On May 9, US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced the names of the 161 high school seniors selected for the 60th anniversary of the US Presidential Scholars. He highlighted that these students represent the pinnacle of academic excellence in the nation’s schools and embody hope for a promising future for the country. Celebrating their achievements on behalf of President Biden, Cardona encouraged these scholars to continue striving for greatness, support others, and embrace leadership opportunities.
The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects these scholars annually based on their academic success, excellence in the arts, technical education, essays, school evaluations, transcripts, and their commitment to community service and leadership. The US Presidential Scholars Program, established in 1964, has honored over 8,200 top-performing students. The program expanded in 1979 to include students excelling in visual, literary, and performing arts and in 2015 to recognize accomplishments in career and technical education. The Presidential Scholars Class of 2024 will be honored for their achievements with an online recognition program this summer.
This year’s Indian American scholars include: Anish Jain (Auburn Hills, Michigan, Avondale Senior High School); Sharanya Chatterjee (Orlando, Florida, Freedom High School); Dishita Agarwal (Greensboro, North Carolina, The Early College at Guilford); Kosha Upadhyay (Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue Senior High School); Siddhartha Dylan Pant (Lakewood, Washington, Lakes High School); Manav Aggarwal (Huntsville, Alabama, Randolph School); Siddharth R. Nareddy (Westminster, Colorado, Peak to Peak Charter School); Keya Krishna (Washington, DC, Sidwell Friends School); Ayaan Parikh (Wichita, Kansas, Wichita Collegiate School); Sruti Peddi (Fountain Hills, Arizona, BASIS Scottsdale Charter); Paranjay Sharma (Leawood, Kansas, The Barstow School); Aanya Shah (Troy, Michigan, Troy High School); Minaal A. Khwaja (Salisbury, Maryland, Wicomico High School); Pradyumn M. Bonu (Buffalo Grove, Illinois, Adlai E. Stevenson High School); Sriya Yalamanchili (Sterling, Virginia, Academies of Loudoun); Shubha Gautam (Columbia, Missouri, Rock Bridge Senior High School); Prayag J. Patel (Auburn, New Hampshire, The Derryfield School); Raaga Kodali (Ashburn, Virginia, Briar Woods High School); Deetya B. Nagri (Nashua, New Hampshire, Nashua Senior High School South); Prithvi Vijay Narayanan (State College, Pennsylvania, State College Area High School); Amanrai S. Kahlon (Hockessin, Delaware, Sanford School); Santosh Manikandan (Wentzville, Missouri, Liberty High School); Radhika Heda (Lexington, Massachusetts, Lexington High School); Sai Peddainti (Naperville, Illinois, Waubonsie Valley High School); Amisha Sao (Cedar Park, Texas, Round Rock High School); Vineeth Sendilraj (Suwanee, Georgia, Lambert High School); Ashwin Joshi (Kennewick, Washington, Southridge High School); Aneri Shethji (Sewickley, Pennsylvania, North Allegheny Senior High); Ananya Uddanti (Little Rock, Arkansas, Central High School); Pranav Sitaraman (Edison, New Jersey, Middlesex County Academy for Science Math & Engineering).
