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