By MICHELLE IRWIN

What an incredible year it has been! As we near the end of our 2020-2021 school year, I would like to honor several of our seniors who have demonstrated excellence in academics and/or athletics as they complete their K-12 educational experience. Congratulations to the following Seniors of Class of 2021.

There are two Patriot of the Year! Students who receive this award have demonstrated a high degree of achievement in several areas during their entire time at PHHS. Areas of accomplishment are academics, citizenship, extracurricular organizations memberships, athletics, community service, and outside employment. Our Patriots of the Year are Alyson Arkin and Zachary Lenett.

The Maria Theodore Memorial scholarship is given to students who have overcome obstacles in their life or school career and are focused on completing a post secondary education. This year we have chosen Ainslie Mellinger.

Ainslie has been a part of the Engineering and Design Academy, where she excelled in both academics and citizenship. She is an outgoing, confident, and tenacious leader who has been on the honor roll for all eight semesters she has attended Patrick Henry. She has demonstrated her leadership skills as an avid participant in Model United Nations for the past five years, competing at the local and regional levels and winning awards for her speaking and research skills. She has excelled in Architectural Design and Civil and Structural Engineering.

The Donald W. Giddings Leadership Award is given to one senior who is chosen for his or her outstanding leadership qualities and dedication to the school and our community. David Rogers has participated in Academic League, the Community Service Club, and the Environmental Studies Club and has even been an officer in the Aquaponics Club.

In these ways, David has shown himself to be an involved member of the Patrick Henry Community. He is often willing to put others before himself, and sincerely works to help all of his peers feel included in school and valued in our community. He truly gets along well with and is liked by everyone he knows, including his peers, teachers, and administrators. This student is a dedicated and compassionate student.

The top 10 students of our senior class are awarded with the President’s Academic Excellence Award. This year we had 11 students who were ranked 1-10 of their graduating class: Dillon Broderick, Cindy Vo, Paul Meram, Colin McDonald, Katherine McGraw, Nicholas Petrone, Zachary Royal, Andrew Gordon, Benjamin Gonzalez-Maldonado, Shayan Alavi, Sean Fritz and Eric Ho.

This year’s Valedictorian is Dillon Broderick. Dillon has earned a 4.88 GPA and plans on attending UCLA in the Fall. He plans to major in Computer Science.

This year’s Salutatorian is Cindy Vo. Cindy has earned a 4.81 GPA and will attend UCLA in the fall. She plans to major in Biochemistry.

Our senior Student-Athletes of the Year are Abby Hayes and Zach Stull.

This year, our sports had a strong season despite the limited season. Here is a list of our sports and their accomplishments:

• Softball are league champions
• Baseball are league champions
• Women’s Water Polo are league champions
• Badminton are CIF champions
• Men’s Lacrosse are CIF champions

We are looking forward to honoring all our seniors at Petco Park on Sunday, June 13 as we congratulate them on their completion of their K-12 education. We will be honoring 604 graduates this year. Congratulations Class of 2021!

Please remember to visit the Patrick Henry website for up to date information about our school and district at patrickhenryhs.net.

On behalf of the Patrick Henry High School faculty, we want to thank you for being our partner in education so we can ensure all students graduate with integrity, purpose, and options.

— Michelle Irwin is principal of Patrick Henry High School.