We are proud to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of the Class of 2026 as seniors prepare to walk across the graduation stage. Each diploma represents years of hard work, perseverance and determination. Among this year’s graduates are two students whose inspiring journeys and remarkable achievements have earned them some of the nation’s most prestigious scholarships.
Yoshu Ngwa, Gateway High School - Boettcher Scholar
When Yoshu Ngwa was a child growing up in Asia, he couldn’t imagine where he would be or what he would be accomplishing as a teenager. As a young boy at just seven years old, he and his family had to flee their home country of Myanmar due to civil war. They relocated to Malaysia where Yoshu attended a refugee school.
In 2023, Yoshu was able to immigrate with his family to the United States. He had to make up some credits when he first arrived but soon surged ahead in his education. He dedicated himself to taking advantage of everything that high school in the U.S. offered, including concurrent enrollment classes. In just three years at Gateway High School, Yoshu earned his high school diploma and is ranked #5 in his graduating class. He also completed more than 100 college credits and earned THREE associate degrees from the Community College of Aurora. His degrees are in science, biology and general studies.
Yoshu has been awarded the Boettcher Scholarship, which will give him a full-ride award to attend college in Colorado. He will attend the University of Colorado Boulder this fall as a first-generation college student and plans to become a cardiologist. He wants to dedicate his life to serving others as a doctor.
When talking about what the Boettcher Scholarship means to him, Yoshu said, “As someone who came from an immigrant family, this is a huge deal. It feels like a relief of financial burden. I think it makes my study and my education or anything that I'm working toward easier and like a clear path.”
Jessica Alvarado Campos, Burrell Arts Campus - Gates Scholar
As a gifted visual artist, Jessica Alvarado Campos is blazing new trails as the first-ever valedictorian for the Burrell Arts Campus. The Burrell program is a new magnet arts pathway at Aurora Central High School that started in 2022. Jessica is proud to be part of the program’s first graduating class with an amazing 4.7 GPA.
Jessica’s parents immigrated to the United States from Mexico where they were excited to give her unique educational opportunities. In elementary and middle school, Jessica attended Aurora Quest K-8, which is the APS magnet school for gifted and talented students. When the Burrell Arts Campus first opened, Jessica was thrilled to take advantage of the arts-integrated curriculum offered within an APS high school.
Jessica describes herself as primarily a sculptor, but she pushes herself to try and perfect her craft in multiple art mediums, including graphic design, filmmaking, drawing and painting. For the past 10 years, she’s been attending Downtown Aurora Visual Arts (DAVA) after school and will also graduate from that program this spring. Jessica is one of 750 students nationally to earn the Gates Scholarship, which will cover the full cost of her attendance as a first-generation student at the University of Northern Colorado starting this fall.
Using her art to provoke deep reflection about our community, Jessica plans to become a force in the political world as an artistic journalist. “I really like to express myself and provide my point of view on the world,” Jessica said. “I’ve always really liked making art so I make protest pieces through ceramics and then make it into something symbolic that people can see and get shocked by.”