Four South-Asian American students from Nevada have been named semifinalists in the 2026 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, one of the nation’s highest honors for graduating high school seniors. The recognition is awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement, leadership, and community involvement.

Semifinalists for 2026 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program are…

• Ethan Mathew Kurian, Las Vegas – Ed W. Clark High School NV  
• Mujtaba Shahzad, Las Vegas – The Meadows School NV
• Maryiam Syed, Henderson – Coronado High School NV
• Ashwin Vaidyanathan, Reno – Academy of Arts Careers & Tech

As semifinalists, the students have advanced to the final phase of consideration for the prestigious U.S. Presidential Scholar designation.  Final U.S. Presidential Scholars will be announced later in the year by the U.S. Department of Education.
 
The Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. Each year, up to 161 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students.
 
Application to the program is by invitation only which is based on their scores on the SAT or ACT exam or their nomination by a Chief State School Officer. Students chosen as U.S. Presidential Scholars receive an expense-paid trip to Washington, D. C. and are presented the U.S. Presidential Scholars medallion at a ceremony sponsored by the White House, in commemoration of their achievements. During their visit to Washington, Scholars have access to important national and international figures, including government officials, educators, authors, musicians, scientists, and other accomplished people.
 
The past presidential scholars from Nevada’s Indian-American community are –
 
2003 – Ravi Chanderraj, Meadows High School; Harvard University
2006 – Shipra De, Green Valley High School; UNLV
2007 – Shaan Patel, Clark High School; University of Southern California
2011 – Sanchay Gupta, Meadows High School; Stanford University
2013 – Justin Joseph, Valley High School; Virginia Commonwealth University
2014 – Karthik W. Rohatgi, Davidson Academy of Nevada; Washington University
2019 – Ananya Sahiba Dewan, Northwest Career and Tech Academy 
2020 – Emhyr Subramanian, Davidson Academy of Nevada
2021 – Priyanka Senthil, Davidson Academy of Nevada