High school students honored for various academic achievements by PYLUSD

Over the months of April and May, the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) Board of Education and executive leadership team took time to honor a large group of high school students and coaches for a wide variety of achievements this school year.

In April, the Board officially recognized Academic Decathlon winners, Science Olympiad winners, AVID Standout Seniors, National Hispanic Recognition Program Honorees, National African American Recognition Program Honorees, National Merit Finalists, and Outstanding High School Seniors. Instead of the traditional in person ceremony, students and coaches received special certificates and a letter from Superintendent Dr. James Elsasser as well as a congratulatory video from Board President Karin Freeman.

In his letter, Dr. Elsasser shared: “We wish we could have all been together to honor your efforts and to see your smiling face and cheering loved ones. However, in lieu of our traditional in-person gathering, we have included the special certificate you would have received that evening in this package. We hope that you will display it proudly as it not only symbolizes your academic success, but it will also serve as a reminder of this historic time we are experiencing together.”

Then, on Thursday, May 27, the district’s executive leadership team visited all seven high schools in the district to surprise its 15 Outstanding High School Seniors.

Each spring, the district asks PYLUSD high school administrators to identify a select number of Outstanding High School Seniors at their site. These individuals represent the finest in achievement and success in academics, athletics, the arts, student government, and service. Outstanding High School Seniors embody a commitment to excellence in all that they do and in all that they are. Each individual received a certificate, letter from Dr. Elsasser, commemorative banner, and a medallion to wear at graduation.

All students’ names are included below their respective categories. Congrats to all PYLUSD super students!

Orange County and State Academic Decathlon

El Dorado High School
Josef Ammari
Isabella Clark
Alexander Hobrath
Emma Kim
Tushaar Mohta
Romney Olson
Maverick Shuck
Emily Solheid
Becca Preusch
Allyson Weisel
Jamie Weisel
Coaches: Amanda Dato, Amanda Wolf, Steve Settle, Kelly Smith, Tim Vrooman

Esperanza High School
Katrina Liu
Megan Davis
Dyanna Henriquez-Serrano
Thaimas Andronaco
Coaches: Kressler Nguyen-Valdez, Laura Massaglia

Valencia High School
Catherine Park
Andrea Wang
Arushi Somani
Jack Garcia
Dominique Hemedez
Darshil Vaishnav
Shweta Shah
Sean Nguyen
Carrie Lin
Kate Toller
Vivek Shah
Coaches: Calen Rau, Mindi Foote

Orange County Science Olympiad

Valencia High School
Audrey Leung
Kamron Popal
Rohan Bhalodia
Celina Liu
Jessica Nguyen
Jessica Chao
Coaches: Brent Shenton, James Womack, Jocelyn Young

AVID Standout Seniors

El Dorado High School
Tobias Teng

Esperanza High School
Sophia Lopez

Valencia High School
Adam Amezcua

National Hispanic Recognition Program Finalists

El Dorado High School
Ryan Corona
Audrey Staton
Owen Ordonez
Kylie Aardema
Lauren Wallingford
Braeden Bethencourt

Valencia High School
Vincent Cisneros
Xavier Cisneros

Yorba Linda High School
Celeste Esqueda

National African American Recognition Program Finalists

El Dorado High School
Bryce Gamble

National Merit Finalists

El Dorado High School
James Surjadinata

Valencia High School
Douglas Chen
Caroline Ives
Yunseo Lee
Audrey Leung
Alan Luong
Aqil Naeem
Donovan Nguyen
Justin Oh
Laren Owen
Catherine Park
Aarav Patel
Kamron Popal
Woo-Hyun Song
Rohith Vankatesh
Victor Wen
Brendan Wong
Junhyeok Yang
Elliot Yoon