Boston Public Schools Celebrates Class of 2022 Valedictorians at Fenway Park

BOSTON — July 20, 2026 — Boston Public Schools honored its Class of 2022 valedictorians at a Fenway Park luncheon, with graduates bound for MIT, Harvard, Princeton, and Northeastern. School Committee Chairperson Jeri Robinson, Mayor Michelle Wu, and Superintendent Brenda Casselius each addressed more than two dozen honorees, many of them recent immigrants who navigated the COVID-19 pandemic while reaching the top of their respective schools. Each valedictorian received a $200 Amazon gift card funded by presenting sponsors including the Boston Foundation, Eastern Bank, and the Shah Family Foundation. Student speaker Khadijah Akhtar of Brighton High School, who arrived from Bangladesh three and a half years ago speaking no English, earned a full scholarship to Northeastern University to study biology. TechBoston Academy's Elinald deRoche earned a full scholarship to Princeton — only the second time in the school's history a student has received an Ivy League full ride.