The following is a press release from an organization unaffiliated with Culture OC. The information provided has been written by the submitting organization and not by the writers at Culture OC. We include this on our site in the spirit of sharing information about the arts and culture community in Orange County.
20 of the Nation’s Most Talented Artists, All YoungArts Award Winners, Receive High Honor Bestowed by the President of the United States
c congratulates the 161 high school seniors selected for the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Presidential Scholars, with special acknowledgement to the 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts. below), YoungArts award winners who were nominated for the honor by YoungArts. The U.S. Presidential Scholars award—one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students who exemplify academic excellence, leadership qualities and community service—is presented on behalf of the President of the United States and honors up to 161 graduating high school seniors of high potential each year. To be selected as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, students must have attended National YoungArts Week.
Clive Chang, President of YoungArts, said, “YoungArts is proud to celebrate the incoming class of U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts. These students—who have so impressively demonstrated academic and artistic excellence, along with commitment to and leadership in their communities—represent the next generation of artistic changemakers who will continue to use their skills and creativity to help us broaden our understanding of the world. YoungArts is thrilled to support them today, and to invest in their lifelong creative freedom.”
“The 161 high school seniors selected for the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Presidential Scholars program represent the best of our nation’s schools and inspire hope in the bright future of this country,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “On behalf of President Biden, I am delighted to celebrate their accomplishments, and encourage these scholars to continue to aim high, lift up others, and embrace opportunities to lead.”
EDWARD CHEN OF IRVINE NAMED 2024 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced the selection of Edward Chen of Irvine, CA, who attends Orange County High School of the Arts in Santa Ana, as a 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts.
Chen has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, artistic excellence, technical expertise, leadership, citizenship, service, and contribution to school and community.
“The 161 high school seniors selected for the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Presidential Scholars program represent the best of our nation’s schools and inspire hope in the bright future of this country,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “On behalf of President Biden, I am delighted to celebrate their accomplishments, and encourage these scholars to continue to aim high, lift up others, and embrace opportunities to lead.”
The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects scholars annually based on academic success, excellence in the arts and in technical education through essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as a demonstrated commitment to community service and leadership.
Of the 3.7 million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 5,700 candidates qualified for the 2024 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT or ACT exams or through nominations made by chief state school officers, other partner recognition organizations and YoungArts, the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists.
As directed by Presidential Executive Order, the 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholars are comprised of two students from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large, 20 Scholars in the arts and 20 Scholars in career and technical education. Created in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored over 8,200 of the nation’s top-performing students. 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. 2024 is the program’s 60th anniversary.
Since 1983, each U.S. Presidential Scholar has been offered the opportunity to name their most influential teacher.
Each distinguished teacher is honored with a personal letter from the Secretary of Education. The teacher chosen for recognition by Chen was Cameron Shim of Orange County High School of the Arts in Santa Ana, CA.
The Presidential Scholars Class of 2024 will be recognized for their outstanding achievement this summer with an online recognition program.
BECOMING A U.S. PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR IN THE ARTS
The first step to becoming a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts is to apply to YoungArts, which is the nominating agency for this honor. To be eligible for the YoungArts program, applicants must be 15–18 years old or in high school grades 10–12. To be further considered for a nomination as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, applicants must be high school seniors and meet all of the U.S. Presidential Scholars requirements.
YoungArts award winners demonstrating excellence in the performing, visual or literary arts are selected annually through a rigorous adjudication process. This year, nearly 700 YoungArts award winners were selected. In January, 151 winners with distinction from across the nation were invited to National YoungArts Week, where they participated in a week of intensive classes and workshops with internationally renowned artists, and shared their work through performances, readings, exhibitions, and screenings that were be open to the public.
During National YoungArts Week, eligible participants are further evaluated, award levels are
determined, and nominations are made for the year’s U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts candidates. After a rigorous selection process, YoungArts nominates 60 candidates to apply to the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. The Commission on Presidential Scholars selects up to 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts each year.
Scholars for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program
May 2024
[*] Scholar for U.S. Presidential Scholar in Arts.
[**] Scholar for U.S Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education.
Alabama
AL - Manav Aggarwal, Huntsville - Randolph School
AL - Samantha Si-Wai Chan, Madison - Bob Jones High School
*AL - Nalin J. Reed, Trussville - Alabama School of Fine Arts
Alaska
AK - Bentley D. Altman, Anchorage - Family Partnership Charter School
AK - Samantha J. Holler, Wasilla - Mat-Su Career and Tech High school
American Abroad
AA - Anna E. Roth, Stuttgart - Stuttgart High School
AA - Henry Zhou, Beijing - Thacher School
Arizona
AZ - Matteo N. Huish, Mesa - BASIS Mesa
AZ - Sruti Peddi, Fountain Hills - BASIS Scottsdale Charter
AZ - Vivian M. Saavedra, Scottsdale - Chaparral High School
Arkansas
AR - Collier DeClerk, Gentry - Bentonville West High School
AR - Ananya Uddanti, Little Rock - Central High School
California
*CA - Edward Chen, Irvine-Orange County High School of the Arts
*CA - Lauren Amy Cheng, Burlingame- Burlingame High School
*CA - Brian Bowen Guan, Dublin - Dublin High School
**CA - Jacob L. Hutchison Jr., Visalia - Redwood High School
*CA - Ian Byul Kim, Glendale-Harvard-Westlake School
CA - Penelope L. Oliver, Folsom-Horizon Charter School
**CA - Caitlyn Haein Park, Santa Clarita - Saugus High School
*CA - Erin Park, Chino - Chino High School
CA - Kyle Tianshi, San Diego - The Cambridge School
Colorado
CO - Rachel E. Cooper, Centennial - Regis Jesuit High School-Girls Division
CO - Siddharth R. Nareddy, Westminster- Peak to Peak Charter School
Connecticut
CT - Leigh M. Foran, Westport- Staples High School
CT - Annika Fleur Emilia Mengwall, Darien - Darien High School
CT - Cy J. Pavlov, Trumbull - Trumbull High School
Delaware
**DE - Anaum H. Allimulla, Newark -Newark Charter School
DE - Amanrai S. Kahlon, Hockessin - Sanford School
**DE - Runyi Liu, Newark -Newark Charter School
DE - Michelle Wang Mao, Newark - Cab Calloway School of the Arts High School
District of Columbia
DC - Keya Krishna, Washington - Sidwell Friends School
DC - Devan Tissington Lakshmanan Tatlow, Washington- School Without Walls
Florida
*FL - Paola Beatrice Alvarez Ramirez, Miami -New World School of the Arts
FL - Sharanya Chatterjee, Orlando - Freedom High School
*FL - Ale Fonseca, Miami - Miami Arts Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer
*FL - Niveah Desirea Glover, Jacksonville - Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
FL - Esperance J. Han, Ocala -North Marion High School
FL -Joshua C. Martoma, Boca Raton - Pine Crest School
Georgia
**GA - Han Shaun Lee, Alpharetta -Johns Creek High School
GA - Gordon E. Lichtstein, Decatur- Decatur High School
**GA - Vineeth Sendilraj, Suwanee- Lambert High School
GA - Joanna Yian Xiao, Richmond Hill - Richmond Hill High School
Hawaii
HI - Maile-Lei Ji, Kamuela - Kealakehe High School
HI - Michael X. Kostecki, Honolulu - Iolani School
HI - Ahryanna P. McGuirk, Kailua - Kalaheo High School
Idaho
ID - Austin Jackson Giffen, Boise- Timberline High School
ID -Hayoon Lee, Boise- Timberline High School
Illinois
IL - Intisar A. Alkhatib, Chicago - Lincoln Park High School
IL - Pradyumn M. Bonu, Buffalo Grove - Adlai E. Stevenson High School
IL - Ryan Y.P. He, Charleston-University of Illinois Laboratory High School
IL - Zuyu Liu, Palatine - Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
IL - Sai Peddainti, Naperville - Waubonsie Valley High School
Indiana
IN- Nathaniel Glenn Bryan, Fort Wayne- Concordia Lutheran High School
IN- Claire H. He, Zionsville - Carmel High School
Iowa
IA- Andrew Dong, Iowa City - West High School
IA- Sarah Park, Ames - Ames High School
Kansas
KS - Ayaan Parikh, Wichita - Wichita Collegiate School
KS - Anahi Sanchez, Newton -Newton High School
KS - Paranjay Sharma, Leawood- The Barstow School
Kentucky
KY - Owen Matthew Borden, Fort Thomas- Highlands High School
KY - Sarah Elise Cauley, Murray - Murray High School
KY - Jennifer Mi Nguyen, Grayson -The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics at Morehead State University
*KY - Chase R. Phillips, Louisville - duPont Manual Magnet High School
KY - Joshua Zyzak, Lakeside Park - Beechwood High School
Louisiana
LA - Kathy Hu, Baton Rouge - Episcopal High School
LA - Brandon Lin, Baton Rouge - Baton Rouge Magnet High School
Maine
ME - Isaac N. Kahn, Kennebunk- Kennebunk High School
ME - Kylie Jade Thibodeau, Raymond -Gray New Gloucester High School
Maryland
MD - Maximilian P. Belyantsev, North Potomac - Richard Montgomery High School
MD - Mingni L. Dong, Lutherville Timonium- Dulaney High School
**MD - Minaal A. Khwaja, Salisbury - Wicomico High School
MD - Angelina Xu, Boyds- Richard Montgomery High School
Massachusetts
MA - Radhika Heda, Lexington - Lexington High School
**MA - Sarah Jane Johansen, Tewksbury- Shawsheen Valley Vocational Technical High School
MA - Aryan Mago, Shrewsbury -Groton School
Michigan
MI - Anish Jain, Auburn Hills- Avondale Senior High School
MI - Aanya Shah, Troy - Troy High School
**MI - Olivia Jaden Stepnioski, Warren - Center Line High School
Minnesota
MN - Philippa Jane Pflaum, Wayzata - Phillips Exeter Academy
MN - Derrick Siu, Edina - Edina High School
*MN - Ming Wei Yeoh, Chanhassen - Minnetonka High School
Mississippi
MS - Noah Curtis Lee, Southaven - Mississippi School for Mathematics & Science
MS - Iris Jiani Xue, Southaven- Mississippi School for Mathematics & Science
Missouri
**MO - Lynn Marie Dyer, Higginsville - Lafayette County C-1 High Sch
MO - Shubha Gautam, Columbia - Columbia-Rock Bridge Senior High School
MO - Santosh Manikandan, Wentzville - Liberty High School
Montana
MT - Ellis Walker-Keleher, Missoula -United World College East Africa (Arusha Campus)
MT - Grace M Wandler, Missoula -Hellgate High School
Nebraska
NE - Mark M. Bausch, Omaha - Creighton Preparatory School
NE - Christina Xu, Lincoln- Lincoln East High School
Nevada
NV - Samuel Z. Chen, Las Vegas- Clark High School
NV - Beverly Y. Wang, Las Vegas- The Meadows School
New Hampshire
**NH - Molly Fitzgerald DellaValla, Jackson- Homeschool
NH - Deetya B. Nagri, Nashua -Nashua Senior High School South
NH - Prayag J. Patel, Auburn - The Derryfield School
New Jersey
*NJ - Iris Hur, Paramus- Bergen County Academies
*NJ - Gabrielle Liberman, Summit- Kent Place School
NJ - Pranav Sitaraman, Edison - Middlesex County Academy for Science Math & Engineering
*NJ - Nicholas Yoo, Ramsey- Delbarton School
NJ - Selina S. Zhang, Annandale -North Hunterdon High School
*NJ - Harmony Zhu, Cresskill - The Brearley School
New Mexico
NM - Kayan A. Rivera-Graham, Albuquerque - Albuquerque Institute of Math and Science
NM - Aileen Adanma Ukwuoma, Albuquerque - Early College Academy
NM - Karen Weijia Zhang, Albuquerque - Albuquerque Academy
New York
*NY - Detola D. Badmus, Elmont- Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts
NY - Natasha Kulviwat, Jericho -Jericho Senior High School
NY - Sheldon Y. Liu, New York - Stuyvesant High School
NY - Elaine Wang, Garden City-Garden City Senior High School
**NY - Ariana Amanda Watson, North Woodmere - Lawrence High School
NY - Thomas A. Wills II, Clay - Cicero-No Syracuse High School
North Carolina
NC - Dishita Agarwal, Greensboro - The Early College at Guilford
NC -Jacob Elijah Chen, Waxhaw- Providence Day School
North Dakota
ND - Hanson W. Du, Grand Forks-Grand Forks Central High School
**ND - Teagan L. Erbele, Lehr -Napoleon High School
ND - Selena Wu, Grand Forks- Red River High School
Ohio
OH- Chardon Javar Black, Jr., Cleveland-John Hay Senior High School
OH- Annabella Clara Burton Boone, Delaware-Olentangy Berlin High School
Oklahoma
OK -Jack David Carson, Tulsa - Booker T. Washington High School
OK - Ella Grace Newhouse, Tulsa - Cascia Hall Preparatory School
Oregon
OR - Richard Z. Chen, Corvallis- Crescent Valley High School
OR - Stella C. Wang, Portland -Jesuit High School
Pennsylvania
PA - Prithvi Vijay Narayanan, State College - State College Area High School
PA - Aneri Shethji, Sewickley -North Allegheny Senior High
Puerto Rico
PR - Meghna A. Pramoda, Guaynabo- Baldwin School of Puerto Rico
PR - Owen Thomas Weber, Dorado - Tasis School in Dorado
Rhode Island
RI - Margaret Catherine Lauder, Portsmouth - Portsmouth High School
RI - Ryan Steven Lukowicz, North Kingstown-North Kingstown Senior High School
South Carolina
SC - Anna Elizabeth Cully, Lexington- River Bluff High School
SC - Michael Yi Lee, Mount Pleasant- Academic Magnet High School
*SC - Jessie J. Leitzel, Mount Pleasant- Charleston County School of the Arts
South Dakota
SD - Owen O. Burns, Brookings- Brookings High School
**SD - Faith Genzlinger, Winfred- Howard High School
SD - Camryn Jean Lounsbery, Brookings- Brookings High School
Tennessee
TN - Avigail Laing, Knoxville - Bearden High School
TN - Jonathan Aryan Mehrotra, Cordova - White Station High School
Texas
TX - Isabelle Agarwal, Richardson- Richardson High School
*TX - Patrick Christie Flanagan, Dallas- St. Mark's School of Texas
TX - Alex Pan, Dallas- St. Mark's School of Texas
**TX - Amisha Sao, Cedar Park- Round Rock High School
TX - Eric J Tong, Colleyville -Grapevine Senior High School
Utah
UT - Audrey Su, Sandy - Skyline High School
UT - Joseph Tsai, Provo - Timpview High School
Vermont
VT - Matthew Henry Califano, Craftsbury Common- Craftsbury Academy
VT - Hannah Noelle Cunningham, Burlington - Rice Memorial High School
Virginia
VA - Benjamin Daniil Cohen, Falls Church - Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology
*VA - Hannah Z. Hong, Yorktown -Grafton High School
**VA -Olivia Kasie Judd, Winchester -James Wood High School
**VA - Raaga Kodali, Ashburn - Briar Woods High School
*VA - Christian Philip Trimmingham, Richmond- Interlochen Arts Academy
VA - Sriya Yalamanchili, Sterling - Academies of Loudoun
Washington
WA- Ashwin Joshi, Kennewick- Southridge High School
**WA - Lexi J. Molnar, Centerville -Goldendale High School
**WA - Siddhartha Dylan Pant, Lakewood- Lakes High School
**WA -Jacob J. Scrupps, Ritzville-Odessa High School
WA- Kosha Upadhyay, Bellevue- Bellevue Senior High School
West Virginia
WV- Grant Carter Kenamond, Wheeling - Wheeling Park High School
WV- Lauren Jiayi Shen, Morgantown - Morgantown High School
Wisconsin
WI - Ezra M. Linnan, Sturgeon Bay - Sevastopol High School
WI - Anica Tipkemper-Wolfe, Cedarburg - Cedarburg Senior High School
Wyoming
WY - Landis D. Zebroski, Sheridan- Sheridan High School
WY - Grace H. Zhou, Laramie- Laramie High School
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