The Montgomery County Public Schools Educational Foundation awarded nearly $2.5 million in scholarships and awards to students across Montgomery County during its annual Evening of Excellence celebration held May 20.
The event honored nearly 260 recipients representing 17 scholarship and award programs, including 226 students selected as 2026 Ruth and Norman Rales-Patricia Baier O’Neill Scholarship recipients. Each Rales-O’Neill Scholar will receive $10,000 to support their postsecondary education plans.
The prestigious scholarship is awarded to high-achieving MCPS graduating seniors with financial need who have also demonstrated leadership and a commitment to community service throughout high school. This year’s recipients represent 25 MCPS high schools.
“Each of these scholarships represents far more than financial support, it is a powerful affirmation of the belief we place in our students and their futures,” said Grace Rivera-Oven. “We are profoundly grateful to the Ruth and Norman Rales-Patricia Baier O’Neill Scholarship Program and to every donor who continues to invest in the promise, potential, and success of our students.”
MCPS Superintendent Thomas W. Taylor praised the students for their perseverance and accomplishments.
“Every single one of these students has shown resilience, dedication and leadership during their time in MCPS,” Taylor said. “This celebration isn’t just about financial support; it’s about validating their hard work and fueling their highest aspirations.”
Joshua Rales, President and Trustee of the Norman and Ruth Rales Foundation, said the scholarship program continues the values his parents instilled in the community where they grew up. “We are proud to recognize the hard work and achievements of these exceptional young people,” Rales said. “We hope this scholarship will play a small role in inspiring and supporting these students as they pursue their goals and aspirations in the next chapter of their academic journey.”
James O’Neill also reflected on the scholarship’s connection to the legacy of Patricia Baier O’Neill. “Pat would be so humbled at being included with the Rales family in the naming of this scholarship and so proud of our MCPS student recipients whose commitment to education, community and public service reflects the very values Pat stood for,” he said.
In addition to the Rales-O’Neill Scholarships, MCPSEF recognized students through a variety of scholarship and award programs honoring educators, community leaders, and advocates for student success. Those included the Begelman Scholarship, Cesar Pie Cyber Defender Scholarship, Dr. Frieda K. Lacey Scholarship, Hazel M. Bratt Language Scholarship, Paul Vance Scholarship, League of Educators for Asian American Progress Scholarship and several others.
Below is the full list of 2026 MCPS Educational Foundation scholarship recipients:
Albert Einstein High School: Jayden Hernandez, Amy Hernandez Diaz, Etian Huang, Mia Melton, Noa Mergi, Hannah Meshesha, Diego Ochoa Diaz, Jasmine Reyes, Clare Scanlon, Isabella Solorzano-Moncada, Andrew St. Clair, Rebekah Wright.
Bethesda Chevy Chase High School: Nathan Asmellash, Madeline Cortez, George Grigolia, Raquel Lovinger, Eleham Salo, Nathaniel Tessema, Sarah Tollison, Husna Zakaria.
Clarksburg High School: Dana Atassi, Amy Meksi, Shyam Modi, Neluki Sarathchandra, Selina Zheng.
Colonel Zadok Magruder High School: Theodore Park.
Damascus High School: Elsie Ansah, Caleb Fennel, Rodrigo Fleitas-Dick, Carlos Flores Gonzalez, John Gist, Shaina Kakar, Jamal Nai, Raahil Shah, Yaoyao Zheng.
Gaithersburg High School: Kevin Alvarenga Perez, Daphne Carrillo, Daverette Jimenez Rodriguez, Sifan Kabeta, Edita Kentale.
James Hubert Blake High School: Suad Abdella, Ngoc Nguyen, Sofia Ormol, Elijah-Jane Tchuinte, Kimberley Trang.
John F. Kennedy High School: Kyrill Foustoukos, Orestes Foustoukos, Blanca Ramirez, Johana Villarreal Orellana.
Montgomery Blair High School: Safwan Ahmed, Camila Chi, Mooti Chimdi, Hermella Habtom, Yafet Haile, Tokyo Hopkins, Ziyad Hossain, Ethan Hua, Santiago Jimenez, Debbie Kebede, Hyeyeon Lim, Aiden Liu, Susana Menjivar, Emily Morales Angel, Rakshay Narayanan, Jeremiah Park, Daniela Renderos, Zuri Smith, Skyler Xue, William Zhang.
Northwest High School: Muhammad Benjelloun, Eileen Dai, Leo Divitt, Ayden Kim, Titus Lee, Aditya Paravangat, Vidhi Patel, Siddharth Prakash.
Northwood High School: Rediet Denbu, Daniel Gray, Melany Portillo Ventura, Samuel Tyler-Hall.
Paint Branch High School: Hanny Eskender, Teresa Hoang, Jessica Nguyen, Macoura Niambele, Michael Opare, Hilina Solomon, Samantha Tewodros, Justin Tran, Kebron Yeshitlla.
Poolesville High School: Belinda Adu, Clara Becker, Nicholas Cabrera, Niyanth Chandrasekaran, Chloe Chang, Melody Chen, Emmanuel Getahun, Scarlett Hunter, Yiren Jing, Lydia Kim, Bethel Muzu, Lynn Njakou-Kuindja, Kyro Owusu, Andrew Park, Maren Petersen, Maia Petrov, Brandon Purba, Azimullah Rifai, Aubrey Savino, Caleb Su, Nina Sun, Ella Wei.
Quince Orchard High School: Malcolm Alexander, Andrew Chee, Xinyuan Chen, Ashley Kim, Adam Magerkurth, Atalia Stephens, Jassayda Teran, Yuzhe Wang, Caleb Yang.
Richard Montgomery High School: Shreel Belbase, Grace Cao, Miriam D’albora, William Hunt, BinHui Jiang, Gavin Lewis, Matthew Li, Ashley Lin, Emily Liu, Jing Yi Yang, Nushrat Zaima.
Rockville High School: Allison Araoz, Nathalie Arias, Bryan Briones, Amelia Chiasson, Helen Eseme, Liya Getachew, Norzin Lama, Jayda Racedo, Zia Sanchez-Elosh, Maya Shamloo, Hanna Sims.
Seneca Valley High School: Gwen Alamsjah, Ethan Arnez, Zelda Ejindu, Zyad Phoenix Hybl, Immama Khan, Marguele Kuitchoua, Chloe Luu, Ricardo Palacios-Hernandez, Sofia Sanchez-Bonilla, Alejandra Sanchez-Flores, Laya Vennapusa, Wenna Zheng.
Sherwood High School: James Andrews, Isiah Bent, Shenal Ediriweera, Basil Foundas, Mieraf Haile, Christine Magin, Maria Salazar.
Springbrook High School: Sara Berhane, Brayan Diaz Vasquez, Kertina Fekadu, Joseph John, Sameeha Kassie, Patrick Kepseu, Luc Kepseu Sumo, Sarah Mariona, Jonah Mays, Kristine Onwuvuariri, Amie Singhateh, Johnathan Tchamdja, Heyawit Yemeru.
Thomas S. Wootton High School: Brandon Chen, Issac Chen, Nicholas Chung, Gimoon Kang, Chloe Kim, Kwanhee Lee, Satoshi Toya, Xinting Wang, Albert Xing, Jack Yan, Stephanie Yang, Gaeun Yeo.
Walt Whitman High School: Endric Lotsch, Rayhan Roswendi, Angela Wang.
Walter Johnson High School: Dylan Cain, Jhonatan Diaz, Samuel Faucette, Yibela Gebretsadik, Ryan Kebritsaz Tavakoli, Anna Kim, Janice Kim, Jasmine Riad, Tyler Skibo, Jonathan Tam, Haoran Wang.
Watkins Mill High School: Tracy Espinoza, Hillary Juarez, Junee Kim, Heaven Mehari, Fatin Miah, Miriam Mojica Alvarenga, Aayush Nepal, Vivian Urbina.
Wheaton High School: Bolutife Adefisan, Albray Alesso, Sahil Araf, Allison Argueta, Mikias Befekaduu, Setyana Bika, Marc Raphael Boco, Lewi Bonger, Jose Castro Guevara, Maraki Fekade, Kidus Fisseha, Allisson Jimenez Tobar, Adrian Le, Zhuoheng Li, Julia Melo Cavalcante, Raven Miralles, Rediet Moges, Tomás Ostroff, Jamie Palacios Mendez, Vivi Phan, Benjamin Ploeger, Gili Reeves, Naomi Tewelde, Nimansa Uduwana.
Winston Churchill High School: Yuchen Cai, Julio Cupe, Emily Han, Colette Kendrick, Grant Kim, Yingchen Liu, Lyk Hang Lui, Cynthia Nasser, Jasmine Noone, Selena Ritschel, Joyce Tian, Noah Zhang.
