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DuPage District 88 names Camila Rodriguez and Salman Siddiqi its first 80 Best recipients for 2025–26
Summary
Addison Trail senior Camila Rodriguez and Willowbrook senior Salman Siddiqi were honored as the district's opening 80 Best recipients; staff praised academic achievements, leadership and community service during board presentations, and both students addressed the board.
DuPage High School District 88 opened its recognition season by naming Addison Trail senior Camila Rodriguez and Willowbrook senior Salman Siddiqi as the first recipients of the district’s 80 Best awards for the 2025–26 school year.
Board members and school staff praised both students for academic performance, extracurricular leadership and community contributions. The presentations included multiple staff letters and certificates summarizing each student's achievements.
"Camila generally wants to learn and grow," one Addison Trail teacher said during the board presentation, noting Rodriguez's AP scores and extracurricular leadership. Camila Rodriguez, identified by school staff as a member of National Honor Society and president of the HOLA club, told the board she would advise new students to "just try everything and to not be embarrassed."
Willowbrook staff highlighted Salman Siddiqi's extensive involvement in AP and dual-credit coursework, competitive teams and research internships. During his remarks, Salman Siddiqi said, "It allowed me to see into a world where I would be able to question everything and be able to pursue a career that focuses on my goals and challenges me myself as a person so I could become better overall." He plans to study biochemistry with a pre-med focus and apply to several universities including Northwestern, University of Chicago, Harvard and MIT.
School representatives described Camila's academic record as involving 10 Advanced Placement courses, membership in multiple honor societies, AP scores of 5 on language and Spanish exams, involvement in orchestra and athletics, and leadership of the HOLA club. Willowbrook staff said Salman had completed or will complete up to 13 Advanced Placement classes, competed internationally with DECA, and participated in multi-week summer research internships jointly hosted by prestigious universities.
Both students received certificates and brief remarks from the board. Each student answered questions from board members about advice for underclassmen and suggested programs: Rodriguez asked for an exchange program for the district's Spanish classes; Siddiqi recommended adding nationally recognized STEM offerings similar to Project Lead The Way (PLTW) to expand pre-med and STEM opportunities.
The recognitions were ceremonial; district leaders said they welcome student input on curriculum and extracurricular expansion but made no policy commitments at the meeting.
The board presented each student with a certificate, a gift certificate and a commemorative memento during the meeting.
