60 Young Artists Have Been Nominated for 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts
National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) today announced the nominees for the 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students who exemplify academic and artistic excellence. YoungArts is the sole nominating agency for this high honor and the 60 candidates, representing 16 states and nine artistic disciplines, are all YoungArts Winners. The students have been nominated to the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program for their artistic achievement on the heels of the organization's annual signature program, National YoungArts Week, which concluded in Miami on January 12.
The candidate applications - all YoungArts award winners - will be reviewed by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, which will ultimately select 20 high school seniors to be recognized as U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts for their academic and artistic accomplishments, demonstrated leadership, community service and outreach initiatives, and overall creativity. In June, the 20 arts scholars will join the other 141 U.S. Presidential Scholars from across the country in Washington, D.C. for the National Recognition Program. During the program, all scholars receive a Presidential Medallion presented on behalf of the President of the United States and participate in several recognition activities while in Washington, D.C. The 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts will present their work at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts through a special exhibition and a performance. "National YoungArts Foundation is honored to submit this year's 60 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts nominees to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars," said Sarah Arison, YoungArts Board Chair. "We are proud to continue partnering with the Department of Education to acknowledge our nation's most accomplished artists graduating from high school each year and to honor the sublime artistry and talent of each of the 2020 nominees, who have shown leadership and skill in their respective disciplines. We look forward to announcing the selected arts scholars this spring, and to seeing what all the nominees achieve as they move forward."
The 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts nominees are:
Name
City, State
School
YoungArts Winner Year and Discipline
Lucas Amory
New York, NY
Stuyvesant High School
2020, Classical Music
Ethan Anapoell
Aliso Viejo, CA
Orange County High School of the Arts
2020, Voice
Anthony Arya
Santa Cruz, CA
Georgiana Bruce Kirby Preparatory School
2020, Voice
Olivia Bigtree
Nedrow, NY
Manlius-Pebble Hill School
2020, Visual Arts
Caleb Borick
Charleston, SC
Homeschool
2020, Classical Music
Dusan Brown
Studio City, CA
Los Angeles County High School for the Arts
2020, Film
Juliet Burks
Los Angeles, CA
Palisades Charter High School
2019, Theater
Rush Carson
Key Largo, FL
New World School of the Arts
2020, Dance
Carly Chan
San Jose, CA
Leland High School
2020, Design Arts
Isabella Cho
Wilmette, IL
North Shore Country Day School
2020, Writing
Elli Choi
Tenafly, NJ
Tenafly High School
2019, Classical Music
Caitlin Chung
Beverly Hills, CA
Harvard-Westlake School
2020, Photography
Sage Croft
Windermere, FL
Windermere High School
2020, Film
Catarina de Luca Figueiredo
Coral Gables, FL
New World School of the Arts
2020, Theater
Laura Futamura
Middletown, NJ
High Technology High School
2020, Classical Music
Albert Gang
Irvine, CA
Sage Hill School
2020, Classical Music
Jonah Ginsburg
Dobbs Ferry, NY
The Masters School
2020, Design Arts
Dwany Guzman
Bronx, NY
Professional Performing Arts School
2020, Theater
Felicia He
Saddle River, NJ
The Brearley School
2019, Classical Music
Savannah Lee Henry
New York, NY
Professional Performing Arts School
2020, Theater
Meagan Hipsky
Guilford, IN
Homeschool
2020, Classical Music
Catherine Huang
Los Altos, CA
Lynbrook High School
2019, Classical Music
Esmé Kaplan-Kinsey
Petaluma, CA
Credo High School
2020, Writing
Dante Kirkman
Modesto, CA
Palo Alto Senior High School
2019, Writing
Nouhoum Koita
Brooklyn, NY
Fiorello H. Laguardia High School of Music, Art, and Performing Arts
2020, Dance
Maria Lakisova
Vernon Hills, IL
NorthStar Academy
2020, Classical Music
Jimin Lee
Dogok-Dong, Gangnam-Gu, South Korea
Seoul International School
2019, Writing
Youngseo Lee
Chandler, AZ
BASIS Chandler
2020, Writing
Jeffrey Liao
Livingston, NJ
Livingston High School
2020, Writing
Martin Mbuguah
Fort Wayne, IN
South Side High School
2020, Visual Arts
Ryan McCord
Dallas, TX
St. Mark's School of Texas
2020, Photography
Frances McKittrick
Brooklyn, NY
St. Ann's School
2020, Writing
Anne Mesmer
New York, NY
Laurel Springs School
2020, Dance
Sophia Mickelson
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Pacific Ridge School
2019, Film
Oscar Montanez Garay
San Fernando, CA
Harvard-Westlake School
2020, Visual Arts
Destiny Moore
Miami, FL
New World School of the Arts
2020, Visual Arts
Marjan Naderi
Lorton, VA
Hayfield Secondary School
2020, Writing
Theodore Nissen
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles County High School for the Arts
2020, Film
Oluwasemilore Ola
Irvine, CA
Orange County High School of the Arts
2020, Writing
Mia Palomba
Lake Worth Beach, FL
Alexandre W Dreyfoos School of the Arts
2019, Design Arts
Andy Park
South Pasadena, CA
Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences
2020, Classical Music
Madison Perry
Woolbridge, VA
Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School
2020, Voice
Anoush Pogossian
Glendale, CA
Verdugo Academy
2018, Classical Music
Tyrone Reese
Mobile, AL
W. P. Davidson High School
2020, Dance
Benjamin Rossen
Great Neck, NY
Great Neck South High School
2018, Classical Music
Pablo Rubin-Jurado
New York, NY
Homeschool
2020, Voice
Mallorie Sievert
Jacksonville, FL
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
2020, Theater
Vuyiswa Sigadi
Cedar Hill, TX
Emmett J. Conrad High School
2020, Voice
Pranav Tadikonda
Boyds, MD
Richard Montgomery High School
2019, Dance
Nicholas Turgeon
Greenville, SC
Wade Hampton High School
2020, Visual Arts
Akhilesh Vadari
Redmond, WA
Christa McAuliffe Art Science
2018, Dance
Kyle Ventura
Miami, FL
Design & Architecture Senior High School
2020, Design Arts
Sai Soumya Vytla
Mason, OH
William Mason High School
2019, Voice
Jacob Wachtel
Wilmette, IL
New Trier Township High School
2019, Theater
Jieyan Wang
Moscow, ID
Moscow High School
2020, Writing
James Webb
West Hills, CA
Chaminade College Preparatory
2020, Theater
Lydia Wei
North Potomac, MD
Richard Montgomery High School
2020, Writing
Maggie Wilkinson
Ooltewah, TN
Chattanooga High School
2019, Writing
Lucas Wurman
Los Angeles, CA
Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences
2019, Voice
Caroline Zhang
Chapel Hill, NC
Chapel Hill High School
2018, Visual Arts
The U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts nominees are actors, dancers, singers, classical musicians, photographers, filmmakers, visual artists, designers and writers. Once selected, the 2020 awardees will join an illustrious group of YoungArts and U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts alumni including Tony Award-nominated performer and choreographer Desmond Richardson; Los Angeles Music Center President Rachel S. Moore; novelist and National Book Award Finalist Allegra Goodman; Grammy Award-nominated violinist Jennifer Koh; Tony Award-winning actor Santino Fontana; and RCA Records award-winning singer-songwriter and Grammy Award-nominated artist Chris Young. The 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts, and details regarding the National Recognition Program will be announced in the coming months. For additional information, please visit: http://www.ed.gov/psp
The first step to becoming a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts is to apply to National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts), which is the nominating agency for this honor. To be eligible for the YoungArts program, applicants must be 15-18 years old or in high school grades 10-12. To be further considered for a nomination as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, applicants must be high school seniors and meet all of the U.S. Presidential Scholars requirements.
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