Beverly Hills High School Senior Named Presidential Scholar

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Talk about making the grade. On Saturday, the Beverly Hills Unified School District announced that Beverly Hills High School senior Matthew Allana was named a 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholar.

Allana was one of 161 American high school students — out of 5,300 considered — who have demonstrated “outstanding academic achievement, artistic excellence, technical expertise, leadership, citizenship, service and contribution to school and community,” according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Education. The program only considers students with top grades and standardized test scores.

Allana was nominated by BHHS instructional assistant and coach John Johnson.

“It is my honor to congratulate Matthew on this outstanding achievement,” said Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy. "We wish Matthew every success as he embarks on this next chapter at Harvard University.”

Allana served as Beverly Hills High School’s senior class president; and he was a state officer for the Distributive Education Clubs of America, a nonprofit organization for high school and college students interested in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. He also sat on the California Career Technical Education Advisory Committee; and he founded The Emperor’s New Clothes, a news and politics website where high school students write about issues such as income inequality, climate change, world hunger and terrorism.

Allana will attend Harvard University in the fall, where he plans to study economics. Public health circumstances permitting, he will also join other award winners on an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where he will meet with top officials and receive a medallion at the White House.

"I’m so honored and humbled to be named a Presidential Scholar,” Allana said. "I was thrilled just to be nominated, so I’m shocked to have actually received the award. I owe everything to my parents, teachers, and fellow students for creating an environment in which I’ve been able to thrive."