Congratulations To New Tampa’s Top Of The Class Of 2024! 

It’s that time of year where parents and students count down to all kinds of graduations, from pre-kindergarten to college. At local high schools, hundreds of graduates are moving on to a new phase of life, whether it’s starting a career, joining the military, going to a faraway university, attending a local college, or taking some time to find themselves. The students on these pages are the top-10 graduating seniors of the Class of 2024 at both of New Tampa’s public high schools by grade point average (GPA). Congratulations to everyone listed on these pages for their extraordinary achievement – and to all of their peers and classmates who are graduating alongside them. Note – We apologize that we have significantly more information about one school’s top-10 students than the other, but we can only show here what we were provided. Please also note that while it seems that the last two Wharton GPAs are out of order, a Wharton official told us that the class ranks were frozen prior to the final GPAs shown here. 

Freedom High 

1. Ishitha Panguluri, Valedictorian 

GPA: 8.6591 

College planning to attend: University of Chicago or Univ. of Florida 

Planned Major or Future Career: Neuroscience 

2. Kayla Le, Salutatorian 

GPA: 7.9495 

College planning to attend: University of Florida or University of South Florida 

Planned Major or Future Career: Business 

3. Jaclyn Rachel Alejandro 

GPA: 7.4377 

College planning to attend: University of South Florida Honors 

Planned major or future career: Biomedical Sciences, pre-med 

4. Yadiel Narvaez Hernandez 

GPA: 7.2153 

College planning to attend: Georgia Tech 

Planned major or future career: Industrial Engineering 

5. Mrinalini Bose 

GPA: 7.2113 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned Major or future career: Applied Math 

6. Mallory Marsland Pettit 

GPA: 7.1104 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Psychology 

7. Sanduni Karalliyadde 

GPA: 6.9993 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Political Science, Pre-Law 

8. Sharianne Sampson 

GPA: 6.9438 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Biology, pre-med 

9. Pouria Yazdankhah Kenary 

GPA: 6.829 

College planning to attend: University of South Florida 

Planned major or future career: Mechanical Engineering 

10. Mohammed Alfatlawi 

GPA: 6.76 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Computer Engineering 

Wharton High 

1. Heer Patel, Valedictorian 

GPA: 9.9639 

Clubs/Activities: President BETA club, President/founder Wistem (Women in STEM club), member of NHS (National Honor Society), SNHS (Science National Honor Society), NEHS (National English Honor Society), Spanish National Honor Society, Tri M music honor society, Key Club, FBLA, Orchestra, dancer, volunteer at Moffitt Cancer Center and Metropolitan Ministries

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Business & Biology 

Best thing about high school: High school taught me what it means to have real friends. These past few years, I’ve developed some of the closest bonds, which I know will carry forward as I move on to the next chapter of my life. High school taught me how to grow and nurture friendships, and how to value people for who they truly are. 

2. Sarah Gangaram, Salutatorian 

GPA: 8.08 

Clubs/Activities: Team Captain Speech and Debate, Vice President NEHS, Co-founder Book Club, Vice President BETA, Social Media Manager, Newspaper: Education Editor, Member of SNHS, NHS 

College planning to attend: University of South Florida 

Planned major or future career: Biology on a pre-med path, neurosurgeon 

Best thing about High School: Definitely the people. I enjoyed coming to school every day and socializing with my friends and peers, as well as my teachers. Overall, they really made my high school experience incredible. For example, when I’d go to football games and other school events, the spirit we all have is incredible, and just being in that environment was amazing – it’s something I will never forget. 

3. Mahdi Aziz 

GPA: 7.4787 

Clubs/Activities: Treasury secretary NEHS, member of SNHS, NHS, volunteer at AdventHealth, working for my dad at Bagels Plus, tennis 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Anthropology and history, international lawyer 

Best thing about High School: All the great teachers and friends that I met all through my four years, and the times I spent with them. 

4. Cooper Priest

GPA: 7.28 

Clubs/Activities: Chess Club, NHS, SNHS, swim team 

College planning to attend: Michigan State University 

Planned major or future career: Chemical engineering 

Best thing about High School: Making friends 

5. Athira Umshankar 

GPA: 7.24 

Clubs/Activities: NHS, NEHS, SNHS, art club, film club 

College planning to attend: University of South Florida Honors 

Planned major or future career: Psychology 

Best thing about High School: People and friends I met. 

6. Reese Prieto 

GPA: 7.22 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Biology 

Best thing about High School: Meeting new people and making new friends 

7. Emily Toso 

GPA: 7.12 

Clubs/Activities: Newspaper Editor-in-chief, President SNHS, NEHS, speech and debate, dancer (Tampa Gymnastics and Dance) for 14 years 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Environmental engineering 

Best thing about High School: Being able to explore different interests and really find what you’re good at and enjoy. 

8. Avi Amin 

GPA: 7.08 

Clubs/Activities: Scuba diving, soccer, SCC 

College planning to attend: New York University 

Planned major or future career: Finance 

Best thing about High School: Getting to meet new people and make new friends 

9. Eva Lebas 

GPA: 7.0 

Clubs/Activities: All-County and All-State Honors Orchestras, play viola, swim team 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Biomedical Engineering 

Best thing about High School: Definitely prom and the senior events 

10. Jariel Garriga 

GPA: 7.06 

Clubs/Activities: Wharton Baseball Captain, Beta Club Vice President, SCC Unity Officer 

College planning to attend: Florida State University 

Planned major or future career: Biochemistry, orthopedic surgeon 

Best thing about High School: Playing baseball with my friends