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Orange County Public Schools honors “Super Scholars” headed to top U.S. Universities and Colleges

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County Public Schools recently recognized a group of 120 graduating seniors who are headed to some of the top Universities in the country.

The so-called “Super Scholars” have been accepted to Universities ranked in the top 20 in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report rankings.

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They include schools like MIT, Stanford, and even Yale, in the case of three Orange County graduates in particular.

Thomas Orozco is one of them. The graduating senior from Jones High School says he plans to study computer science at the prestigious Ivy League school.

Starting in one hour: join us for our OCPS 2021 “Super Scholars” recognition event! These students received acceptances...

Posted by Orange County Public Schools on Tuesday, May 18, 2021

There are 20 high schools in Orange County, and each one of them produced at least one Super Scholar this year.

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OCPS hosts the event every year, also honoring the students headed to a service academy.

Like last year, the event was held virtually.

It took Channel Nine’s own Nancy Alvarez nearly 40 minutes to read all the names along with their accomplishments, and to echo the feelings of every parent whose kids are still too young to care about college.

“This is one of my favorite events because every time I do this, I close my eyes and think that maybe, just maybe, my children, when they’re ready to graduate, will be counted among the Super Scholars,” Alvarez says.

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Former Super Scholars have also helped to form a support network for the classes that follow.

Click here to see a list of the students and their colleges.

See the full Super Scholars broadcast below:


Joe Kepner

Joe Kepner, WFTV.com

I unloaded the U-Haul in Orlando in 2008, just in time to cover the Magic's run to the 2009 NBA Finals.