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Excellence In Education Awards 2026!

Excellence In Education Crowd with Keevin O'Niell Speaking

Excellence in Education recognizes the top-achieving high school seniors from Kalamazoo County’s public and non-public high schools. This year, 45 seniors were selected for the honor, which comes with a $1,500 scholarship.

The Excellence in Education program also awarded ten Educator Incentive Grants. The grants provide funding for teachers and administrators in Kalamazoo County schools to explore new ideas to enhance teaching styles, motivate, and inspire their students.

“The Kalamazoo area has a long history of educational excellence and innovation, so it is fitting that we continue the tradition of honoring those practices through the Excellence in Education program,” said committee chair Keevin O’Neill, superintendent of Vicksburg Community Schools.

A collaborative effort among all Kalamazoo County public and non-public schools, local foundations, educational groups and the business community, Excellence in Education was designed in 1986 to focus community attention on the academic and professional excellence of graduating high school seniors and educators within Kalamazoo area schools. The Excellence in Education program is supported by a permanent endowment established at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. Funding for the endowment was raised through the leadership of the Monroe-Brown Foundation, with strong support from local foundations, businesses, organizations, and individuals.

For more information, please visit the Excellence in Education webpage. On the following pages, you’ll find a list of student scholars and their significant educators, as well as the Educator Incentive Grant winners.

CLIMAX-SCOTTS HIGH SCHOOL

Ryan Pejakovich

Holly Talbert

COMSTOCK HIGH SCHOOL

Isabella Grimes

Kendyl Harris

GALESBURG-AUGUSTA HIGH SCHOOL

Sam Shields

GULL LAKE HIGH SCHOOL

Aaron Adams

Isabella Carr

Dylan Piwko

Maxwell Uppal

HACKETT CATHOLIC PREP

Erin Cook

KALAMAZOO CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

Kyla Clark

Anna Gleaton

Lucas Jude

Joshua Lent

Elijah Thompson

Brooke Winters

KALAMAZOO CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL

Norah Bray

LOY NORRIX HIGH SCHOOL

Lilla Baublis

MaryAnn Loncharte

Abigail Milliken

Isaac Patrick

Eliot Pavlik

Thomas Shockey

Connor Sloan

PARCHMENT HIGH SCHOOL

Shay Janssen

Eliana Wachowski

PORTAGE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

Madeline Beck

Nolan Carpenter

Victoria Fong

Aanya Goel

Chloe Najar

Kamran Potluri

Janelle Yao

PORTAGE NORTHERN HIGH SCHOOL

Ellie Liwen Alleman

Rachel Sara Anderson

Ningyi Chen

Leah Marie Kusisto

Oluwadunsin Peace Mewomo

Claire Tong

SCHOOLCRAFT HIGH SCHOOL

Alyssa McMillan

Celesta Weber

VICKSBURG HIGH SCHOOL

Rinzel Arroyo

Kayla Chisholm

Maya Grossman

Everett Radgens

 

Three Kalamazoo RESA staff members were also recognized at the event by students:

Joseph Lukowski - Early/Middle College Career Coach

Dawon Sharp - Early/Middle College Career Coach

Brian Brusach - Criminal Justice & Public Safety Instructor

 

Congratulations to every student and instructor who were recognized at this year's Excellence in Education Awards!