U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today announced the 53rd 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 congratulate this year's class of Presidential Scholars for their devotion to academic excellence and their parents and teachers who have guided them along the way,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.  “Today's Presidential Scholars are tomorrow's leaders, and I am confident they will continue to be shining examples as they enter the next phase of their academic careers.”

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects 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 3.5 million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 5,100 candidates qualified for the 2017 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT and ACT exams, through nominations made by Chief State School Officers, other partner recognition organizations or the National YoungArts Foundation’s nationwide YoungArts™competition.

The 2017 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 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in Career and Technical Education.

Created in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored almost 7,500 of the nation’s top-performing students with the prestigious award given to honorees during an annual ceremony in Washington. 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 2017 ceremony will be held June 18, when each honoree will receive a Presidential Scholar Medallion.

A complete list of 2017 U.S. Presidential Scholars follows and is also available at http://www.ed.gov/psp.

2017 Presidential Scholars

[*] One asterisk indicates a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts [**] Two asterisks indicates a U.S. Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education

Alabama

Trent S. Kannegieter, Daphne - Bayside Academy Anna Pollard, Jacksonville - Jacksonville High School

Alaska

Makayla J. Maisey, Anchorage - A. J. Dimond High School Adam J. Skelton, Anchorage - South Anchorage High School

Americans Abroad

John R. Casey, APO - Ramstein American High School Rachel L. Flatt, FPO - Nile C. Kinnick High School

Arizona

Allison Z. Chen, Queen Creek - Hamilton High School Jules T. Wyman, Tucson - University High School

Arkansas

Ryan K. Kim, Fayetteville - Fayetteville High School East Campus Stephanie Zhao, Little Rock - Pulaski Academy

California

**Dayana Argueta, Winton - Atwater High School Mike Bao, Walnut - Troy High School *Carissa Chen, Tustin - Phillips Exeter Academy *Jayden Gillespie, Rancho Santa Fe - Canyon Crest Academy Katherine S. Li, San Jose - Lynbrook High School **Katelyn Maclean, Arroyo Grande - Nipomo High School Pravin Ravishanker, Sunnyvale - Bellarmine College Preparatory Vaibhavi B. Shah, Corona - Centennial High School *Samuel Siegel, Berkeley - Independence High School *Meilan E. Steimle, Saratoga - Harker School Posy K. Stoller, La Jolla - La Jolla Country Day School

Colorado

Mayank Mishra, Superior - Peak to Peak Charter School Anqi Yu, Grand Junction - Palisade Senior High School

Connecticut

Kristen Richichi, New Fairfield - New Fairfield High School Jackson Walker, Wilton - Wilton High School William Yin, Riverside - Greenwich High School

Delaware

   **Johnny Bui, Camden - Caesar Rodney Senior High School **Christie E. Little, Harrington - Lake Forest High School Dhruv Mohnot, Wilmington - Concord High School Olivia R. O'Dwyer, Montchanin - Archmere Academy

District of Columbia

Kira L. Medish, Washington - National Cathedral School John L. Nugent, Washington - School Without Walls

Florida

*Adriana De La Torre, Miami - New World School of the Arts *Korri Lampedusa, Miami - Design & Architecture Senior High School Varun Singh, Seffner - Middleton High School *Kathryn Stenberg, Boca Raton - Alexander W Dreyfoos School of the Arts Hiu Lam V. Yan, Bradenton - St. Stephen's Episcopal School

Georgia

**Dalton C. Green, Ringgold - Gordon Lee Memorial High School Zane G. Placie, Kennesaw - Kennesaw Mountain High School Isabelle O. Riddle, Canton - Sequoyah High School **Helen J. Smith, Fayetteville - Sandy Creek High School Nivedha Soundappan, Kathleen - Houston County High School

Hawaii

Carter Nakamoto, Aiea - Punahou School Emily Yang, Honolulu - Kalani High School

Idaho

Elizabeth S. Lee, Boise - Boise High School Henry Zhang, Boise - Capital High School

Illinois

Jane Boettcher, Naperville - Naperville North High School *Andrew Guo, Chicago - Home-School **Sophia M. Jerkatis, Naperville - Waubonsie Valley High School Jungin A. Lee, Naperville - Metea Valley High School Troy Shen, Chicago - The Culver Academies Pranav A. Upadhyayula, Plainfield - Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy Sushil B. Upadhyayula, Plainfield - Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy Kathy M. Xiang, Vernon Hills - Adlai E. Stevenson High School

Indiana

Michael C. Wang, Carmel - Carmel High School Elise H. Zaniker, Carmel - University High School

Iowa

Gabriel L. Mintzer, West Des Moines - Valley High School Tiana M. Saak, Grundy Center - Grundy Center High School

Kansas

Bessie Bauman, Olathe - Olathe Northwest High School Hannah Motley, Leawood - Blue Valley North High School Tyler Ross, Salina - Salina High School South

Kentucky

Emily J. Liu, Louisville - duPont Manual Magnet High School Kenneth T. Whitsell, Danville - Boyle County High School

Louisiana

Yunsu Kim, Metairie - Metairie Park Country Day School Clarke M. Patrone, Broussard - Episcopal School Of Acadiana

Maine

Joshua L. Reynolds, York - York High School Ellen E. Stanton, South Portland - South Portland High School

Maryland

Matthew H. Kleiser, Timonium - Boys' Latin School Of Maryland Tingyu Li, Ellicott City - Centennial High School

Massachusetts

Sivaram S. Emani, Newton - The Roxbury Latin School **Alkenly S. Ortiz, Lawrence - Greater Lawrence Regional Vo-Tech HS *Amir Siraj, Brookline - Brookline High School Catherine L. Wang, Lexington - Lexington High School

Michigan

**Carly Claucherty, Springport - Springport High School Neil Vaishampayan, Troy - Troy High School Guobibi Wang, Troy - Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School

Minnesota

William J. Drew, Maple Grove - Wayzata High School Moriah H. Elkin, Mendota Hts - Simley Senior High School

Mississippi

Kelly E. Bates, Collinsville - West Lauderdale High School Braeden J. Foldenauer, Southaven - Mississippi School for Mathematics & Science

Missouri

Erin R. Neely, Des Peres - Parkway South High School Thomas C. Pointer, Gainesville - Gainesville R-V High School

Montana

Annabel B. Conger, Columbia Falls - Columbia Falls High School Colin L. Norick, Columbia Falls - Columbia Falls High School

Nebraska

Marta R. Pulfer, Wayne - Wayne High School Abram L. Turner, Lincoln - Lincoln Southeast High School

Nevada

Melissa J. Bak, Reno - Davidson Academy of Nevada **Curtis Basa, Carson City - Carson High School Ian M. Oh, Reno - Davidson Academy of Nevada

New Hampshire

**Connor Craige, Laconia - Gilford Middle High School Ria A. Das, Nashua - Phillips Exeter Academy Gavin T. Shilling, Bedford - The Derryfield School

New Jersey

**Sanjana Duggirala, East Windsor - Mercer Cty Tech Schools - Health Science Academy Winona H. Guo, Princeton - Princeton High School *Lianah Sta. Ana, Freehold - Howell High School Gavin P. Lifrieri, Fort Lee - Fort Lee High School *Benjamin Wenzelberg, Tenafly - Tenafly High School

New Mexico

Rohan S. Angadi, Clovis - Clovis High School Faith Y. Koh, Los Alamos - Los Alamos High School

New York

Zachary J. Gold, Scarsdale - Ardsley High School *Aaron Greenberg, Sunnyside - Fiorello H. Laguardia HS of Music and Art and the Performing Arts Grace Hu, Jericho - Jericho Senior High School *Juliana Missano, Lloyd Harbor - Keystone National High School Ben S. Rhee, Syosset - Syosset High School *Clayton Stephenson, Brooklyn - The Dalton School

North Carolina

*Alexa Bleasdale-Curnutte, Jackson Springs - Interlochen Arts Academy **Joseph C. Richardson, Belvidere - Perquimans County High School Charlotte M. Thomas, Lewisville - Forsyth Country Day School Sreeram Venkat, Morrisville - The North Carolina School of Science & Mathematics

North Dakota

Mona M. Abdelrahman, Fargo - South High School Martin L. Altenburg, Fargo - North High School **Evan C. Welsh, Grand Forks - Grand Forks Central High School

Ohio

Regan N. Brady, Shaker Hts - Hathaway Brown School Ian J. Doemling, Aurora - Aurora High School Debolina Ghosh, Solon - Hathaway Brown School *Isabella Pete, North Canton - Hoover High School Michael J. Weaver, Westerville - Saint Charles Preparatory High School

Oklahoma

Grant M. Gebetsberger, Tulsa - Holland Hall School Madelyn Haden, Newalla - Moore High School **Jada Holliday, Broken Arrow - Broken Arrow High School

Oregon

Katherine Leblanc, Portland - Lincoln High School Nikhil Murthy, Portland - The Catlin Gabel School

Pennsylvania

Julie L. Chen, Wexford - North Allegheny Senior High Joseph R. Feffer, Boalsburg - State College Area High School

Puerto Rico

Enrique D. Latoni Morales, San Juan - Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola Summer L. Powers, San Juan - St. John's School

Rhode Island

Sydney Jenkins, Hope - Moses Brown School Andrew T. Lee, Providence - Wheeler School

South Carolina

Jenning N. Chen, Columbia - Spring Valley High School Devin B. Srivastava, Spartanburg - Spartanburg Day School Frelicia N. Tucker, Aiken - Aiken High School

South Dakota

Jacksyn T. Bakeberg, Spearfish - Spearfish High School Lexis M. Sherron, Sioux Falls - Brandon Valley High School

Tennessee

Dhilan Ramaprasad, Morristown - Morristown-Hamblen High School West Barbara W. Xiong, Brentwood - University School of Nashville

Texas

*Todd Baker, Carrollton - Booker T. Washington HS for the Performing & Visual Arts **Brittney E. Colbath, Copperas Cove - Copperas Cove High School *Elle Cox, Houston - The High School for Performing & Visual Arts *Nicholas Cummings, Richardson - Booker T. Washington HS for the Performing & Visual Arts Gabriela Escalante, Shavano Park - Saint Mary's Hall *Salvador Flores, Galena Park - Galena Park High School Christian Giadolor, Rockwall - Rockwell Heath High School Michael Mireles, Alton - IDEA Quest College Preparatory

Utah

**Anne Clark, Provo - Timpview High School Raymond W. Li, Logan - Logan High School Kathy Liu, Sandy - West High School **Marin Murdock, Herriman - Herriman High School

Vermont

Anders Ode, Burlington - Burlington High School Abigail Yu, S Burlington - Phillips Exeter Academy

Virginia

**Logan Apple, Winchester - Millbrook High School Violet C. Felt, Vienna - Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology Prathik Naidu, Potomac Falls - Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology

Washington

Christopher B. Chen, Sammamish - The Overlake School Rebecca J. Scurlock, Seattle - Lakeside School

West Virginia

Landon M. Buckland, Beckley - Independence High School Kathryn L. Wantlin, Elkview - Charleston Catholic High School

Wisconsin

Colin Gray-Hoehn, Brookfield - Brookfield East High School **Dylon Pokorny, Waupun - Waupun Junior/Senior High School Maria Thurow, Monticello - New Glarus High School

Wyoming

Anna Harris, Green River - Green River High School Maxwell Ramsay-Burrough, Teton Village - Lawrenceville School