Meet the Harvard-bound black belt from Michigan named U.S. Presidential Scholar
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Black belt.
And now, a recipient of one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students.
Grand Blanc senior Shriya Yarlagadda is one of 161 high school students in the country to receive the honor of U.S. Presidential Scholar, which recognizes the country’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors.
“That was an amazing honor,” Yarlagadda said. “I was so excited because I did not expect to be receiving a nomination at all.”
The invite-only program takes students with the best test scores and exceptional talent in visual, creative and performing arts to honor students each year.
Five Michigan high school seniors selected as 2021 Presidential Scholars
By Jack Nissen
(Photo via U.S. Presidential Scholars Foundation )
Five students from Michigan schools were named 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars this year.
A total of 161 high school seniors made the list, which features honors celebrating academia, arts, and technical education.
Three of the seniors attend Metro Detroit schools while two others came from other parts of the state. The 2021 Presidential Scholars represent extraordinary achievements for our extraordinary times, said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. Their examples make me proud and hopeful about the future. Honoring them can remind us all of the great potential in each new generation and renew our commitment to helping them achieve their dreams.
At four years old, Saaim Khan was diagnosed with moderate sensorineural hearing loss.
Sensorineural hearing loss is permanent and caused by damage to the inner ear or the nerve from the ear to the brain.
Khan and his family never knew what happened to cause his hearing loss. Which is why now, as a senior at Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School in Bloomfield Hills, it s important to him to research hearing loss and gene expression in diseases.
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âIt took lots of searching and over 650 emails to local professors before I finally landed a research position. Thatâs when I realized, for the vast majority of students and the general public, getting involved with research on the causes they care about is very challenging,â said Khan.