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President Lyndon Johnson established the U.S. Presidential Scholars program by executive order in 1964. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images) Getty Images The 2025 class of U.S. Presidential Scholars was announced Friday by U.S. Secretary Of Education Linda McMahon. This year’s group, the 61st in the program’s history, consisted of 161 outstanding high school seniors, who were selected for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education fields as well as for commitments to community service and leadership. Being named a U.S. Presidential Scholar is considered one of the nation’s most prestigious academic awards for high school graduates. You can see the full list of this year’s class here. “Congratulations to this year’s Presidential Scholars for their remarkable academic, artistic, and technical achievements,” said McMahon, in a news release. “Out of 3.9 million high school graduates, these 161 students are recognized for their extraordinary performance in their high school career. I look forward to seeing all they accomplish in their future!” Established in 1964 by an executive order from President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Presidential Scholars are selected annually by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. The selections are made on the basis of outstanding academic performance, artistic achievements, technical excellence, essays, and commitment to community service and leadership. More than 6,400 candidates qualified for the 2024 awards determined by outstanding performance on 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. MORE FOR YOU The selection of the Presidential Scholars is guided by a quota. Each year’s class is comprised of one male and one female student from every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. families living abroad. In addition, 55 other scholars are chosen — 20 in the arts, 20 in career and technical education and 15 selected at-large. The award does not carry any monetary stipend. Since its inception, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored more than 8,600 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 broadened once again to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields. California led this year’s list with ten scholars; followed by Texas with nine and Florida with seven. Rhode Island and Arkansas each had five scholars. About the Scholars As in years past, this year’s group includes students who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in a broad range of areas. Several, like Ethan Thurn of North Dakota, earned perfect or near-perfect scores on the ACT or SAT. Others have won some of the nation’s most competitive college scholarships or been honored in national competitions. Kendree Chen, of Belmont, Massachusetts, is a National Merit Scholar, now attending MIT. Michigan’s Ryan Wang is another National Merit Scholar recipient, he’s a student at the University of Michigan. Joplin, Missouri’s Christian Cavener is a QuestBridge Match Scholar, now attending the California Institute of Technology. Roxane Park, from Bedford, New Hampshire, is a multi-award winning writer and pianist, now at Harvard University. Several of the scholars have already been involved as research assistants in university labratories. Maya Davis of Lexington, Kentucky has worked in a physics lab at the University of Kentucky; she’s now attending Stanford University. Alabama’s William Peng is a published author in the Journal of the American Heart Association; he’s a first-year student at Stanford University. Shilpa Kumar, from Brookfield, Wisconsin has worked as a research assistant and intern at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she co-authored a manuscript published in the Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology. She is now at Duke University, studying biomedical engineering. Many of the scholars have been recognized for their volunteer work and civic contributions. Colorado’s Teddy Zhu — now at the University of Pennsylvania — volunteered to offer free tech support to senior citizens. Hawaii’s Jeremy Choi has won several awards for his public service and volunteer work, including the U. S. Congressional award for outstanding contributions to community service. Haasini Potluri, who attended Tower Hill School in Newark, Delaware, volunteered with the Food Bank of Delaware, served as a Telugu language teacher, and was a student leader for the Youth Environmental Summit. The list includes mant varsity athletes like Coffey Collier, who played basketball and ran cross-country in high school in Oklahoma; she’s attending Rice University. Colton Luke Merriner, was a cross country runner in Anchorage, Alaska. Sage Evans from Cape Elizabeth, Maine is on the sailing team at Dartmouth College. Among the students selected as U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts are: Bassoonist Ariana Kim from Irvine, California, who you can listen to here. Kayla Rae McCarty from Riverside California, now a freshman acting BFA major at Carnegie Mellon University. New York’s Kento Luke Hong, a violinist and student at Columbia University and The Juilliard School. Maycie Krause, from Colleyville, Texas, who’s a dancer and currently a BFA Student at the University of Arizona. Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions
