Staples High School Names Valedictorian & Salutatorian For Class Of 2026

WESTPORT, CT — The top two students in Staples High School’s Class of 2026 have distinguished themselves both academically and through a range of extracurricular achievements, according to officials.

Isabel Jo was named valedictorian, and Uma Choudhury salutatorian. Both students will speak at the school’s graduation ceremony scheduled for June 15.

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Isabel is an All-State musician on two instruments and has spent about a decade as a competitive horseback rider. She is also involved in the school’s No Place for Hate organization, where she helps lead efforts to educate younger students about bullying and bias.

Uma holds a black belt in taekwondo and serves as captain of the school’s Science Olympiad team. She is also president of the Math Honor Society.

Both students have attended Westport Public Schools since elementary school.

Isabel began studying music at Coleytown Elementary School and continued through middle school. At Staples, she plays both viola and violin and serves as concertmistress of the Symphonic and Chamber Orchestras. She credited her teachers with fostering an inclusive environment and described music as a central part of her life.

"Music is the universal language," Isabel said. "It unites people around a common role, despite whatever differences they have."

Classes like Advanced Placement Chemistry with William Jones have challenged Isabel. At Dartmouth College, she plans to study the subject, as well as statistics and music.

Her four years of orchestra classes are among her most favorite at Staples. Isabel credits teachers Carrie Mascaro and Jeri Brima with "fostering a welcoming community for everyone, no matter what role music plays in their lives." For her, it is a central part of life.

Isabel also competes nationally in equitation, the highest form of horse jumping, and trains at the Fairfield County Hunt Club. She plans to complete her senior internship there, working with horses.

She said she did not focus on achieving the highest grade point average in her class of more than 400 students.

"So many kids work hard," Isabel said. "There’s so much luck involved, in being .01 point lower or higher."

Her favorite part of high school has been "finding a group of people," primarily in orchestra.

"They don’t all think alike," Isabel said. "But they’ve understood my goals, and supported me. At the end of
my time here, I really appreciate that."

Uma said her path to salutatorian was similarly unplanned. She described her experience in taekwondo as an opportunity to push beyond her expectations and said she volunteers at a summer camp.

Her work in Science Olympiad includes events such as code busters and physics-related competitions involving circuits and electricity. She earned a gold medal in ecology last year after previously medaling in code busters.

Uma said an introductory programming course as a freshman, called Applied Algorithmic Design with Dr. Nick Morgan,
sparked an interest in computer programming. It combined elements of math, physics and biology; she hopes to pursue the field in college, potentially in research.

In the fall, Uma will attend Carnegie Mellon University.

She also cited a junior-year social studies course, Contemporary World Studies with Cathy Schager, as influential in helping her better understand global issues, along with English and statistics teachers who supported her academic development.

"We looked at issues, researched them and discussed them,” Uma said. "When you’re caught up with academics you can’t always see what’s going on in the world. But Ms. Schager was very helpful, and made sure we did."

Other inspiring teachers included Noreen McGoldrick, an English instructor who helped Uma become a better writer and reader, and Philip Abraham, whose AP Statistics Class was
"interesting, fun, and applicable to lots of different fields."

Like Isabel, Uma did not set out to achieve a top GPA. "I just wanted to do well for myself," she said, adding that her selection as salutatorian was "a happy surprise."

She will do her senior internship at Citizen Invention, a Westport-based science education program.