CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage High School recognized outstanding members of the Class of 2025 Monday night in the Senior Academic Awards ceremony. Students were honored in various categories including Missouri Scholars 100 recipients, Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen, Bright Flight, the Missouri School Board Association, academic letters, the Seal of Biliteracy and honors graduates. The greater part of the evening included awarding of over 140 individual scholarships to senior applicants, totaling over $212,000 in gifts.
Dr. Angela Holman, Carthage High School Principal, opened the event by spotlighting various students’ academic achievements at both the state and local levels. Mrs. Kendra Miller then presented certificates for the Seal of Biliteracy dual language recipients, followed by Summa, Magna and Cum Laude honors graduate recognition by the Carthage High School counseling department.
Following these awards, various members of the community, Carthage R-9 staff and the Carthage R-9 School Foundation presented scholarships to seniors. These scholarships awarded students in all areas, including, but not limited to, academic achievement, pursuit of specific majors, volunteerism, athletic achievement and even finding a funny word that made people laugh.
Crystal Brown, Director of the Carthage R-9 School Foundation, spoke of the success of the evening and the part it plays in helping students reach their goals: “This is the culmination of all the hard work and time these seniors have invested in school and their community. The counselors and I enjoy rewarding the kids and seeing the looks on their faces as they receive these gifts. It’s a surprise to them until they are walking across the stage,” Brown said. “Our community really is so generous. I know I sound like a broken record every year, when I say that, but every year they continue to give so graciously to our students. And our students continue to exceed our expectations year after year, as well, making it difficult to choose recipients.”
Congratulations to this year’s Senior Academic Award winners!
Missouri School Board Association (MSBA) John T. Belcher Scholarship Nominee: Jenna Calhoon
Missouri Scholars 100 Recipient: Joshua Miller
Missouri Scholars 100 Honorable Mention: Ambree Hoover
Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen: Brooke Meeks
Bright Flight: Jenna Calhoon, Zia Honaker , Ambree Hoover, Joshua Miller, Lance Pyron, Ethan Scott
Academic Letter Winners—Top 5%:
Margaret Boyd, Grace Brown, Jenna Calhoon, Alma Chavez Cancinos, Gentry Cochran, Zabdi Gonzalez, Natalie Hackworth, Zachary Hoenshell, Zia Honaker, Ambree Hoover, Anne Kennedy, Kailie Layman, Maddix McCahon, Joshua Miller, Stephanie Palma, Colt Pugh, Dylan Pugh, Peyton Ray, Ethan Scott, Addison Wallace
Seal of Biliteracy Recipients:
Kaylee Alvarado Garcia, Herlinda Alvarez Gomez, Ashlee Arias-Ramirez, Priscila Arreola-Macias, Ivan Barrios Lopez, Maylee Brown, Sheily Calderon Juarez
Steven Chavez Merida, Malanie Chuta Lopez, Heaven Chuta-Saquic, Daniel Crespo Sariles, Dayan DeLeon Ayala, Kambly Elias, Josue Garay Elias, Alondra Gomez, Zabdi Gonzalez, Nancy Gonzalez, Selvin Gonzalez Vicente, Allison Hinojoza-Lopez, Estrellita Maldonado Poac, Valeria Marquez, Zuceli Mejia, Leslie Merida, Kimberly Monterroso Garcia, Stephanie Palma, Nelfis Perez Carreto, Jordi Ramos Gomez, Pamela Reyes Lopez, Emily Reyes-Donis, Juan Rivera Tevalan, Yaneidy Vela, Sharon Velasquez Mejia, Mildred Vicente Hernandez, Alexandra Villatoro Lopez
Distinguished Recipients:
Briana Alvarado Hernandez, Edna Arana Sanchez, Jocelyn Cortez Ramos
Summa Cum Laude Graduates:
Kaylea Binney, Margaret Boyd, Grace Brown, Jenna Calhoon, Alma Chavez Cancinos, Gentry Cochran, Zabdi Gonzalez, Natalie Hackworth, Zachary Hoenshell, Zia Honaker, Ambree Hoover, Anne Kennedy, Kailie Layman, Adam Martinez, Maddix McCahon, Joshua Miller, Stephanie Palma, Colt Pugh, Dylan Pugh, Peyton Ray, Ethan Scott, Addison Wallace
Magna Cum Laude Graduates:
Briana Alvarado Hernandez, Edna Arana Sanchez, Hailey Barrera, Ivan Barrios Lopez, Kyler Bates, Ashlyn Brust, Micah Brust, Jordan Buenrostro, Brady Carlton, Steven Chavez Merida, Lauren Choate, Malanie Chuta Lopez, Rozalyn Dunkle, Emily Franklin, Iain Geter, Madeleine Goetzinger, Nancy Gonzalez Gonzalez, Jackson Hettinger, Reece Horton, Carter Lehman, Estrellita Maldonado Poac, Logan Masters, Kimberly Monterroso Garcia, Aidan Patrick, Kye Patrick, Nelfis Perez Carreto, Cael Perry, Lance Pyron, Pamela Reyes Lopez, Emily Reyes-Donis, Easton Schultz, Yaneidy Vela, Sharon Velasquez Mejia, Aven Willis, Alison Wyrick, Lexa Youngblood
Cum Laude Graduates:
Kaylee Alvarado Garcia, Herlinda Alvarez Gomez, Addison Bayless, Hailee Bell, Jackson Brown, Maylee Brown, Jaidyn Brunnert, Sheily Calderon Juarez, Zolivia Canady, Riley Carroll, Mason Carter, Kruz Castor, Heaven Chuta-Saquic, Tucker Clark, Makayla Cochrane, Lyndlee Conklin, Jocelyn Cortez Ramos, Isabella Coy, Noah Daughterty, Brianna Dawson, Freida De Leon Lopez, Collin Eaton, Kambly Elias Ordonez, Ashlyn Erdman, Shay Gaddis, Claire Giett, Alondra Gomez, Bryce Guzman Juarez, Ariana Hurley, Olivia Jones, Reese Lee, Luke Lewis, Christopher Lopez Guzman, Valeria Marquez, Vanessa Marroquin, Brooke Meeks, Phineas Moore, Langston Morgan, Harold Nichols, Samantha Noble, Anthony Perez Vasquez, Merido Ramos Cancinos, Jahayra Reyes, Emerson Rogers, Isabelle Snethen, Breanna Steffen, Sydney Steffen, Ryan Steinbach, Marilyn Tistoj Lara, Katherine Wagner, Aspen White, Kaylee White, Mackenzie Wilson
Scholarship Winners:
The Subramanian Tennis Scholarship = Kailie Layman
Maple Leaf Taco Tuesday Scholarship = Hailee Bell, Selvin Gonzalez Vicente, Nelfis Perez Carreto,
Alondra Gomez, Briana Alvarado Hernandez, Maddix McCahon
Southwest Missouri Bank = Hailee Bell, Nancy Gonzalez
Kyran Addington Memorial = Braxton McBride, Natalie Hackworth
Alpha Eta Chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa = Ariana Hurley
Stan Jones/Booster Club = Karson Murray, Brady Carlton, Lexa Youngblood, Aven Willis, Maggie Boyd, Braxton McBride
Marilyn Bruffett Memorial – Allison Hinojoza-Lopez, Kaylee White, Zachary Hoenshell
Clara Mae Chitwood = Jordan Buenrostro
Kitty Estes Memorial = Jackson Hettinger
McCune Brooks Healthcare Foundation CNA = Briana Alvarado-Hernandez, Kailie Layman
United Way = Kaylea Binney, Gentry Cochran, Katherine Wagner, Grace Brown, Anne Kennedy
Carthage Community Teachers Association = Ariana Hurley
Class of 1938 = Mackenzie Cupell
Community National Bank and Trust = Katherine Wagner, Natalie Hackworth
Dwayne and Judy Crigger Memorial = Jackson Brown
Erick Grove Memorial = Lexa Youngblood, Maggie Boyd
Kiwanis = Malanie Chuta Lopez, Jordan Buenrostro
Ivan Hager Memorial = Kimberly Monterroso Garcia
Arch Harris Music = Kristhoffer Cancinos, Jackson Brown
Fairview Elementary – Steven Chavez Merida
Family Literacy Council = Abigail Rogers, Ariana Hurley, Willie Lopez Lopez
Carthage FFA Alumni – Aspen White
Hight Jackson Associates – Ethan Scott
Hispanic Connection – Vanessa Marroquin, Kaylee White
KHAD = Steven Chavez Merida
Beulah Kirksey Memorial = Zuceli Mejia Fuentes, Nelfis Perez Carreto, Kaylee White, Aven Willis
Dominic LaFerla Memorial – Estrellita Maldonado Poac, Iain Geter
Robert and Ellen Sheldon Memorial = Heaven Chuta-Saquic
Mark Twain Elementary = Braxton McBride, Luke O’Neal
Robert Minor Memorial = Rozalyn Dunkle, Olivia Jones
Carthage Rotary = Maggie Boyd, Jenna Calhoon, Gentry Cochran, Shay Gaddis, Madeleine Goetzinger, Natalie Hackworth, Ambree Hoover, Anne Kennedy, Kailie Layman, Adam Martinez, Lace Pyron, Ethan Scott, Katherine Wagner
Shelter Insurance – Matt Sappington = Natalie Hackworth
Soroptimist Carthage – Kaylea Binney, Jenna Calhoon, Claire Giett, Ambree Hoover, Stephanie Palma
Steadley Elementary = Grace Brown
Kenny Sutton Memorial – Ariana Hurley, Kaylea Binney
Thermo Fisher Scientific = Briana Alvarado-Hernandez
Rachel Thornton Memorial – Jocelyn Cortez Ramos
Thelma Stanley Jayhawk Memorial – Stephanie Palma, Maddix McCahon
Thelma Stanley Education – Kaylea Binney
Hands to Work, Hearts to God = Caleb Waynick
Henry and Lucille Strauss = Stephanie Palma
Schilling Technical = Zabdi Gonzalez
Wright-Powers-Winchester = Collin Eaton
Project AIM/BLESS = Maddix McCahon
Mary Andrews CCA = Jackson Brown
Donna Aronson Memorial – Luke O’Neal
Blaize DeCrescenzo Memorial – Andrew Prince
Robert Denning Memorial CCA = Samantha Noble
Robert Duvall Memorial = Maddix McCahon
Ellis Foundation = Grace Brown, Olivia Jones, Ivan Barrios Lopez, Maddix McCahon, Iain Geter
Helen Daphne Cornell Evans Memorial = Sharon Velasquez Mejia
Daniel Feather Memorial – Zia Honaker
Haffner Family – Joshua Miller
Larry Higgins Memorial = Kyle Amsden
Larry Hillyard Memorial = Ambree Hoover
Inez Hudson Business – Stephanie Palma, Riley Carroll
Knell Family Memorial = Peyton Ray
Knights of Pythias – Reece Horton. Lyndlee Conklin, Willie Lopez Lopez, Natalie Hackworth
Ralph Latimer Memorial – Kruz Castor
Maple Leaf Car Show – Dylan and Colt Pugh
Walter and Ruby Ott Memorial = Jose Trujillo Martinez
Autumn Palmer Science = Ambree Hoover
Nancy Patterson Memorial – Priscila Arreola-Macias
Tiffany Peterson Memorial = Joshua Miller, Jenna Calhoon
Laurel and Malcolm Rosenthal = Maggie Boyd, Shay Gaddis, Madeleine Goetzinger, Braxton McBride, Cael Perry, Abigail Rogers
Schreiber Foundation – Addison Wallace, Valeria Marquez, Jenna Calhoon, Vanessa Marroquin
Sexton-Lonardo Memorial – Steven Chavez Merida, Maddie Kennedy
Hannah Smallwood Memorial Friendship = Hailey Barrera, Sheily Calderon Juarez
Dr. and Mrs. Smith Memorial = Ivan Barrios Lopez, Gentry Cochran, Kailie Layman, Nelfis Perez Carreto
Mary Spitler = Natalie Hackworth
Robert Stanfield Memorial = Kaylea Binney
Student Council = Emerson Rogers, Grace Brown, Allison Hinojoza-Lopez
New-Mac Electric = Damien Pauley
VFW 2590 = Katherine Wagner
VFW 2590 Auxiliary = Reece Horton
Combat Veterans = Maddix McCahon
Kristine Wells Memorial = Kaylea Binney, Ashlyn Erdman
Kent and Mary Steadley Memorial = Grace Brown, Anne Kennedy, Joshua Miller, Harold Nichols, Cot Pugh, Dylan Pugh
