Congratulations to Tempe Preparatory Academy’s Class of 2017 graduating with over 4600 hours of volunteer service in the community and over $6 Million in scholarship offers to over 70 colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad., including University of California at Berkeley, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Washington University in St. Louis, Colgate, Brandeis, Boston University, George Washington University, College of William and Mary, Grinell, Rensselaer Polytechnic University, and many more. With the foundation of Tempe Prep’s nationally recognized liberal arts education, Tempe Prep’s 45 new graduates are ready to embark on a wide variety of academic endeavors, from studies in Biomedical Engineering to Nursing to International Studies.

Nine of the Tempe Prep graduates received over $250,000 each in college scholarships. And several of those received over $700,000 each in scholarship offers.

Valedictory addresses were given by Grace Zwemke and Abigail Everding.  National Merit scholars included Emily Hartzler and Grace Zwemke and National Hispanic Scholars; James David, Jeffrey Snoddy, and Abigail Everding as National Merit Commended Scholars; and Jacob Matsumoto as a National Merit Finalist. Jacob Matsumoto and Claire Carmody were named Tempe Prep Athletic Knights of the Year. And Herman Flores, Jeffrey Snoddy, and David Hudson (an Academic All American Swimmer), were inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame. John Paul Beguhl and David Pivonka received Tempe Diablos Scholarships. Herman Flores was named a Horatio Alger State Scholar and received a Cobell Scholarship for outstanding Native American students.

Four students received the U.S. Congressional Award Gold Medal for over 400 hours each of community service, including Jacob Cryder, Jacob Matsumoto, Jacob Massie, and Emily Hartzler. Emily Hartzler also received the Prudential Spirit of Community Certificate of Excellence and the President’s Volunteer Service Award. Nizhoni Saenz and Jose Valenzuela received $2,000 Tempe Industrial Development Authority Scholarships. Nizhoni Saenz also received the $2,000 John Shendo Memorial Scholarship. Ahmeil Jones received a $5,000 SCEMA Engineering Scholarship from his outstanding contributions to the Tempe Prep FIRST Robotics Team.