7 Pleasanton Students Named U.S. Presidential Scholar Candidates

PLEASANTON, CA — Seven Pleasanton students, five of whom attend Pleasanton Unified schools, were named as candidates to become U.S. Presidential Scholars. As in 2021, Pleasanton boasts more candidates than any other Tri-Valley city (San Ramon is a close second, with six students.)

5,000 students out of roughly 3.6 million students were named as candidates for the prestigious award, which honors graduating high school seniors with superior achievements in academics, leadership, and community involvement.

• Aryan Jain, Amador Valley High School
• Caleb M. Joo, Foothill High School
• Nihaal A. Konda, Bellarmine College Preparatory
• Tanish Kumar, Stanford University EPGY Online High School
• Ishani Shah, Foothill High School
• Claire Xu, Foothill High School
• Ziyue Cao, Amador Valley High School

A panel of distinguished educators will review submissions and select approximately 600 semifinalists in early April. The Commission on Presidential Scholars, a group of up to 32 eminent citizens selected by the president, will select up to 161 finalists, whose names will be announced in May.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964 to recognize the nation’s most promising students. Most students are selected based on broad academic achievement, though each year, about 20 students are selected based on outstanding academic and artistic achievement, and another 20 or so are selected based on outstanding career and technical education achievement.

Candidacy is invitation-only. Students who score exceptionally well on either the SAT or ACT exam are identified as candidates. Eligible candidates are also identified by their state’s Chief State School Officer and several other recognition organizations such as YoungArts and The National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists.

Winners do not receive a monetary scholarship, like the National Merit Scholarship. Instead, they are invited to an all-expenses paid trip to the White House, where they are presented with a Presidential Scholars Medallion at a special ceremony.

For more information, contact presidential.scholars@ed.gov or visit ed.gov/psp.