Class of 2026 Accomplishments

Penn High School will hold its 2026 Commencement Ceremony at Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavilion on Monday, June 8, at 7 p.m. (click here for details). The event will celebrate the graduation of approximately __ members of the Class of 2026. 

On Monday, May 11, the Penn Faculty, P-H-M Administrators and members of the Board of School Trustees gathered with graduating seniors and their families to celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2026 at the annual Senior Recognition Night. The event recognizes the academic success that members of the Senior Class have achieved recognizing them for awards, honors and scholarships that they’ve earned for graduation. 

Click here to see pictures from Senior Recognition Night and the full Canto Photo Gallery for the Class of 2026.

Awards conferred at Senior Recognition included academic excellence, leadership, service to school and community, citizenship, attendance, athletic accomplishments and a whole host of other accomplishments. Click here to jump to that list below.

Click here to see the list of local and private scholarship winners.

This year there are 20 Valedictorians and 2 Salutatorians. 

VALEDICTORIANS:

Fiona Bao, Sreeja Bhattacharjee, Mehreen Buchh, Gavin Doster, Sultaan Khan, Angie Liu, Trenton Mager, Ishita Masetty, Joseph McQueary, Kelsey Meyer, Leo Ni, Joshua Oh, Roman Ramos, Marie Roach, Henry Smoker, Grant Spadafore, Amina Spahic, Jocelyn Teeple, Zoya Turk, and Brooqlin Vargas

SALUTATORIANS:

Diya Lahane and Aidan Lee

As of May 11, the members of the Class of 2026 have earned more than $16 million in total scholarships! Over the summer, graduates will continue to be notified of scholarships, so we expect this number will continue to grow. We encourage students to notify the Penn Counseling Office of all your scholarships, even after you’ve graduated; it helps us measure the success of our graduates.

Many students were recognized for winning private scholarships during the Senior Recognition program. 

The 2026 graduating class is the seventh class to receive recognition through the Latin Honors System:

• A total of 68 students will graduate Summa Cum Laude, with the highest praise, by earning an Academic Honors diploma with a GPA greater than 4.25.
• A total of 114 students will graduate Magna Cum Laude, with high praise, by earning an 
• A total of 102 students will graduate Cum Laude, with praise, with a GPA greater than 3.75.

A total of 479 students in the Class of 2026 are graduating with an Academic Honors diploma! To be eligible for an Academic Honors Diploma, students must accumulate a minimum of 47 credits in a prescribed curriculum and have a grade point average of 3.0.

A total of 329 students in the Class of 2026 are graduating with High Honors! These students have maintained a 3.5 grade point average or above for the first seven semesters of high school study.

The Core 40 with Technical Honors diploma is awarded to students who complete professional internships and or college courses in a technical area. A total of 163 students are graduating with Technical Honors.

Fifteen students are designated as National Merit Finalists, based on their high PSAT scores. These students advanced to Finalist standing in the Merit Scholarship competition of 2026 by demonstrating, through distinguished performance, a high potential for future academic accomplishment. They are now eligible for one of the 8,000 scholarships soon to be awarded. 

Among the graduating Class of 2026 there are an impressive 132 members of Early College Academy–the ninth cohort of ECA.

• 116 will graduate Penn with an Associates Degree from Ivy Tech
• 12 have earned Indiana College Core credits 

Award winners include:

• Schmucker Award: Allison Tessier
• Kingsman of the Year: Arashjit Singh
• Principal’s Academic Excellence Awards: Joshua Buckler, Danielle Esguerra, Elizabeth Huchko, Elizabeth Marion, Ryan Pickard, Allison Tessier, Arashjit Singh, and Victoria Sanchez  
• Principal’s Leadership Awards: Kelly Kubinski and Vazgen Manukyan  

• Principal’s Citizenship and Service Awards: Sreeja Bhattacharjee, Ashley Chew, Connor Geoghegan, Jacob Kyle, Noah Rossow, Mira Yaradi, Aaron Penrose, and Hayley Kruger
  National Merit Finalists: Sreeja Bhattacharjee, Mehreen Buchh, Balthasar Cammett, Madeline Dunn, Connor Geoghegan, Zachary Girton, Quinn Hayden, Wasif Javed, Sultaan Khan, Trenton Mager, Ishita Masetty, Leo Ni, Joshua Oh, Roman Ramos, and Grant Spadafore  
• National Merit Semi-Finalists: Sreeja Bhattacharjee, Mehreen Buchh, Balthasar Cammett, Madeline Dunn, Connor Geoghegan, Zachary Girton, Quinn Hayden, Wasif Javed, Sultaan Khan, Trenton Mager, Ishita Masetty, Leo Ni, Joshua Oh, Roman Ramos , and Grant Spadafore
• National Merit Commended Scholars: Joshua Buckler, Ashley Chew, Hayley Kruger, Angie Liu, Elizabeth Marion, Joseph McQueary, Ryan Pickard, Madison Raper, Nathan Rowe, Sturgis Seiss, Robin Sullivan, Allison Tessier, David Wheet, and William Wu
• U.S. Presidential Scholars Candidates: Sreeja Bhattacharjee, Wasif Javed, Sultaan Khan, and Ishita Masetty  

• State Academic All-Star: Ishita Masetty 

• Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Thacker Scholarship: Benjamin Galiher  

• Larry Beehler Scholarship: Caitlyn Gaynor 
• Media Arts: Eliza Wright
• Sculpture: Colleen Ruppert 
• Drawing: Ashton Hanover  
• Thespian: Percy Ramirez 
• Dance: Corde Simmons
• English: Ryleigh Browning  
• Painting: Adriana Aquila  
• Ceramics: Connor Pendergrass  
• The Pennant: Gabriel Penzenik  
• Speech: Roman Gargis  
• Debate: Victoria Sanchez  
• Broadcast Journalism: Marie Roach 
• Choir: Joe Vaccaro 
• Orchestra: Arty Ryzhkov  
• Band: Robin Sullivan 
• Spectrum: Danielle Esguerra  
• Yearbook: Ariana Higgins  
• Graphic Arts: Morgan Kukla  
• Ambassador Award: Corey Walter 
• Career Excellence: Skyler Green  
• Academic Advancement: Kaitlyn Schroeder  
• Peer Leader: River Sandoval  
• Engineering: Travis Sears
• Science: Grant Bennett 
• Mathematics: Josh Oh 
• Technology: Ethan Ardila 
• Agriculture: Eli Joswic 
• Social Sciences: Toby Prince  
• Economics: Sreeja Bhattacharjee  
• Government: Grant Bennett  
• Health & Wellness: Mila Obradovic 
• Penn Strength (Male): Dalton Zultanski 
• Penn Strength (Female): Alayna Riggins
• Accounting and Finance: Kamryn Fizer  
• Marketing: Macy Little  
• General Business: Noah Hoppers  
• Computer Science: Grant Spadafore  
• Professional Work-Based Award: Avianna Santiesteban  
• MBA Leadership: Reese Clark  
• American Sign Language: Natalie McColley
• Chinese Award: Angie Liu  
• French: Moriah Price  
• German: Rebecca Wolter 
• Japanese: Evan Swihart 
• Spanish: Allison Tessier  
• Early College Academy Growth Award: Carlito Young  
• Early College Academy Leadership Award: Aaron Penrose  
• Early College Academy Perseverance Award: Deivi Ricci Bastidas  
• Early College Overall Achievement Award: Arashjit Singh