IOWA GOVERNOR’S SCHOLAR

Iowa’s top academic students have been chosen by their member schools for the 2025 Governor’s Scholar Program. The Governor’s Office, the Iowa High School Athletic Association, and its title sponsor, the Iowa Farm Bureau, are presenting this recognition which began in 2003.

The seniors being honored have been selected by their high schools as the highest academic achievers. Students receive a photo plaque from the ceremony and certificate to commemorate their achievement.

The largest 64 schools in Iowa, according to the Iowa Department of Education BEDS document, were invited to select two seniors who are the highest academic achievers for their first seven semesters. All other schools were invited to select one senior who was the highest academic achiever for their first seven semesters.

2025 Honorees

2025 GOVERNOR’S SCHOLARS

School	First Name	Last Name
ACGC	Emmarae	Ellis
ADM	Thora	Hegarty
ADM	Addison	Herrick
AGWSR	Trevyn	Smith
AHSTW	Tyson	Osbahr
Akron-Westfield	Josie	Jacobs
Albia	Avery	Halstead
Alburnett	Jayden	McManus
Algona	Emerson	Waltz
Alta-Aurelia	Breanna	Sawvell
Ames	Bailey	Stewart
Ames	Marley	Turk
Anamosa	Carver	Reiss
Ankeny	Eva	Jones
Ankeny	Jackson	Reiner
Ankeny Centennial	Daria	Haynie
Ankeny Centennial	Tyson	Woerdehoff
Aplington-Parkersburg	Maleah	Wessels
Ar-We-Va	Amber	Ragaller
Assumption	Gennaro	DelPreore
Atlantic	Morgan	Botos
Audubon	Alissa	Testroet
Ballard	Rhett	Hedrick
Baxter	Logan	Rainsbarger
BCLUW	Sarah	Garber
Beckman Catholic	Rebecca	Goerdt
Bedford	Jayven	Welch
Belle Plaine	Kyla	Shaull
Bellevue	Tate	Giesmann
Belmond-Klemme	Quinn	Gabrielson
Benton	Brady	Gammill
Bettendorf	Connor	Brooks
Bettendorf	Anna	Tryon
BGM	Addison	Day
Bishop Garrigan	Isabella	Waechter
Bishop Heelan	Abigail (Abby)	Demers
Bondurant-Farrar	Eden	Coy
Bondurant-Farrar	Sienna	Lewis
Boone	Jonathan	Aucker
Boone	Mason	McClain
Boyden-Hull	Braylen	Crawford
Boyer Valley	Zoey	Soma
Burlington	Katelyn	Kobliska
Burlington	William	Woodard
Burlington Notre Dame	Jack	Drew
Calamus-Wheatland	Delaney	Engler
CAM	Coby	Venteicher
Camanche	Isaac	Benavides
Cardinal	Xavier	Exline
Carlisle	Chloe	Callies
Carlisle	Emilie	Stewart
Carroll	Emily	Puck
Cascade	Travis	Simon
Cedar Falls	Max	Bryden
Cedar Falls	Emma	Mason
Cedar Rapids Jefferson	Rachel	Johnson
Cedar Rapids Jefferson	Sylvia	Sutton
Cedar Rapids Kennedy	Sarah	Martin-Trainor
Cedar Rapids Kennedy	Camryn	Meyer
Cedar Rapids Washington	Lucas	Burkamper
Cedar Rapids Washington	Mitchell (Nolan)	Jarzynka
Cedar Valley Christian	Addison	Fulkerson
Center Point-Urbana	Bailey	Hakert
Centerville	Noelle	Craver
Central City	Jessica	Flansburg
Central Decatur	Abigail	Leahy
Central DeWitt	Parker	Petsche
Central Elkader	Ella	Buckman
Central Lee	Andrew	Underwood
Central Lyon	Breyona	Bosch
Central Springs	Abby	Pippert
Chariton	Chase	Willis
Charles City	Jadyn	Van Horn
Cherokee Washington	Allison	Booth
Clarinda	Raenna	Henke
Clarion-Goldfield-Dows	Tate	Jackson
Clarke	DeVante	Caldwell
Clarksville	Emmalee	Manwarren
Clayton Ridge	Lola	Reimer
Clear Creek Amana	Tate	Schloss
Clear Creek Amana	Seth	Smigel
Clear Lake	Owen	Smith
Clinton	Sescie	Haan
Clinton	Emeree	Luett
Colfax-Mingo	Kaylee	Collins
Collins-Maxwell	Colton	Dunblazier
Colo-Nesco	Annabelle	Heller
Columbus	Madeleine	Howell
Columbus Catholic	Addyson	Macomber
Coon Rapids-Bayard	Macy	Thompson
Council Bluffs Jefferson	Makena	Kramer
Council Bluffs Jefferson	Abigail	Lassek
Council Bluffs Lincoln	Sonia	Fitch
Council Bluffs Lincoln	Grace	Veit
Creston	Ava	Adamson
Crestwood	Brooke	Schwade
Dallas Center-Grimes	Samuel	Harbaugh
Dallas Center-Grimes	Elle	Wood
Danville	Aiden	Konig
Davenport Central	Gael	Chenus
Davenport Central	Lauren	Valleroy
Davenport North	Camden	Bennett
Davenport North	Zoey	Voss
Davenport West	Jackson	Martin
Davenport West	Adam	Shipley
Davis County	Abigail	Warning
Decorah	Grant	Zilka
Denison-Schleswig	Karla	Sanchez
Denison-Schleswig	Cody	Schulte
Denver	Kiara	Michels
Des Moines Christian	Kiersten	Steensen
Des Moines East	Hunter	Christenson
Des Moines East	Henry	Orellana-Rivas
Des Moines Hoover	Gavin	Houchins-McCallum
Des Moines Hoover	Melisa	Pepeljak
Des Moines Lincoln	Cindy	He
Des Moines Lincoln	Maximillian	Roach
Des Moines North	Joselyn	Chavarria
Des Moines North	Beabu	Ibaakee
Des Moines Roosevelt	Elliott	Albright
Des Moines Roosevelt	Hadley	Harvey
Diagonal	Amanda	Malone
Dike-New Hartford	Dominic	Rondeau
Don Bosco	Jackson	Hogan
Dowling Catholic	Grace	Frye
Dowling Catholic	Jacob	Suresh
Dubuque Hempstead	Noel	D’Souza
Dubuque Hempstead	Saanvi	Ram
Dubuque Senior	Jacob	Haug
Dubuque Senior	Dan	Rothert
Dunkerton	Isaac	Roberts
Durant	Grace	Paustian
Eagle Grove	Ashley	Deleon-Andrade
Earlham	Brianna	Redmond
East Buchanan	Grace	Long
East Marshall	Mylie	Rasmusson
East Mills	Cedar	Wray
East Sac County	Kendall	Quirk
East Union	Molly	Gennaro
Easton Valley	Addison	Farrell
Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont	Kaylee	Helm
Edgewood-Colesburg	Ellie	Kirby
Emmetsburg	Emma	Krause
English Valleys	Gage	Heyne
Essex	Hunter	Steinhoff
Estherville Lincoln Central	Brynn	Finley
Exira-EHK	Alex	Hansen
Fairfield	Lucas	Konczal
Forest City	Bethany	Warren
Fort Dodge	Grace	Behrens
Fort Dodge	Micah	Flaherty
Fort Madison	Katelyn	Sissel
Fremont-Mills	Kimber	Wederquist
Garner Hayfield Ventura	Gage	Konz
Gehlen Catholic	Cole	McCarty
George-Little Rock	Carly	Koerselman
Gilbert	Isaac	Brown
Gladbrook-Reinbeck	Vanessa	Arvizu-Ersland
Glenwood	Ilsa	Kemling
Glidden-Ralston	Lucas	Christian
GMG	Anna	Mussig
Grand View Christian	Eleanor	Meyer
Greene County	Hailey	Carman
Grinnell	Luke	Ohlsen
Griswold	BrookLynne	Peterson
Grundy Center	Kelli	Moen
GTRA	Danielle	Mielke
Hampton-Dumont-CAL	Jaxon	Moats
Harlan Community	Reese	Koch
Harris-Lake Park	Madeline	Greve
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn	Gracie	Knobloch
Heartland Christian	Grace	Steinmetz
Highland	Ainsley	Roling
Hillcrest Academy	Mason	Bender
Hinton	Avery	Welte
HLV	Ema	Roberts
Holy Trinity Catholic	Emily	Ross
Hudson	Blake	Farwell
Humboldt	Keegan	Groat
IKM-Manning	Katelyn	Wittrock
Independence	Addison	Loughren
Indianola	Sully	Downey
Indianola	Logan	Turner
Interstate 35	Zachary	Struth
Iowa City High	Sahleh	Al-Herz
Iowa City High	Rachel	Matel
Iowa City Liberty	Yashaswi	Jaishy
Iowa City Liberty	Elaina	McDonald
Iowa City West	Andrew	Chen
Iowa City West	Sabrina	Du
Iowa Falls-Alden	Annika	Nelson
Iowa School For The Deaf	Eric	Yepez Morales
Iowa Valley	Asher	Stubblefield
Isaac Newton Christian Academy	Brendon	Premkumar
Janesville	Kole	Haan
Jesup	Kendall	Earles
Johnston	Shreyas	Shrestha
Johnston	Nikolay	Silkin
Kee	Addyson	Rankin
Keokuk	Kelly	Takorbisong
Keota	Kimberly	Clarahan
Kingsley-Pierson	Jordyn	Sitzmann
Knoxville	Elena	Synystsya
Kuemper Catholic	Logan	Rial
Lake Mills	Kaylee	Taft
Lamoni	Meredith	Howell
Lawton-Bronson	Tanner	Merchant
LeMars	Luke	Hulinsky
LeMars	Asher	Moss
Lenox	Gabe	Funk
Lewis Central	Ella	Bussey
Lewis Central	Hannah	Moore
Linn-Mar	Nithin	John
Linn-Mar	Bhargava	Malya
Lisbon	Wesley	Sadler
Logan-Magnolia	Wesley	Vana
Lone Tree	Catelynn	Sexton
Louisa-Muscatine	Kamryn	Taylor
Lynnville-Sully	Leigha	Elliott
Madrid	Mila	Grothus
Maharishi	Keshav	Sinolia
Manson-NW Webster	Alyssa	Richman
Maquoketa	Maranda	Wood
Maquoketa Valley	Kayla	Flanagan
Marion	Esther	Harker
Marion	Addison	Valletta
Marquette Catholic	Kailyn	Thompson
Marshalltown	Kennedy	Feldman
Marshalltown	Davis	Ragland
Martensdale-St Marys	Emily	Hughes
Mason City	Justin	Nkazi
Mason City	Jonathan	Thangaraj
Mediapolis	Maxx	Ortiz
Melcher-Dallas	Jalyssa	Juline
Meskwaki Settlement	Jayven	Roberts
MFL MarMac	Quinn	McGeough
Midland	Alyssa	Eckhardt
Mid-Prairie	Logan	McClellen
Missouri Valley	Paige	Russmann
MMCRU	Caitlin	Wetter
MOC-Floyd Valley	Micah	Schmidt
Montezuma	Ellen	Cook
Monticello	Leah	Koehler
Moravia	Kaylin	McDanel
Mormon Trail	Sydney	Forkner
Morningstar Academy	Annabella	VonMuenster
Moulton-Udell	Rachel	Ogden
Mount Ayr	Tyler	Martin
Mount Pleasant	Halaina	Crane
Mount Vernon	Molly	Bany
Murray	Kenzi	Mongar
Muscatine	Colin	Millage
Muscatine	Kate	Olson
MVAOCOU	Kael	Hamann
Nashua-Plainfield	Paige	Franzen
Nevada	Ryan	Wessels
New Hampton	Colton	Ashley
New London	Morgan	Jones
Newell-Fonda	Lindsey	Wolf
Newman Catholic	Noah	O’Connell
Newton	Anna	DeVries
Newton	Delaney	Woollums
Nodaway Valley	Olivia	Laughery
North Butler	Elizabeth	McPherson
North Cedar	Michael	Redhage
North Fayette Valley	Kyler	White
North Iowa	Ashlyn	Bechler
North Iowa Christian	Julieanna	Thomas
North Linn	Molly	Boge
North Mahaska	Bronson	Edwards-Hinton
North Polk	Stockton	Huether
North Scott	Lucas	Badger
North Scott	Ava	Haase
North Tama	Mason	Hosek
North Union	Ava	Steinberger
Northeast	Chase	Christiansen
Northwood-Kensett	Breyden	Hoeppner
Norwalk	Henry	Groos
Norwalk	Naomi	Lors
OABCIG	Hayden	Zimmerman
Oelwein	Caleb	Schunk
Ogden	Owen	Bergstrom
Okoboji	Lydia	Downing
Orient-Macksburg	Carter	Osborne
Osage	Ashley	Muhs
Oskaloosa	Rees	Campbell
Ottumwa	Camdyn	Crouse
Ottumwa	Dominick	Rath
Panorama	Kelsey	Laabs
Paton-Churdan	Grace	Cullum
PCM	Harlan	Shannon
Pekin	Sarah	Hamilton
Pella	Alexander	Demuth
Pella	Aidan	Smith
Pella Christian	Camden	Parker
Perry	Olivia	Christensen
Pleasant Valley	Henry	Gannaway
Pleasant Valley	Kira	Pielak
Pleasantville	Emily	Roe
Pocahontas Area	Natalie	Point
Postville	Andy	Jochola-Martinez
Prairie	Tracen	Dixon
Prairie	Hudson	Kimm
Prince of Peace	Lillian	Smith
Red Oak	Kyler	Sandholm
Regina Catholic	Cora	Boblenz
Remsen St. Mary’s	Landon	Waldschmitt
Riceville	Hattie	Miller
Ridge View	Emma	Mentzer
River Valley	Alaina	Goettsch
Rivermont Collegiate	Aiden	Swiger
Riverside	Paxtyn	Meek
Rock Valley	Kaaden	Nielson
Rockford	Daniella	Havranek
Roland-Story	Luccas	Hart
Ruthven-Ayrshire	Zoey	Gilmore
Saint Ansgar	Jayce	Schwiesow
Saydel	Eh	Soe
Sergeant Bluff-Luton	Ava	Tendal
Seymour	Ashlynn	Sharp
Sheldon	Douglas	Nilles
Shenandoah	Brooke	Hays
Sibley-Ocheyedan	Alexis	Hulstein
Sidney	Marley	Shull
Sigourney	Ava	Fisch
Sioux Center	Maci	Schmalbeck
Sioux Central	Taylor	Kragel
Sioux City East	Laynie	Andersen
Sioux City East	Ken	Phan
Sioux City North	Derek	Folchert
Sioux City North	Paislie	Tran
Sioux City West	Vera	Grom
Sioux City West	Alexander	Valadez
Siouxland Christian	Meddie	Nordstrom
Solon	Lucianna	Miller
South Central Calhoun	Adlen	Wheelock
South Hamilton	Caitlin	Bare
South Hardin	Gavin	Runyon
South O’Brien	Ashlynn	Gunnerson
South Tama	Kylie	Husak
South Winneshiek	Julia	Carnesi
Southeast Polk	Ashley	Gilson
Southeast Polk	John Luke	Shulenberger
Southeast Valley	Aiden	Anderson
Southeast Warren	Isabell	Olsasky
Southwest Valley	Kathryn	Lillie
Spencer	Ethan	Hansen
Spencer	Addison	Wyman
Spirit Lake	Dylan	Stecker
Springville	Abbigail	Hoyt
St. Albert	Owen	Marshall
St. Edmond	Sasha	Hess
Stanton	Riley	Burke
Starmont	Kristen	Haynes
Storm Lake	Lillie	Hoffman
Storm Lake	Hannah	Taylor
Storm Lake St. Mary’s	Harley	Doyel
Sumner-Fredericksburg	Chloe	Bolte
Tipton	Zoey	Hagen
Treynor	Kallie	Danker
Tri-Center	Quincey	Schneckloth
Tri-County	Raegan	Molyneux
Trinity Christian	Jaylie	De Jager
Tripoli	Isabel	Bernard
Tri-State Christian School	Kindra	Smith
Turkey Valley	Morgan	Vsetecka
Twin Cedars	Kathryn	Morgan
Underwood	Avery	Honan
Union Community	Kengo	Uchiyama-Hansen
Unity Christian	Brianna	Bakker
Urbandale	Sean	Bowser
Urbandale	Abigail	Jacobson
Valley	Roan	Walsmith
Valley	Andrew	Zhang
Valley Lutheran	Rachel	Decker
Van Buren County	Callie	Kracht
Van Meter	Treston	Murphy
Vinton-Shellsburg	Tori	Richart
WACO	Isaac	Rich
Wahlert Catholic	Olivia	Stecher
Wapello	Isaac	Hewitt
Wapsie Valley	Hailey	Wehling
Washington	Dirk	Rothe
Waterloo Christian	Connor	Fencl
Waterloo East	Addison	Freeman
Waterloo East	Addison	Judas
Waterloo West	Kenan	Sljivo
Waterloo West	Sophia	Vandersee
Waukee	Max	Fahrenkrug
Waukee	Lucy	Gannon
Waukee Northwest	Nicholas	Smith
Waukee Northwest	Mia	Stogdill
Waukon	Taylor	Kiel
Waverly-Shell Rock	Daniel	Becker
Waverly-Shell Rock	Gabriella	Lee
Wayne	Ava	Whitney
Webster City	Karina	Murray
West Bend-Mallard	Clint	Fehr
West Branch	Eleanor	Ziehr
West Burlington	Zachary	Wilke
West Central	Brooklynn	Cavnar
West Central Valley	Malia	Fuller
West Delaware	Evan	Dunkel
West Fork	Ashyr	Wiseman
West Hancock	Claire	Johnson
West Harrison	Devyn	Harris
West Liberty	Jacob	Zeman
West Lyon	Claire	Metzger
West Marshall	Elizabeth	Kalinay
West Monona	Mollie	Lage
West Sioux	Gregory	Cook
Western Christian	Jacob	Groothof
Western Dubuque	Kristine	Hellmann
Western Dubuque	Allie	Soppe
Westwood	Delaney	Lopez
Williamsburg	Cooper	Daugherty
Wilton	Amber	Oien
Winfield-Mt Union	Pacey	Schlee
Winterset	Karly	Christensen
Woodbine	Adam	Barry
Woodbury Central	Ruby	Trapp
Woodward Academy	Amy	Bearbower
Woodward-Granger	Alexis	Bogardus
Xavier	Sophia	Mittelstadt
Whiting	Hannah	Allen

Ceremony Instructions

Arrival

When you arrive at the Iowa Events Center, 730 3rd Street, Des Moines, please go to the Grand Ballroom on the 4th Floor. Once inside, please follow the signs to the registration area.

Attire

This is a semiformal event. The norm for honorees is a range of business casual to business formal. Graphic tees and other promotional attire are not suitable for the photo. 

Registration

Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. and doors open at 12 p.m. Only the students being honored need to register. There will be registration tables in the lobby of the Grand Ballroom for students to stop and pick up a packet that will contain all materials needed for the ceremony. Only the honorees need to register.

Ceremony

The ceremony begins at 1:00 p.m. Students will be seated together in a section near the front. Guests may seat themselves anywhere in the surrounding sections. The program should be completed by around 3:00 p.m. 

Photography

The official event photographer is the only photographer allowed to be in front of the stage. Family members and guests are encouraged to take pictures from their seats and may purchase as many pictures as they would like from the professional photographer. Information on purchasing additional photos will be in the registration packet. Each student having their picture taken with the Governor will receive a picture plaque as a keepsake sent to their school compliments of the Iowa High School Athletic Association and its title sponsor Iowa Farm Bureau. Each school will receive a picture and nameplate identifying the student compliments of the Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Farm Bureau. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of the plaques, pictures, and nameplates.

Accommodations

Students or their guests with special physical needs should contact the IHSAA in advance of the ceremony so that we may accommodate those needs. Please contact Kim Mechura ([email protected]) or Chad Elsberry ([email protected]) via email or phone: 515-432-2011.

Visit

To help make your stay in Des Moines more enjoyable, information on hotels and restaurants is available through Catch Des Moines. 

 

Directions To Iowa Events Center