Students at three high schools in the Gilroy Unified School District earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs. These programs celebrate students' hard work in high school and showcase their strong academic performance. The academic honors for rural area, Black, Indigenous, and/or Latino students are an opportunity for students to share their strong academic achievements with colleges and scholarship programs that are seeking to recruit diverse talent.

In total, 46 GUSD students were recognized by the College Board, including nine students from the Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy (GECA), 32 students from Christopher High School, and five students from Gilroy High School.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate our students and recognize them for the great work they’ve been doing. We’re proud of their strong academic performance in the classroom and on College Board assessments like the PSAT/NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, and AP® exams,” said Dr. Anisha Munshi, Superintendent of the Gilroy Unified School District. “There’s so much that makes our students unique, and receiving this honor reinforces this as an asset for their future.”

The criter for eligible students include:

• GPA of 3.5 or higher.
• PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 assessment scores that are within the top 10% of assessment takers in each state for each award program or earned a score of 3 or higher on 2 or more AP Exams in 9th and 10th grade.
• Attend school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic American/Latino, or Indigenous/Native.

Eligible students are invited to apply on BigFuture during their sophomore or junior year and are awarded at the start of the next school year in time to share their achievements in high school as they plan for the future. At the same time, colleges and organizations using College Board’s Student Search Service™ can connect directly with awardees during the recruitment process.

“It’s becoming increasingly hard for students to be ‘seen’ during the college recruitment process. We’re exceptionally proud of the National Recognition Programs for celebrating students who are at times overlooked but have shown their outstanding academic abilities,” said Tarlin Ray, senior vice president of BigFuture® at College Board. “This is a benefit not only for students but also for colleges and universities committed to recruiting diverse and talented students.” 

Six students from the Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy (GECA) received National Hispanic Recognition Awards:

GECA students were also recognized for other College Board honors. Camila Fung received the National Indigenous Award.  Mariam Ndao received the National African American Recognition Award and Marla Perrier received the National Rural and Small Town Award.

25 Christopher High School students received National Rural and Small Town Recognition Awards:

• Christopher High School (CHS) Seniors: Aaliyah Hodges, Aliisa Rosti, Anietie Edok, Ashley Bembry, and Jessa Forman, received National African American Recognition Awards.
• CHS Seniors Aubrey Archuleta, Caitlynn Holt, David Garcia, Gabriel Heredia, Jacob Ogden, Jennifer Muro, Julian Rodriguez, Kennedy Agnitsch, Lucas Salles, Mia Alvarez, and Sydney Garcia, received National Hispanic Recognition Awards.
• CHS Seniors Aaliyah Hodges, Gabriel Heredia, Kristiana Aczon and Ryan Moreno received the National Indigenous Award.

Three students from Gilroy High School (GHS) received National Hispanic Recognition Awards:  Joseph Lepe, Madison Krejdovsky and Trinity Lucero.  Two GHS seniors, Ifeoluwa Tayo and Kristen Eje, received National African American Recognition Awards.

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About the Gilroy Unified School District

The Gilroy Unified School District serves almost 11,000 students in 14 schools, including two comprehensive high schools, one early college academy, one continuation high school, three middle schools and seven elementary schools.  GUSD also offers a preschool program at three locations throughout the District and Adult Education program.  With over 1,100 employees, Gilroy Unified School District is the largest employer in the city.