Olathe Northwest honors Class of 2025; seniors recognized for academic, extracurricular achievements

Olathe Northwest High School held commencement exercises for the class of 2025, recognizing 515 seniors and noting more than $13 million in scholarship offers, school officials said.

The ceremony featured a presentation of colors and the national anthem, remarks by senior class president Megan King, student speakers Claire Sullivan and Indrajat Najjar, and the formal conferral of diplomas by district leadership.

The program highlighted several measures of academic success. School officials said 66 graduates were named Kansas State Scholars and 138 students completed state curriculum requirements. Olathe Northwest reported 11 career and technical education scholars, 35 students designated as ACT scholars (scoring 32 or higher), and eight students who were named National Merit Scholars. Two students — Eugenie Kim and Alexander Panier — were noted as having achieved perfect ACT scores. School officials also reported that the class received in excess of $13,000,000 in scholarship offers.

Megan King, senior class president, opened the evening and reflected on the class’s achievements and community. “We have been one of the highest achieving classes imaginable,” King said, listing athletic and academic accomplishments and noting the class’s participation in clubs such as DECA, Best Buddies and the Diversity Leadership Club.

Student speaker Claire Sullivan urged classmates to value leadership and relationships. “Leadership can be small, it can be simple, it can be kind, but it’s always powerful,” Sullivan said. Indrajat Najjar reflected on personal growth and encouraged graduates to use their education to effect change.

The ceremony also recognized program-specific accomplishments: the engineering and e-communications academies collectively endorsed dozens of seniors this year, and the FIRST Robotics team (Team 1710) advanced to the world championships in Houston, Texas. Faculty and staff contributions were acknowledged, and four retiring staff members were named during the program.

By the authority delegated by the Kansas Board of Education and Unified School District 233, the superintendent conferred diplomas on the graduating class during the ceremony, and graduates were instructed to collect diplomas in the commons following the formal program. Organizers said there would be no formal recessional and that families could continue celebrations in the gym for approximately 30 minutes.

The commencement emphasized the district’s academic and extracurricular successes while featuring messages from students about leadership, community and future responsibility.