This year’s Kentucky Presidential Scholars are both from Lexington

Both of this year’s Kentucky U.S. Presidential Scholars are from Lexington high schools, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced Thursday.

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects scholars annually based on their academic success, artistic and technical excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as a commitment to community service and leadership.

The Kentucky scholars are:

• Grayson N. Kemplin, Henry Clay High School
• McKenna Sun, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School

Nationwide, 161 high school seniors are chosen for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education fields. A girl and a boy are chosen from each state.

“Our 2022 Presidential Scholars represent the best of America, and remind us that when empowered by education, there are no limits to what our young people can achieve,” Cardona said.

The Presidential Scholars Class of 2022 will be recognized this summer with an online recognition program.

“We are incredibly proud of Grayson and McKenna and know they will continue to accomplish great things,” said Fayette Superintendent Demetrus Liggins.

“This is one of the top honors in our nation and for both of this year’s winners to be from Fayette County Public Schools is a reflection of the rigorous curriculum and challenging instruction our schools provide,” said Liggins. “Our community should be especially proud that four times in the past 10 years all of the students that achieved this distinction were from Fayette County. In the past decade, 25 Presidential Scholars have been chosen from Kentucky and 11 of them were Fayette County Public Schools students.”

This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 11:07 AM.