When Maria Selene Castillo was honored at the Riverside County Office of Education’s Student Academic Awards in 2019 as one of the top graduating students in Riverside County, the recognition activated a sense of pride and belonging in the Desert Mirage High School student when she confidently stepped on campus as a college freshman at the University of Southern California that fall.
“The award reminded me that I was not only prepared academically, but that I carried the support and strength of my community with me. That recognition helped me step into a new environment, knowing I had earned my place there,” Castillo said in 2026. After graduating from college, she returned to the Coachella Valley Unified School District and now serves as the Public Information Officer.
A total of 166 outstanding students, like Maria Selene Castillo from the class of 2026, were honored at the 20th Annual Riverside County Student Academic Awards on Tuesday, April 21, for their extraordinary accomplishments during their thirteen years as students in Riverside County’s public schools. More than 32,000 seniors will graduate from Riverside County high schools in the class of 2026, and these students represent the top of the class.
“These students are living proof of the Riverside County Office of Education pledge that ensures our graduates are prepared for college, the workforce, and civic responsibility,” said Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Edwin Gomez. “These top scholars and leaders are a shining example of why the future is bright for our region, state, and nation.”
More than 650 parents, principals, trustees, and superintendents gathered to celebrate the graduating students' academic achievements. Based on their enrollment in grades 9-12, each high school was asked to select between one and three top students. Each school district established its own selection criteria, which included consideration of student grade-point averages, class rankings, extracurricular activities, community service, and other factors.
Beyond honoring the top graduating seniors from each high school in the county, one student from 18 different districts was recognized as a 2026 Riverside County Exceptional Graduate Award recipient. Each individual received a $1,000 scholarship, which will be sent to the post-secondary educational institution they plan to attend after high school.
2026 Riverside County Exceptional Graduate Award and Scholarship Recipients
· Darian Noghani, Hillcrest High School, Alvord USD
· Jasmine Verduzco, New Horizon High School, Banning USD
· Christopher Valero, Beaumont Middle College High School, Beaumont USD
· Larry Pozar Basilio, West Shores High School, Coachella Valley USD
· Hannah Gbondo, Santiago High School, Corona-Norco USD
· Rushil Ladhawala, Palm Desert High School, Desert Sands USD
· Raef Johnson, Hemet High School, Hemet USD
· Denise Muñoz, Jurupa Valley High School, Jurupa USD
· Cassandra Caluag, Temescal Canyon High School, Lake Elsinore USD
· Yaniah Gamboa, Moreno Valley High School, Moreno Valley USD
· Christina Fayad, Murrieta Mesa High School, Murrieta Valley USD
· Joel Ruiz, Desert Hot Springs High School, Palm Springs USD
· Ariel Moreno, Palo Verde High School, Palo Verde USD
· Daisy Casas Chavez, Perris High School, Perris Union HSD
· Emanuel Garcia, Ramona High School, Riverside USD
· Turner Daudert, San Jacinto Leadership Academy, San Jacinto USD
· Lila Deinhammer, Temecula Valley High School, Temecula Valley USD
· Bayann Jadallah, Citrus Hill High School, Val Verde USD
Full List of Student Academic Award Honorees from the Class of 2026 in Riverside County Public High Schools
ALVORD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Arzo Jahani, Alvord High School
Savina La Grass, Hillcrest High School
Darian Noghani, Hillcrest High School
Antonio Tafolla Boyzo, Mission View High School
Leslie Hernandez, Norte Vista High School
Aimme Villegas, Norte Vista High School
BANNING UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Mary Britto, Banning High School
Luke Yang, Banning High School
Paloma Martinez, Banning Independent Study School
Jasmine Verduzco, New Horizon High School
BEAUMONT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Liliana Perez, 21st Century Learning Institute
Prandon Arrogante, Beaumont High School
Maya Barber, Beaumont High School
Allison Chase, Beaumont High School
Christopher Valero, Beaumont Middle College High School
Dylan Smith, Glen View High School
COACHELLA VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Ariadna Gonzalez Arias, Coachella Valley High School
Jovanny Lopez-Ramirez, Coachella Valley High School
Matthew Sanchez, Coachella Valley High School
Erik Huerta, Desert Mirage High School
Kenia Reynoso-Ibarra, Desert Mirage High School
Larry Pozar Basilio, West Shores High School
CORONA-NORCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Nimmer Kaur, Centennial High School
Clara Nguyen, Centennial High School
Aria Panjabi, Centennial High School
Thomas Bandy, Corona High School
Sarah Farahmand, Corona High School
Lara Randhawa, Corona High School
Nichole Sun, Eastvale STEM Academy
Dheeksha Reddy Parkuru, Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Jason Sun, Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Ruiqi Zhang, Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Peyton Zimmerman, John F. Kennedy Middle College High School
Joseph Barrios, Lee V. Pollard High School
Maci Heath, Norco High School
Lauren Woodcock, Norco High School
Ellie Byun, Santiago High School
Hannah Gbondo, Santiago High School
Shravya Reddivari, Santiago High School
DESERT SANDS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Jolina Munoz, Amistad High School
Lorena Magaña, Indio High School
Flor Perez-Mendoza, Indio High School
Leslie Grimaldo, La Quinta High School
Gabriella Reyes, La Quinta High School
Camila Tafoya, La Quinta High School
Nadia Frutkin, Palm Desert High School
Rushil Ladhawala, Palm Desert High School
Ariel Sanford, Palm Desert High School
Emma Aguilar, Shadow Hills High School
Lorenzo Uriarte, Shadow Hills High School
HEMET UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Heidi Nguyen, Academy of Innovation
Daisy Campa, Alessandro High School
Skyy Vollan, Hamilton High School
Raef Johnson, Hemet High School
Cailyn Lopez, Hemet High School
Natalie Lovett-Jensen, Hemet High School
Ellie Ballard, Tahquitz High School
Johnson Banh, Tahquitz High School
Lilly Hanley, West Valley High School
Lyndon Mendoza, West Valley High School
Tenzing Carvalho, Western Center Academy
JURUPA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Denisse Muñoz, Jurupa Valley High School
Maya Isabel Alba-Velazquez, Jurupa Valley High School
Midyely Mora Rodriguez, Nueva Vista High School
Kimberly Le, Patriot High School
Nels Lyman, Patriot High School
Viviana Marroquin, Patriot High School
Vivian Aceves-Cervantez, Rubidoux High School
Jaelyne Romero, Rubidoux High School
LAKE ELSINORE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Kimberly Garcia, Elsinore High School
Autumn Williams, Elsinore High School
Jimena Obregon Fuentes, Keith McCarthy Academy
Darius Fields, Lakeside High School
Giselle Zapot, Lakeside High School
Alyssa Day, Ortega High School
Cassandra Caluag, Temescal Canyon High School
Anthony Carmona, Temescal Canyon High School
Lucas Pearce, Temescal Canyon High School
MORENO VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Pricilla Cervantes, Bayside Community Day School
Celeste De Lucia, Canyon Springs High School
Nina Echevarria, Canyon Springs High School
Diego Ruiz, Canyon Springs High School
Leslie Valdapenas-Velis, March Mountain High School
Yaniah Gamboa, Moreno Valley High School
Greysi Gonzalez, Moreno Valley High School
Janessa Paz, Moreno Valley High School
Sarai Palomino, Moreno Valley Online Academy
Shawn Jones, Valley View High School
Shayla Luong, Valley View High School
David Zaragoza-Quezada, Valley View High School
Jayden Miguel Najera, Vista del Lago High School
Sophia Torres, Vista del Lago High School
MURRIETA VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Christina Fayad, Murrieta Mesa High School
Abigail Hughes, Murrieta Mesa High School
Orley Weaver, Murrieta Mesa High School
Noah Agrelius, Murrieta Valley High School
Isabella Heredia, Murrieta Valley High School
Ellias Nozawa, Murrieta Valley High School
Ava Arreola, Vista Murrieta High School
Christopher Lee, Vista Murrieta High School
Justin Potter, Vista Murrieta High School
PALM SPRINGS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Sofia Hernandez, Cathedral City High School
Yuridia Jimenez, Cathedral City High School
Alonso Castaneda, Desert Hot Springs High School
Joel Ruiz, Desert Hot Springs High School
Desman Garcia, Mt. San Jacinto High School
Phoebe Goehring, Palm Springs High School
Zoe Gray, Palm Springs High School
Malachi Davis, Rancho Mirage High School
Carlos Garcia, Rancho Mirage High School
PALO VERDE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Ariel Moreno, Palo Verde High School
PERRIS UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
Rose Chavez, California Military Institute
Ernesto Mejia Jr., California Military Institute
Micah Alviola, Heritage High School
Aileen Osio, Heritage High School
Jun Shuo Yang, Heritage High School
Arienna Ama, Liberty High School
Jayden Torres, Liberty High School
Ceren Yilmaz, Liberty High School
Dang Khoa Dao, Paloma Valley High School
Miley Lundstrom, Paloma Valley High School
Kaliah Salazar Cataluna, Paloma Valley High School
Daisy Casas Chavez, Perris High School
Salvador Ramirez, Perris High School
RIVERSIDE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Basem Benyamin, Arlington High School
Helen Yasey, Arlington High School
Caitlyn Cohen, John W. North High School
David Santiago, John W. North High School
Ubaid Awan, Martin Luther King High School
Marc Gonzalez, Martin Luther King High School
Kaden Ren, Martin Luther King High School
Emanuel Garcia, Ramona High School
Elsa Mendoza, Ramona High School
Ashley Rodriguez Maldonado, Ramona High School
Anna Beran, Riverside Polytechnic High School
Caleb Vera, Riverside Polytechnic High School
Finn Vierra-Redden, Riverside Polytechnic High School
Zoe Martinez, Riverside STEM Academy
Juan Rivera, Riverside Virtual School
SAN JACINTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Karen Alvarenga Quiroz, Mountain Heights Academy
Isabelle Millan, Mountain View High School
Erik Diaz, San Jacinto High School
Raven Volrie, San Jacinto High School
Turner Daudert, San Jacinto Leadership Academy
Kayla Nealey Bojorquez, San Jacinto Middle College High School
TEMECULA VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Christopher Persechini, Chaparral High School
Justin Tran, Chaparral High School
Tony Yang, Chaparral High School
Divyamsu Nallamothu, Great Oak High School
Chloe Tan, Great Oak High School
Charles Zhang, Great Oak High School
Gena Amanonce, Rancho Vista High School
Lucie Hoang, Susan Nelson High School
Lila Deinhammer, Temecula Valley High School
Jordan Marlbrough, Temecula Valley High School
Rocco Sheridan, Temecula Valley High School
VAL VERDE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Dalia Benitez, Citrus Hill High School
Bayann Jadallah, Citrus Hill High School
Armando Alfaro, Orange Vista High School
Dayanara Basurto, Orange Vista High School
Andrew Sanchez, Orange Vista High School
Adam Padua, Rancho Verde High School
Johnathan Rodgers, Rancho Verde High School
Vianca Villena, Rancho Verde High School
Jasmine Noriega, Val Verde Academy
Hayden Hanson, Val Verde High School