sunayana Rane, Interlake High School
WA – Garfield – Luke D. Moore, Colton High School
WA – Silverdale – [**] Madison Largey, Central Kitsap High School
WA – Sumner – [**] Alyssa M. McGee, Sumner High School

West Virginia

WV – Coal City – Caleb M. Miller, Independence High School
WV – Morgantown – Yixuan Pei, Morgantown High School

Wisconsin

WI – Cambridge – [**] Kendra L. Spier, Cambridge Senior High School
WI – Kewaunee – Paige E. Kassner, Kewaunee Senior High School
WI – Madison – Gabriel A. Saiz, West High School

Wyoming

WY – Jackson – Walter G. Thulin, Jackson Hole Community School
WY – Powell – Tristan R. Bohlman, Powell High School