Boston Public Schools Honors 29 Valedictorians at Fenway Park Luncheon

BOSTON — July 19, 2026 — Boston Public Schools celebrated 29 valedictorians from the class of 2022 at an annual luncheon at Fenway Park on July 19, marking the event's return for the first time since the pandemic halted it in 2019. School Committee Chair Geri Robinson, Mayor Michelle Wu, and Superintendent Brenda Casillas each addressed the students, with Wu drawing on her own immigrant family history and noting that Boston had not elected a woman or person of color mayor "until six months ago." Each honoree received a $200 Amazon gift card funded by presenting sponsors the Boston Foundation, Eastern Bank, and the Shah Family Foundation. Student speaker Khadija Akhtar, valedictorian at Brighton High School, described immigrating from rural Bangladesh three years ago knowing no English and earning a full scholarship to Northeastern University. Notable destinations among the cohort included Princeton University — only the second Ivy League full scholarship in Tech Boston Academy history — as well as MIT, Harvard College, and Boston University.