Seventy Five PYLUSD High School Students Recognized as 2025 Orange County Artist of the Year Nominees

The Orange County Register has recently announced the 2025 nominees for its annual Artist of the Year awards. Each nominee has been recognized in one of several artistic disciplines, including fine arts, dance, film and television, theater arts, media arts, instrumental music, and vocal music. This year, a total of 75 high school students from the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) have received nominations across all seven categories.

A record number of 932 students from 82 high schools and arts organizations throughout Orange County have been nominated by their teachers and private instructors in recognition of their exceptional artistic abilities. Following the nomination process, a panel of arts educators will conduct in-person interviews to select the semi-finalists for the Artist of the Year awards. The list of semi-finalists is scheduled for publication on Sunday, April 20, followed by the announcement of finalists on Sunday, April 27.

The district extends its congratulations to all PYLUSD students who have been recognized for their dedication and artistic achievements. Their names and respective schools are listed below.

Dance (3)
Samantha Medina, Valencia High School
Megan Park, Valencia High School
Naina Brar, Yorba Linda High School

Film and TV (10)
JD Cavalluzzi, El Dorado High School
James Conlee, El Dorado High School
Josh Eady, El Dorado High School
Claire Ng, El Dorado High School
Zoey C. Rodriguez, El Dorado High School
River Santiago, El Dorado High School
Sophia Smith, El Dorado High School
Autumn Treister, El Dorado High School
Cody Gooch, Valencia High School
Skylar Snyder, Yorba Linda High School

Fine Arts (20)
Lynx Adawag, El Dorado High School
Zachary Encarnacion, El Dorado High School
Layla Houk, El Dorado High School
Madison Justine Huang, El Dorado High School
Nadeen Jaridly, El Dorado High School
Joshua Jaesung Lee, El Dorado High School
Erik Lenz, El Dorado High School
Robin (Melanie) Lourdes Leon, El Dorado High School
Abbey Lucas, El Dorado High School
Jaslene Eve Ortiz-Guillen, El Dorado High School
Elle Hannah Shen, El Dorado High School
Dean Walberg, El Dorado High School
Vania Jannine De Ungria, Esperanza High School
Natalie Miller, Esperanza High School
Katie Rentch, Esperanza High School
Hannah Yee, Esperanza High School
Carmen Arneson, Valencia High School
Eujin Kim, Valencia High School
Ximena Lopez-Hernandez, Valencia High School
Jasmin Padilla Macias, Valencia High School

Instrumental Music (13)
Luke Carruth, El Dorado High School
Logan Johnson, El Dorado High School
Alan Juarez, El Dorado High School
Owen Krahl, El Dorado High School
Jonah Griffin, Valencia High School
Jaden Seunghoon Jung, Valencia High School
Camelia Adams, Yorba Linda High School
Conner Hearron, Yorba Linda High School
Coral Hsu, Yorba Linda High School
Sarah Kang, Yorba Linda High School
Jay Liu, Yorba Linda High School
Angelo Messina, Yorba Linda High School
Avery Seaman, Yorba Linda High School

Media Arts (9)
Alyssa Abernethy, El Dorado High School
Amy Cornelius, El Dorado High School
Jayden Vega, El Dorado High School
Ella Arevalos, Valencia High School
Kailani Cabaccang, Valencia High School
Jubilee Cisneros, Valencia High School
Brianny Guardado, Valencia High School
Anaheim Julissa Molina, Valencia High School
Eden Smith, Valencia High School

Theater (15)
JD Cavalluzzi, El Dorado High School
Kaitlyn De Tevis, El Dorado High School
Bailey Erney, El Dorado High School
Avery Henkenius, El Dorado High School
Riley Mills, El Dorado High School
Link Montgomery, El Dorado High School
Makaela Moore, El Dorado High School
Fernando Nuñez Coindreau, El Dorado High School
Owen Switzer, El Dorado High School
Andrew Gardner, Yorba Linda High School
Raven Hale, Yorba Linda High School
Leilah Huttner, Yorba Linda High School
Cosette McCulloch, Yorba Linda High School
Addyson Shoup, Yorba Linda High School
Jennalyn Urquico, Yorba Linda High School

Vocal Music (5)
Elise Shum, El Dorado High School
Avalina Thomas, El Dorado High School
Jasper Chen, Yorba Linda High School
Kara Thompson, Yorba Linda High School
Angela Umholtz, Yorba Linda High School

Click here for a complete list of the Orange County Artist of the Year nominees.