U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today announced the 55th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars, recognizing 161 high school seniors for their accomplishments in academics, the arts and career and technical education fields.

"I want to congratulate this year's class of Presidential Scholars on their achievement both inside of the classroom and out," said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. "Their hard work and commitment to excellence, no matter what challenge they are tackling, will serve them well throughout their lifelong learning journeys. I have no doubt that many of tomorrow's leaders are among this year's class of Scholars."

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects scholars annually based on their academic success, artistic and technical excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership and demonstrated commitment to high ideals.

Of the 3.6 million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 5,200 candidates qualified for the 2019 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT and ACT exams or through nominations made by Chief State School Officers, other partner recognition organizations and the National YoungArts Foundation's nationwide YoungArts™ competition.

As directed by Presidential Executive Order, the 2019 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 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 7,500 of the nation's top-performing students with an annual ceremony in Washington, 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.

The 2019 ceremony will be held June 23, when each honoree will receive a Presidential Scholar Medallion.

A complete list of 2019 U.S. Presidential Scholars follows and is also available at http://www.ed.gov/psp.

2019 U.S. Presidential Scholars

* Scholar for U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts.
** Scholar for U.S. Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education

Alabama

• AL—Alison Hu, Huntsville—Virgil I. Grissom High School
• *AL—Kevan Dean McClaflin, Birmingham—Alabama School of Fine Arts
• AL—Donghan Park, Auburn—Auburn High School

Alaska

• AK—Helen Serena Laird, Cordova—Interior Distance Education of Alaska
• AK—Aden Jon Rothmeyer, Jber—South Anchorage High School

American Abroad

• AA—Sophia Adams, FPO—Naples American High School
• AA—Elizabeth Baranes, Vancouver—Crofton House School
• AA—Sechan Yoon, Tamuning—Harvest Christian Academy

Arizona

• **AZ—Adrian Henry Kwiatkowski, Mesa—Red Mountain High School
• AZ—Saaketh Ram-Rachakonda Narayan, Phoenix—BASIS Scottsdale Charter
• **AZ—Ruth Nyagaka, Gilbert—Williams Field High School
• AZ—Amy Zhou, Scottsdale—Scottsdale Preparatory Academy

Arkansas

• AR—Rachel Stall, Clarksville—Arkansas School for Mathematics & Sciences
• AR—Sojas Wagle, Springdale—Har-Ber High School

California

• CA—Michael Chen, San Diego—Canyon Crest Academy
• *CA—Alaman Diadhiou, Los Angeles—Brentwood School
• *CA—Luke Herzog, Pacific Grove—Pacific Grove High School
• *CA—Charles Kogen, Los Angeles—Harvard-Westlake School
• CA—Lauren Kong, Rancho Palos Verdes—Palos Verdes Peninsula High School
• *CA—Annette Doeun Lee, Pasadena—Polytechnic School
• **CA—Won Bin Lee, San Ramon—Dougherty Valley High School
• *CA—Anne Liu, San Diego—Canyon Crest Academy
• CA—Yunhee Park, Valley Village—Oakwood School
• *CA—Cynthia Zhou, San Jose—Leland High School

Colorado

• CO—Edwin C. Bodoni, Englewood—Cherry Creek High School
• CO—Edenna Huiyi Chen, Colorado Springs—Rampart High School
• CO—Martin Fernandez, Rocky Ford—Rocky Ford High School
• CO—Emily Elizabeth Sanchez, Longmont—Longmont High School

Connecticut

• CT—Meredith Bloss, Guilford—Guilford High School
• CT—Benjamin Hu, Stamford—Horace Mann School

Delaware

• **DE—Justin Chan, Middletown—Middletown High School
• DE—Tullis Tien-Tze Liu, Wilmington—Archmere Academy
• DE—Akhil D Rao, Newark—Caravel Academy
• **DE—Noah Rossi, Newark—Newark Charter Jr/Sr High School

District of Columbia

• DC—Shiva Khanna Yamamoto, Washington—St. Albans School
• DC—Maggie Elizabeth Wang, Washington—National Cathedral School

Florida

• *FL—Nina Ahmadi, Miami—Design & Architecture Senior High School
• *FL—Njari Dimario Anderson, West Palm Beach—Alexander W Dreyfoos School of the Arts
• FL—Ahna Bella Cecil, Pensacola—Pensacola High School
• *FL—Mercedes F. Ferreira-Dias, Hialeah—Mater Lakes Academy High School
• *FL—Cassandra James, Kissimmee—James Home School
• FL—Richard James Nuss III, Tampa—Jesuit High School
• **FL—Lilyanne Kathryn Pepe, Parrish—Palmetto High School

Georgia

• GA—William Ellsworth, Marietta—George Walton Comprehensive High School
• GA—Vani Senthil, Duluth—Duluth High School
• **GA—Keerti Jessica Soundappan, Kathleen—Houston County High School

Hawaii

• **HI—Ian Henry Carnate Acosta, Waipahu—Waipahu High School
• HI—Ryan Park, Honolulu—Punahou School
• HI—Taylor Mie Venenciano, Honolulu—Iolani School

Idaho

• ID—John Chen, Boise—Centennial High School
• ID—Megan Elizabeth Clements, Rigby—Rigby High School

Illinois

• IL—Amado DeJesus Candelario, Chicago—Eric Solorio Academy High School
• IL—Maegan Jong, Palatine—William Fremd High School
• IL—Asher J. Noel, Kenilworth—New Trier Township High School
• **IL—Anuva Shandilya, Naperville—Neuqua Valley High School

Indiana

• IN—Tingyi Lu, Granger—Penn High School
• *IN—Sophie Paquette, Bloomington—Interlochen Arts Academy
• IN—Stanley Rozenblit, South Bend—John Adams High School

Iowa

• IA—Astoria Chao, Cedar Falls—Cedar Falls High School
• IA—Colin McDonald, Tiffin—McDonald Home School
• **IA—Jaxon Mullinnix, Lone Tree—Lone Tree High School
• **IA—Megan Niewoehner, Hawkeye—Sumner-Fredericksburg High School

Kansas

• KS—Ritvik Illindala, Overland Park—Blue Valley West High School
• KS—Praneeta Nalluri, Overland Park—Blue Valley North High School

Kentucky

• KY—Allison Kim Tien Tu, Louisville—duPont Manual Magnet High School
• KY—Jacob Hunter West, Ashland—Raceland-Worthington High School

Louisiana

• LA—Shinwoo Kim, Metairie—Metairie Park Country Day School
• LA—Douglas Edward Robins II, Baton Rouge—Episcopal High School

Maine

• ME—Rohan Ben Freedman, Cape Elizabeth—Cape Elizabeth High School
• ME—Emma Hargreaves, Old Town—Old Town High School

Maryland

• MD—Chase Blanchette, Ellicott City—Mount Hebron High School
• MD—Garyk Brixi, Potomac—Winston Churchill High School
• MD—Addele Hargenrader, Bethesda—Richard Montgomery High School

Massachusetts

• **MA—Megan Elizabeth Brown, Billerica—Shawsheen Valley Voc Tec High School
• MA—Ethan M Coyle, Andover—Andover High School
• MA—Birukti Tsehaye Tsige, Malden—Malden High School

Michigan

• MI—Braden Lucas Crimmins, West Bloomfield—Bloomfield Hills High School
• MI—Madeleine Yang, Bloomfield Hills—Detroit Country Day School

Minnesota

• MN—Anika Ahluwalia, Maple Grove—Wayzata High School
• MN—Michael Taechoon Pak, Shoreview—Mounds View High School

Mississippi

• **MS—Ruben Manasseh Banks, Jackson—Jim Hill Senior High School
• MS—Eliza Phillips Burnham, Jackson—Jackson Preparatory School
• MS—Hamilton Wan, Starkville—Mississippi School for Mathematics & Science

Missouri

• MO—Sujay Murali, Ballwin—Marquette High School
• MO—Kimberley Tran, St. Louis—Clayton High School

Montana

• MT—George Evan Glidden-Handgis, Hamilton—Hamilton High School
• MT—Julia Karin Roemer, Florence—Hellgate High School

Nebraska

• NE—Ethan Chen, Omaha—Millard North High School
• NE—Sukanya Kennamthiang, Omaha—Brownell-Talbot School

Nevada

• NV—Arthur Acuna, Las Vegas—Bishop Gorman High School
• NV—Ananya Sahiba Dewan, N Las Vegas—Northwest Career and Tech Academy
• **NV—Crystal Giselle Vargas, Carson City—Carson High School

New Hampshire

• NH—Benjamin Daniel Jachim-Gallagher, Newport—Newport Middle High School
• NH—Michaela Phan, Portsmouth—Phillips Exeter Academy

New Jersey

• NJ—Anthony M. Bishara, Jersey City—McNair Academic High School
• *NJ—Vivian Parkin DeRosa, Ocean Township—Communications High School
• NJ—Bradley Barron Ferguson, Northfield—Mainland Regional High School
• NJ—Vanessa Beibei Hu, Livingston—Livingston High School
• NJ—Sophia Sizhe Liang, Cherry Hill—Cherry Hill High School East
• *NJ—Madelin Morales, Fairfield—West Essex Senior High School
• **NJ—Sonia Purohit, Branchburg—Academy for Health-Medical Science
• NJ—Rohan Brahm Sharma, East Windsor—Mercer County Technical Schools—Health Science Academy

New Mexico

• NM—Donavin Myles Mendez, Raton—Raton High School
• NM—Abigail Pribisova, Albuquerque—Eldorado High School

New York

• *NY—Anthony Choi, New York—High School for Math, Science, and Engineering at City College of New York
• NY—Nelson Chow, Lynbrook—Malverne Senior High School
• NY—Anisha M. Kasi, New City—Clarkstown High School North
• **NY—Madelaine Lebetkin, New York—Brooklyn Technical High School

North Carolina

• NC—Isaac Eli Diaz, Asheboro—Asheboro High School
• NC—Yijian Huang, Chapel Hill, NC—The North Carolina School of Science & Mathematics
• NC—Navami Jain, Charlotte—The North Carolina School of Science & Mathematics

North Dakota

• ND—Dyuti Dawn, Fargo—Davies High School
• ND—Junting Shen, Fargo—Davies High School

Ohio

• OH—Kevin Xincheng Yin, Dayton—Centerville High School
• OH—Yasmine Zein, Shaker Hts—Hathaway Brown School

Oklahoma

• OK—Sharara Shabeeba Kasem, Edmond—Edmond North High School
• OK—Julian Marcellus Zanders, Broken Arrow—Cascia Hall Preparatory School

Oregon

• OR—Anushka Nair, Lake Oswego—Lake Oswego High School
• OR—Seth David Talyansky, Portland—The Catlin Gabel School

Pennsylvania

• PA—Nicholas Samuel Jacobson, Lewisburg—Lewisburg Area High School
• *PA—Isaiah John Kim, Nether Providence Township—Strath Haven High School
• PA—Christopher Lee, Wexford—North Allegheny Senior High
• PA—Akhila Yalvigi, Avondale—Avon Grove High School

Puerto Rico

• PR—Fayleon Lin, San Juan—St. Mary's School
• PR—Viviana Rivera, Las Piedras—Escuela Secundaria Especializada en Ciencias, Matematicas y Tecnologia (CIMATEC)

Rhode Island

• RI—Yiru Li, Lincoln—Lincoln High School
• RI—Everett Thornton Smith, Warwick—Wheeler School

South Carolina

• *SC—Amber Magnuson, Greenville—South Carolina Governor's School for Arts & Humanities
• **SC—Jackson B Woodward Radcliffe, Summerville—Ashley Ridge High School
• SC—Dashiell Charles Miller Stevanovich, Myrtle Beach—Socastee High School
• SC—Jiaying Tong, Simpsonville—Riverside High School

South Dakota

• SD—Jaelyn Kae Morehead, Tea—Tea Area High School
• SD—Alan Zhu, Rapid City—Stevens Senior High School

Tennessee

• TN—Zavier Santino Chavez, Chattanooga—Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts
• TN—Isabella Rose Trasolini, Newbern—Dyer County High School

Texas

• TX—Jordan H. Barton, Andrews—Andrews High School
• *TX—Isha Parupudi, Friendswood—Clear Springs High School
• *TX—Kyle Braden Smith, Dallas—St. Mark's School of Texas
• *TX—Emma Claire Sutherland, Frisco—Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts
• TX—Lauren Hu Yang, Sugar Land—Dulles High School

Utah

• UT—Kalii Sierra Caldwell, Ogden—Ogden Senior High School
• UT—Alexander Cheng, Sandy—Hillcrest High School
• UT—Scott David Milner, Lindon—Pleasant Grove High School

Vermont

• VT—Jackson Elder, Burlington—Burlington High School
• VT—Grace Jiayi Lu, Essex Jct—Essex High School
• VT—Remi Savard, Montpelier—Montpelier High School

Virginia

• VA—Katelynne Berland, Yorktown—New Horizons Governor's School for Science & Technology
• VA—Alexander Emilov Nikolov, Henrico—Maggie L. Walker Governor's School

Washington

• WA—Michael Keith Albrecht, Bothell—North Creek High School
• WA—Monica Yang Chang, Camas—Camas Senior High School
• **WA—Christina Masnyy, Auburn—Fife Senior High School
• WA—Phillip Meng, Vancouver—Union High School

West Virginia

• WV—Daphne Barretto, Morgantown—University High School
• WV—Xavier Mark Evans, Clarksburg—South Harrison High School

Wisconsin

• WI—Namitha Alexander, Brookfield—Brookfield East High School
• **WI—Katrina Eileen Pokorny, Waupun—Waupun Senior High School
• **WI—Matthew E. Ryherd, Reedsburg—Reedsburg Area High School
• WI—Anthony Joseph Sikorski, Hartland—Arrowhead High School
• WI—Isaac Arnold Wells-Cage, Milwaukee—Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School

Wyoming

• WY—Lillian Brazil, Jackson—Jackson Hole High School
• WY—Scott Nicholas Orton, Afton—Star Valley High School