GGUSD Celebrates its Class of 2021 Valedictorians

• Wednesday, June 2, 2021

The Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education celebrated the district’s eleven Class of 2021 high school valedictorians during its Board of Education meeting on June 1 with a video spotlight of each of the accomplished scholars. Four of the 11 valedictorians will attend ivy league universities including, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale.

“We are very proud of our 2021 valedictorians, an impressive group of students who are well-equipped for lifelong success,” said Board of Education President Lan Nguyen. “These scholars have taken full advantage of the district’s rigorous academic programs and enriching extracurricular opportunities and we are excited about what they will accomplish as the next generation of leaders.”     

Bolsa Grande High School co-valedictorian Pauline Vuong will attend UCLA to major in Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics with plans to pursue a career in the medical field and help the underserved on humanitarian missions. As president of Bolsa’s Math Club, Pauline helped organize a virtual program to provide free math tutoring to more than 150 students.

Bolsa Grande High School co-valedictorian Thao Do will attend MIT in the fall to major in Mechanical Engineering. In high school, she enjoyed participating in Project Vietnam, a service-based medical club aimed at improving the lives of the Vietnamese community.

Garden Grove High School valedictorian Amy Trinh will attend UC Irvine in the fall where she will major in Civil Engineering with the goal of becoming a professional engineer before the age of 26. Among her accomplishments, Amy was named an AP Scholar
with Distinction, earned the UNA-USA Ambassador Community Service Award, and helped people get vaccinated as a team member of VaccinateCA.

Hare High School valedictorian Jim Juarez plans to attend Santa Ana College in the fall to pursue a career as a broker and an auto mechanic. He’s proud that he turned his grades around to make Honor Roll and Principal’s Honor Roll.

La Quinta High School co-valedictorian Tommy Nguyen will major in Computer Science at UCLA in the fall with the goal of becoming a software engineer. His accomplishments include serving as co-founder of the school’s Robotics Club and receiving the National Merit Commended Scholar award.

La Quinta High School co-valedictorian Giang Pham will attend UCLA in the Fall to major in Computer Science. He plans to pursue a career as a software engineer and hopes to someday start his own business.

Los Amigos High School co-valedictorian Sebastian Lozano will major in Mathematics at Harvard University in the fall with the goal of becoming a mathematics professor and conducting his own research.  A first-generation college student, he has numerous academic accomplishments including being a Simon, USC Bovard, and Gates Scholar as well as being named an AP Scholar with Distinction.

Los Amigos High School co-valedictorian Kenny Dao will attend Stanford University in the fall to major in Economics with the goal of being a Hedge Fund Manager and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. His accomplishments include attaining academic awards such as National AP Scholar and AP Scholar with Distinction as well as being named a Simon, QuestBridge and Gates scholar.

Pacifica High School valedictorian Rushika Weerackoon will attend UCI in the fall to major in Neurobiology with the goal of becoming a behavioral neuroscientist or working in the CIA Directorate of Operations. She has many accomplishments including being named a UCI Regents Scholar and Campus-wide Honors Collegium Student, earning National AP Scholar and winning Empire League State Championship with the girls’ soccer team.

Rancho Alamitos High School valedictorian Nina Nguyen will attend Stanford University in the fall with a major in Human Biology to pursue her career goal of becoming an Obstetrician-Gynecologist. Nina was proud to serve as co-captain of the tennis team for two years, receive admission to UCLA and UCI and early admission to UC Berkeley, USC, and Stanford, and completing 14 AP classes while participating in Model United Nations.

Santiago High School valedictorian William Hin will attend Yale University in the fall to major in Political Science with the goal of pursuing a career as an attorney. William’s accomplishments include AP Scholar with Distinction, various distinctions due to his leadership with the Key Club, and serving as the student representative on the Board of Education. 

To watch the valedictorian spotlight video, visit: https://youtu.be/EorOT4vZ0WY


To read student profiles of our valedictorians and salutatorians, visit: https://ggusd.us/students/honor/2020-2021-valedictorians-and-salutatorians

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