As the 2019-20 school year comes to a close, elementary and high schools across Orange County recognized students from their school communities who have excelled in the areas of academics, service and leadership.
At the high school level, several graduating seniors were awarded top academic honors. From JSerra Catholic High School, Maria Valentina Osorio was named valedictorian, and Kathleen Macfee was named salutatorian.
From Mater Dei High School, Fiona Mulholland earned baccalaureate honors, while six Monarchs earned valedictorian honors, including Derrick Adams, Cynthia Garcia, Jeffery Peterson, Lili Phung, Sophia Thomas and Colin Weaver.
Rosary Academy named two salutatorians in Bryn Boznanski and Julia Clift-Toth and awarded valedictorian honors to Kloey Reyes.
At Santa Margarita Catholic High School, Jordan Cheung was named valedictorian, and Brendan Reeves was named salutatorian.
Top academic honors at Servite High School went to Matthew Martinez and Preston Patz.
St. Catherine’s Academy recognized several students for their achievements. The St. Catherine of Siena Principal’s Award for demonstrating a continuous effort to grow, improve and give to others was given to Enrique Gilardi and Oscar Gonzalez. The Golden Knight Award winner who best exemplifies the spirit of St. Catherine was Ian Havill. The St. Catherine of Siena Scholastic Award for highest academic achievement went to both Austin Sier and Eric Teng, and the St. Catherine Command Leadership Award was given to Oscar Gonzalez and Adrian Cuevas.
From St. Norbert Catholic School, the President’s Award for Educational Excellence was awarded to Maxwell Beckman who will be attending Servite High School. Nathan Evans was honored with the Knights of Columbus St. Damien of Molokai Council Scholarship and will be attending Mater Dei High School. The von Rotz Family Scholarship was awarded to Riley Martinez who will be attending Rosary Academy, and the school’s Outstanding Graduate Award went to Sarah DeGennaro.
Additionally, St. Norbert recognized several students with scholarships for their commitment to the school’s Junior High Academic Decathlon team, including Beckman and Evans, along with Isabella Walker (Rosary Academy), Anthony DeMarco (Mater Dei) and Michael Signaigo (Mater Dei).
St. Anne School in Laguna Niguel honored several award recipients. Isabella Bournazian was named valedictorian, and Paige Scheer was named salutatorian. The Honorable Knight Award was given to Catherine Cadieux, the Performing Arts Award winner was Kendall Beuerlein, and the Visual Arts Award honoree was Victoria Windle. Scholar Athlete Awards were given to Olivia Fernandes and Henry Cadieux.
From St. Edward the Confessor Parish School, Christopher Rigoni was named valedictorian, and both Audrey Crafts and Greyson Moreno were named salutatorians.
St. Junipero Serra Catholic School honored Rachael Pinto with the Notre Dame Club of Orange County Award. Additionally, Kathleen Shepard was named valedictorian, and Kamia Rivera was named salutatorian.
At St. Polycarp School, James Ramirez and Jaeho Ko were both admitted to Servite High School with Honors at Entrance. Maybellene Ledesma was named valedictorian and received Honors at Entrance at St. Paul High School. Keira Do was named the school’s salutatorian.
Saint Anne Parish School in Santa Ana named Yarima Gonzalez the school’s valedictorian, and Olivia Martinez was honored as salutatorian. The Notre Dame Alumni Association Award went to Derek Cornejo, and Kepha Gallardo will receive a scholarship award to attend Servite High School.