Riverside County Honors Top 166 Graduates
- Riverside County’s top public-school seniors got their big countywide moment on April 21, when 166 students from 86 high schools were honored in Riverside. - The number that really frames it is 18 — that’s how many district-level Exceptional Graduates also received $1,000 scholarships for college costs. - It matters because more than 32,000 seniors are graduating countywide, so this ceremony marks an unusually small group at the very top.
Academic awards can sound ceremonial — nice photos, handshakes, maybe a scholarship check. But this one is really about scale. Riverside County just pulled 166 seniors out of a graduating class of more than 32,000 and said, basically, these are the students who rose to the top across the county’s public high schools. The ceremony happened on Tuesday, April 21, at the Riverside Convention Center, and it marked the 20th annual Student Academic Awards. ### What actually happened here? The Riverside County Office of Education honored top seniors from 86 public high schools. Each campus could send one to three students, depending on enrollment, so this was not a mass participation event. It was a curated list built school by school, then celebrated in one countywide ceremony with families, principals, trustees, and superintendents in the room. More than 650 people attended. ### Why 166 students? That number comes from the structure of the program. High schools do the first round of selection, and the county sets the slot count based on school size. Bigger schools can recognize more students, smaller schools fewer, but the idea stays the same — each campus chooses the seniors it measures. ### What makes the 18 scholarship winners different? The ceremony has a second layer. Beyond the campus honorees, one student from each of 18 districts was named a Riverside County Exceptional Graduate. Those students each received a $1,000 scholarship, sent directly to the college or other postsecondary institutions, so this is the distinction inside the distinction. ### Why did the county spotlight Maria Selene Castillo? Because she shows what the award is supposed to mean after the applause ends. Castillo was honored as a top Riverside County graduate in 2019 while she was at Desert Mirage High School. She later attended USC, graduated, and returned to Coachella Valley to give students a real sense that they belong in the next room they walk into. ### Is this mostly symbolic? Not entirely. Sure, it is symbolic — and symbols matter for students finishing high school. But there is also a practical piece. College costs start immediately, and even a $1,000 scholarship can cover books, fees, or part of a first tuition bill.
