The 2026 Senior Awards Night was held recently to honor the outstanding achievements of the graduating class. The ceremony recognized students for their academic perseverance, technical skills, and community leadership through the presentation of Honors cords, medals, stoles, and scholarships.
Academic Honors
The evening highlighted students who achieved exceptional grade point averages throughout their high school careers.
Highest Honors (4.25+ GPA - Gold Stoles): These 17 students were also designated as Top Scholars (unless noted): Nikolas Brendell (Top Scholar & CTE), Seth Cerda, Quinn Copley (Top Scholar), James Fals (Top Scholar & CTE), Nicholas Hollowell (Top Scholar), Abigail James (Top Scholar), Asher Maret (Top Scholar), Asante Martin (Top Scholar), Eliza Martin (Top Scholar), Jessica McDermott, Madison Mitchell (Top Scholar & CTE), Riley Moody (Top Scholar & CTE), Aubrey Partlow (Top Scholar & CTE), Jordan Robertson (Top Scholar), Ryann Rodriguez (Top Scholar), Jackson Warnock (Top Scholar), and Easton Whitson (Top Scholar & CTE).
High Honors (4.0 - 4.24 GPA - Medals): 21 students achieved this distinction: Zack Amsellem, Madison Castaneda-Ramirez, Aislyn Drake (CTE), Gracyn Farish (CTE), Alathea Griffin (CTE), Elora Hale (CTE), Pearl Hall (CTE), Adriana Kelley, Jocelyn Mauricio, Allen Oldfield (CTE), Annalie Price (CTE), Madilynn Rozier, Addison Sawyer (CTE), Nicholas Sharkey, Daniel Shirk, Charlotte Slaughter, Maya Strull, Olivia Tally, Craig Webb, Nicolas Wheeler, and Owen Zeh.
Honors (3.5 - 3.9 GPA - Bi-color Cords): 29 students were recognized, including Calvin Barker, Lily Braden, Aleena Burns, Hayden Burpeau, Sydney Coe, Addison Crabb (CTE), Kamden Dantone, Diego Galvez (CTE), Joshua Hargreaves, Eleanor Harkey (CTE), Dalton Harper (CTE), Gavin Hooks, Charles James, KyAsia Jones, Sam Kendall (CTE), Anna Luther, Gabriel Mahar, Anthony Melvin, Ava Moser, Britani Orellana, Cameron Owenby (CTE), Elizabeth Padgett (CTE), John Bryson Perkins, Kaiser Thomas Perkins, Tyler Real (CTE), Ellen Swann, Clara Ulrich, Spencer Woolley, and Nourina Yoosuf.
Departmental Excellence & Principal Awards
Each department honored one student for outstanding performance in their specific field of study:
Band: Zack Amsellem
Chorus: Ethan Finley
Theatre Arts: Taliah Techeira
Business & Marketing: Madison Mitchell
Family Consumer Science: Jackson Warnock
Health Sciences: Easton Whitson
Animal Science: Pearl Hall
Horticulture: Anna Luther
Agriculture Mechanics: Graham Harrison
Social Studies: Jordan Robertson
Occupational Studies: Anthony Melvin
JROTC: Hailey Carambot
Mathematics: Allen Oldfield
Science: Jocelyn Mauricio
English: Ryann Rodriguez
World Language: Quinn Copley
Principal Awards: Eliza Martin and Nicholas Sharkey
Scholarship Presentations
The local scholarship committee presented numerous awards to assist students with their post-secondary education. Major highlights included:
Jordan Robertson received the Morehead-Cain Scholarship, valued at $125,000.
Aubrey Partlow was awarded the Arthur Joe Hemphill Scholarship for $20,000.
Madison Mitchell and Riley Moody each earned several significant awards, including Paddison Scholarships ($10,000 each) and Rotary Club honors.
Abigail James and Jessica McDermott were also recipients of $10,000 Paddison Scholarships.
Nicholas Sharkey received the Noah Lehman Memorial Scholarship for $10,000.
Other significant scholarships were provided by the Swannanoa Valley MLK committee, the Kiwanis Club, Tyson Furniture, and the BCS Foundation, benefiting dozens of deserving seniors.
CTE Honors
Career and Technical Education (CTE) Honors were awarded to 23 students who demonstrated mastery in their vocational pathways, including Nikolas Brendell, Addison Crabb, Aislyn Drake, James Fals, Gracyn Farish, Diego Galvez, Alathea Griffin, Elora Hale, Pearl Hall, Eleanor Harkey, Dalton Harper, Madison Mitchell, Riley Moody, Allen Oldfield, Cameron Owenby, Elizabeth Padgett, Aubrey Partlow, Annalie Price, Tyler Real, Ethan Robinson, Addison Sawyer, Easton Whitson, and Sam Kendall.