At Senior Awards Night on May 21, 488 seniors received awards, including a total of around $43,000 in scholarships, Principal and Chief Innovator of Milpitas High School and New Campus Programs Greg Wohlman said. Seven seniors received the California Scholarship Federation award, seven seniors received the National Honor Society award, and nine seniors were National Merit Finalists, according to the program distributed during Senior Awards Night.
Additionally, the Maroon Cord, given out to students who have accumulated over 150 community service hours, was awarded to 148 seniors and 416 seniors received the Golden State Seal. The Magna Cum Laude and the Summa Cum Laude honors were awarded to 165 and 177 seniors, respectively.
Ashton Chen was named as the valedictorian of the class of 2025. Chen also received the Golden State Seal, the State Seal of Biliteracy, the President’s Education Award, the National Honor Society Award, and the Maroon Cord, as well as the Magna and Summa Cum Laude, Chen said.
“I’m incredibly fortunate that throughout my time at MHS, along with the amount of work that I put in, I was very, very lucky in my educators,” Chen said. “I was able to have a schedule and a support system because of the classes that I took that allowed me to really push myself to my limits as well as bring up my full potential.”
Chen is going to the University of Southern California to major in business administration with an emphasis in pre-law, he said. He was also invited to their Progressive Degree Program, which allows him to graduate in four years with his MBA and his masters, although he still has to apply, Chen said.
“I hope to see myself being either an executive, any leader in the business field, like being an ethical leader, or pursuing a law degree, getting my JD and then trying to clerk before hopefully going up the court system to the Supreme Court,” Chen said. “I’m incredibly fortunate that the University of Southern California gives me access to a lot of opportunities that people don’t normally have.”
Senior Aditi Gupta received the Summa Cum Laude Cord, the President’s Education Award, the Biliteracy Seal for Spanish and Hindi, National Merit Finalist, and the Thespian Vice President honors, Gupta said. She didn’t apply to any scholarships, Gupta added.
“I’m obviously really happy that I got the awards, but I feel like the things I put the most time into weren’t the ones that I got the awards for,” Gupta said. “Theater I put a lot of time into, but then Biliteracy (Seal) and the National Merit, I don’t really think I did that much to get them. I just feel like there are other accomplishments of mine throughout high school that I was more proud of than the ones that got recognized. But obviously I’m super grateful to be recognized for them.”
Gupta is going to the University of California, Berkeley and majoring in Environmental Economics and Policy, she said. While Gupta is looking forward to college, she regrets not meeting new people as much, she said.
“I feel like the favorite thing of mine about doing all these different activities is you get to meet so many different types of people, like to use SciOly (Science Olympiad) versus theater as an example,” Gupta said. “I think just to be more well rounded and to not burn yourself out immediately—it’s super important to expand into different circles and meet a lot of different people.”
Senior Thi Le received the Summa Cum Laude Cord, the Maroon Cord, the Thespian Award, and the PTSA Scholarship, Le said.
“I applied through the College and Career Center (for the PTSA scholarship),” Le said. “They have a website with all scholarships open, like MUSD and health scholarships. I am going to use it to pay for my student contribution, because colleges have another contribution, so put it towards that (…) At my school; it’s 5k.”
Le is going to Stanford University intending to major in bioengineering, she said.
“I’m also interested in research, and maybe I’ll switch to biology or chemistry,” Le said. “I am planning to pursue a graduate degree, whether that’s like a PhD or MD, I don’t know yet.”
Extracurricular activities helped her self-esteem in high school, Le said. She wishes she branched out more or was more brave to do things like competitive events, but she’s also happy with the choices she’s made, she said.
“I feel like I came in as a freshman very scared and anxious about myself,” Le said. “Taking classes that I enjoyed, doing the extracurriculars, and starting initiatives that I loved as well, really brought my confidence. And I feel like now I feel a lot more confident, and I feel a lot more excited to pursue my interest in the future. So I think to anyone who’s unsure of what they want to do, I was there too. Everyone’s there, and it will get better.”
Chen’s general advice to anyone applying to college is for them to know that their college does not define who they are, Chen said.
“Labels are just labels, and what’s most important is that regardless where you go, you stay determined to achieve your goals and never quit,” Chen said. “You can take breaks and take pauses, but never quit. That’s what’s most important.”