Three Blue Valley graduates named U.S. Presidential Scholars semifinalists

Three exceptional Blue Valley graduates — Blue Valley North’s Matthew Chen and Blue Valley Southwest’s Zayna Ahmed and Dane Weninger — have earned notable recognition as semifinalists in the 2026 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.

Chen, Ahmed and Weninger are among six Kansas students named semifinalists in the U.S. Department of Education’s prestigious national recognition program. Blue Valley Schools is the only district in Kansas with multiple semifinalists.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program recognizes exemplary high school seniors for their academic success, artistic excellence, leadership and demonstrated commitment to high ideals.

The program, established in 1964, honors the most distinguished high school students nationwide. Each year, up to 161 students are named Presidential Scholars, representing one of the highest honors for high school students. Chen, Ahmed and Weninger will now be eligible to be named U.S. Presidential Scholars.

This recognition underscores the hard work, dedication and talent within the school district as Blue Valley students continue to excel and make their mark on a national stage as true champions of learning.

Earlier this year, 30 Blue Valley seniors were nominated for this highly competitive program, with Chen, Ahmed and Weninger advancing as semifinalists*:

Blue Valley High: Rohan Enjeti, Samuel Li, Ainesh Tallapragada, Grace Wilson, Melody Xue

Blue Valley North: Clara Chen, Matthew Chen*, Cale Fulcher, Abhinav Kambhampati, Nicholas Lipscomb, Hyein Song

Blue Valley Northwest: Yara Aljubran, Scarlett Chu, Andrew Golden, William Golden, Mingcheng Guo, Rowan Juhl, Jethro Tang

Blue Valley Southwest: Zayna Ahmed*, Daniel Chang, Dane Weninger*

Blue Valley West: Neil Agarwal, Ananya Argarwal, Aarya Anjankar, Eric Du, Ris Jaiswal, Massa Taha, Ella Wallace, Peyton Wallace, Grace Wang