The U.S. Department of Education selected Charlie Kogen ’19 and four other Los Angeles County students as Presidential Scholars.

Among the 5,200 high school seniors who qualified for the award nationwide, 161 were named Presidential Scholars.

Partner organizations of the Presidential Scholars, such as YoungArts, can also nominate students for the program. Kogen said he was eligible to be a Presidential Scholar in the Arts as a YoungArts finalist.

“The voice panelists at YoungArts interviewed me during National YoungArts Week for a possible nomination, and I found out that I was nominated a few weeks later,” Kogen said.  “After I was nominated, I submitted an application that involved an activities list, several essays and a recommendation from a school counselor.”

Kogen said he is looking forward to traveling to Washington, D.C., where the Department of Education and the White House will honor the Presidential Scholars.

“I am also rehearsing for a performance at the Kennedy Center with some of the other Presidential Scholars, some of whom I know from YoungArts,” Kogen said. “I look forward to seeing them again. I’ve also never been to Washington, so I look forward to seeing the city as much as I can.”