Celebrating the seniors in the class of 2026
The Mehlville High School and Oakville High School Classes of 2026 will walk across the graduation stage on Sunday, May 31. Here’s a look at our senior class by the numbers:
- Number of graduates: 832
- Number of Summa Cum Laude students: 114
- Number of Magna Cum Laude students: 98
- Number of Cum Laude students: 109
- Advanced Placement courses taken: 1,391
- Dual Enrollment courses taken: 2,848
- Project Lead the Way courses taken: 486
- Number of students earning the Seal of Biliteracy: 35
- Number of students enrolled in:
- Early College Academy: 9
- MyPath/Independent Study: 7
- South Tech High School (Career and Technical Education): 90
- St. Louis Centers for Advanced Professional Studies: 43
- Total scholarship money earned: $12,356,636
Senior Spotlights
We spoke to 30 graduating seniors about their high school experience in our Class of 2026 Senior Spotlight series. Some of these students will be attending four-year universities, while others are headed to community college, the military or entering the workforce. Each student shared how their experience in the Mehlville School District has prepared them for the next chapter of their lives.
Destiney Whitelow, Mehlville High School
While attending Mehlville High School, Destiney Whitelow has served as the Vice President of HOSA - Future Health Professionals and the Secretary of Speech and Debate, participated in the Environmental Sustainability Club and attended the Medical, Healthcare and Bioscience course at the St. Louis Centers for Advanced Professional Studies.
After graduation, Destiney is attending the University of Missouri-St. Louis to study pre-nursing. Destiney decided she wants to work as a nurse in a burn unit after doing an internship through St. Louis CAPS. She also credits her St. Louis CAPS experience with helping her to improve her professionalism and communication skills.
Blake Hallsten, Oakville High School
While attending Oakville High School, Blake Hallsten competed on the water polo and swim teams and participated in the Best Buddies Club, and Youth and Government. Blake’s favorite part of his time at OHS is the community that he found on the water polo team.
After graduation, Blake is attending the University of Arkansas to study political science and Spanish. Blake hopes to one day work as a campaign manager. He credits the mentors he’s had at OHS, like Kara Beck, a Social Studies Teacher, with preparing him for his next chapter.
Nick Ray, Oakville High School
While attending Oakville High School, Nick Ray has participated in the welding program at South Tech, the A+ Program and football. One of his favorite things about OHS is that there are clubs and activities for everyone, regardless of their interests.
After graduation, Nick is attending State Technical College of Missouri to continue to build the welding skills he started to develop in high school. He credits his experience at OHS with providing courses, like College Prep Writing, that helped him improve in areas he needed to work on.
Olivia Shon, Mehlville High School
Olivia Shon has been heavily involved during her time at Mehlville High School, participating in Steering Committee, Student Council, Junior and Senior Exec, National Honor Society and KOnnect. Olivia believes MHS has provided a lot of opportunities academically and socially that she may not have gotten at other schools.
After graduation, Olivia is attending Indiana University to study finance and French. She hopes to work in a math-focused career in the business world that allows her to travel often. Olivia believes MHS has prepared her for the future by allowing her to take many dual-credit and high-level classes that will help make her transition to college easier.
Aidan Nguyen, Mehlville High School
While attending Mehlville High School, Aidan Nguyen has been involved in Student Council, KOnnect, Robotics, National Honor Society and the A+ Program. He enjoyed growing up and maturing while attending MHS and says the school did a great job of making him feel like he belonged.
Aidan received the QuestBridge Match Scholarship from Washington University in St. Louis. The scholarship includes all tuition, fees, room and board, travel expenses, and more for all four years while he studies engineering. The estimated value of the scholarship is more than $325,000.
He says MHS prepared him for his future by helping him explore his career options.
Sophia Romano, Oakville High School
While attending Oakville High School, Sophia Romano gained work experience at Nazareth Living Center and Schnucks through the Special School District of St. Louis County’s Community Based Vocational Instruction Program. She also worked on job skills around school, collecting recycling and cleaning stairs, steps, lockers and windows. Sophia is also a cheerleader.
After graduation, Sophia will work in the cafe at Cardinal Glennon Hospital through the Vocational Skills Program.
She says her favorite part of her time at OHS was her teachers, Ms. Sammi and Mr. Kyle. Sophia says she’ll miss her friends Sydney, Delaney, Chloe and Katie the most.
Jaina Mazdra, Oakville High School
Jaina Mazdra’s favorite parts of her time at Oakville High School were meeting new people and having cool opportunities, like working backstage with the theatre program.
After graduation, Jaina is attending Lindenwood University, where she’ll double major in business administration and cinema arts. She says her teachers at OHS helped to cultivate her passion for storytelling. This year, a short film Jaina created won the Missouri Alliance for Art Education’s Student Content Creation Contest.
Jaina will also be playing girls ice hockey next year at Lindenwood. She credits competing on the boys team at OHS with helping her to develop the skills she needed to compete at the collegiate level.
Lily Auclair, Mehlville High School
Lily Auclair has been heavily involved during her time at Mehlville High School. In addition to serving as the president of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, Lily is also a cheerleader and has been in KOnnect, Junior and Senior Exec, Drama Club and Thespian Society.
After graduation, Lily is attending Missouri State University to study early childhood education and special education. She hopes to return to the Mehlville School District as a kindergarten teacher.
Lily says that her experience in the MyPath program helped prepare her for her future. It allowed her to shadow kindergarten and third-grade teachers at Hagemann Elementary School, as well as special education and Panther Pals teachers at Mehlville High School. She enjoyed learning different teaching styles and hopes to use the knowledge she gained to be a great teacher someday.
Delaney Pratt, Mehlville High School
Delaney Pratt has been involved in leadership programs like KOnnect, Junior Exec and Senior Exec, and Student Council, as well as Panthers on the Go! while attending Mehlville High School. Her favorite part of her high school experience was building a community and meeting new people.
After graduation, Delaney is attending Mizzou, where she plans to study business administration with a concentration in real estate. Delaney hopes to be a real estate broker one day.
During her senior year, Delaney attended the St. Louis Center for Advanced Professional Studies in the Global Business and Entrepreneurship course. Through the course, she got an internship with a real estate company that she now works for. She also credits the program with helping her develop real-world skills that she’ll take with her into her next chapter.
C.J. Lake, Oakville High School
C.J. Lake’s favorite part of his experience at Oakville High School has been the environment and getting to know his teachers, as well as his coaches on the baseball team.
After graduation, C.J. is attending John A. Logan College, where he’ll study sports management and play baseball. Following college, C.J. hopes to play professionally or become a coach. He believes OHS has provided him with the skills he needs to be successful after high school.
Tristan Howard, Oakville High School
While at Oakville High School, Tristan Howard has been involved in the theatre program and Leadership. He has also spent all four years in Tiger Journalism, including the last two as the co-editor-in-chief of the newspaper.
After graduation, Tristan is attending Southeast Missouri State University to study journalism. He hopes to one day be a general reporter or investigative journalist. He says being part of the journalism program at OHS pushed him to find what he was interested in.
Aidan Furgeson, Mehlville High School
While attending Mehlville High School, Aidan Furgeson has been involved in DECA, Speech and Debate, National Honor Society and Robotics. His favorite part of high school has been getting to explore his different interests through clubs and activities and learning more about himself.
After graduation, Aidan is attending Missouri University of Science and Technology to study chemical engineering. He believes he’s prepared for his next chapter because he’s taken challenging courses at MHS that have taught him the discipline he needs to succeed.
Aidan received the National Merit Pfizer Inc. Scholarship, making him one of just 770 high school seniors from across the country to receive a corporate-sponsored award through the National Merit Scholarship program.
Ella Besancenez, Mehlville High School
Ella Besancenez’s favorite part of her time at Mehlville High School has been spending four years performing in the theatre program.
In addition to earning her diploma, Ella is also graduating from high school with an associate degree from St. Louis Community College. For the past two years, Ella has taken all of her courses at STLCC through our Early College Academy. Students in the program get high school credit for their college courses while working towards a degree.
After graduation, Ella is attending the University of Missouri-Kansas City to study biology. She hopes to then attend medical school to become a forensic pathologist. Participating in the Early College Academy has given Ella a huge jumpstart on college since she’s already taken many of the general education courses her peers will be taking when they arrive on campus.
Jacob Kohring, Oakville High School
While attending Oakville High School, Jacob Kohring has been involved in Leadership, wrestling and cross country. He says his favorite part of his high school experience has been attending the St. Louis Center for Advanced Professional Studies in the Engineering and Technology Design and Development course.
After graduation, Jacob is attending Missouri University of Science and Technology to study mechanical engineering. He hopes to become a sales engineer or powertrain engineer.
Jacob says his experience in St. Louis CAPS has prepared him for his future by allowing him to solve real-world problems and develop professional skills. He also learned more about the engineering industry through an internship with Big Rocks Engineering. He’ll be continuing that internship this summer before starting college.
Parker Givens, Oakville High School
Parker Givens says his favorite part of his time at Oakville High School has been competing on the water polo and swim teams. Parker is also a member of National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society.
After graduation, Parker is attending Purdue University to study aerospace engineering. He hopes to work in the spaceflight industry for Boeing or NASA.
He says taking dual enrollment courses through St. Louis Community College has given him a head start on the courses he’ll have to take when he arrives on Purdue’s campus.
Alastair Butler, Mehlville High School
While attending Mehlville High School, Alastair Butler has been involved in National Honor Society and the A+ Program. Alastair also attended South Tech in the Firefighting and EMT course.
After graduation, Alastair is attending Jefferson College for the paramedic technology program to continue to build on the foundation he started at South Tech. He says he’s ready for his next chapter because the program gave him the opportunity to do ride alongs with local firefighters and EMTs, confirming his interest in the career path.
Hailee Robinson, Mehlville High School
Hailee Robinson has been a student-leader throughout her time at Mehlville High School, participating in student organizations like DECA, Student Council, National Honor Society, Special Olympics Steering Committee, Junior Exec and Senior Exec.
Hailee also attended the St. Louis Center for Advanced Professional Studies in the Global Business and Entrepreneurship course. She enjoyed doing site visits and getting an internship at a hospital to start to explore what she plans to do in college.
After graduation, Hailee is attending Mizzou to study health science leadership and policy with a minor in human resource management. She wants to work in healthcare administration in a role that focuses on patients and their experience in the hospital.
Hailee is attending Mizzou on a highly coveted scholarship from the Evans Scholars Foundation. This full-ride scholarship is awarded to golf caddies with both an exemplary caddie record and academic record. Out of 1,000 applicants, Hailee is one of just 12 students to receive this honor.
Max Minden, Oakville High School
While attending Oakville High School, Max Minden has served as Senior Class Vice President, and been in HOSA - Future Health Professionals, Key Club, National Honor Society and Science National Honor Society. His favorite part of his high school experience is having the opportunity to volunteer with his friends.
After graduation, Max is attending Johns Hopkins University to study chemistry and mechanical engineering. He hopes to earn his PhD and work in a national research lab. Max said he’s prepared for the future because of the many science courses he’s taken at OHS.
He’s also thankful that teachers always look for opportunities for students. Max spent a summer working in a lab at Washington University in St. Louis. He learned about that opportunity after a teacher shared it with him and his classmates.
Jonathan Ysaguirre, Oakville High School
While attending Oakville High School, Jonathan Ysaguirre has competed on the football and track teams and participated in the sports leadership program. His favorite parts of his experience are the people he got to meet through sports and his coaches.
Jonathan also attends the Firefighting and EMT program at South Tech. After graduation, Jonathan plans to attend Abbot EMS’s Earn While You Learn Program. After becoming an EMT, Jonathan hopes to become a firefighter. He credits OHS and South Tech with teaching him leadership and real-world skills that he’ll use in his next chapter.
Macy Moeckel, Mehlville High School
Macy Moeckel was involved in many sports and clubs during her time at Mehlville High School. In addition to performing in the choir and theatre programs, Macy competed in soccer, softball and cross country, and was in organizations like Student Council, National Honor Society, KOnnect, Junior Exec, Senior Exec and Mehlville Media.
After graduation, Macy is attending the University of Kansas to study mass communications and journalism. She hopes to work in communications for an NFL team following college. During her senior year, Macy participated in the MyPath program. It gave her the opportunity to further explore her interest in journalism and confirmed that it’s something she’d like to do for a career.
The biggest lesson Macy says she learned at MHS is that it’s important to get involved in different activities and meet different people to reach your full potential.
Hunter Lotspeich, Mehlville High School
While attending Mehlville High School, Hunter Lotspeich has been on the broadcast team of Mehlville Media, played baseball and been in KOnnect. His favorite part of his high school experience has been making friends.
During high school, Hunter also attended welding school in the evening. After graduation, he plans to continue his studies and become a pipefitter.
He believes that he’s ready for his next chapter because his teachers have pushed him to become the person he is today.
Huda Hamdallah, Oakville High School
Huda Hamdallah’s favorite part of her experience at Oakville High School are the friends that she’s made and her teachers.
During her junior and senior years, Huda has taken all of her courses at St. Louis Community College through our Early College Academy. She is finishing her time at OHS with both a high school diploma and an associate degree.
After graduation, Huda is attending Maryville University on the Trustees Scholarship. She plans to study occupational therapy, focusing on pediatrics. Huda says she’s ready for her next chapter because of her experience in the Early College Academy.
Cameron Wilson, Oakville High School
Cameron Wilson started attending Oakville High School as a sophomore. She says she immediately felt welcomed by the students in her classes and her cheerleading teammates.
The day after graduation, Cameron is headed to boot camp for the United States Marine Corps. She plans to work in communications for the Marines.
Cameron says the elective classes she’s taken at OHS, like strength and conditioning, have prepared her for her future. She also credits her teachers with being kind and giving students great advice.
Sasha Atkinson, Mehlville High School
Sasha Atkinson’s favorite part of her time at Mehlville High School has been learning more about herself and figuring out what she’s passionate about. She’s spent a lot of time doing those things in the theatre and choir programs, as well as in her art classes.
After graduation, Sasha is attending Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She plans to continue to explore interests while taking her general education classes before deciding on a career path. She also hopes to study abroad during college.
Sasha says her experience at MHS has given her more confidence in herself. She’s also thankful for the teachers who have encouraged and supported her during her time at MHS.
Jeremiah Robinson, Mehlville High School
Jeremiah Robinson’s favorite part of his time at Mehlville High School has been competing with his teammates on the basketball and volleyball teams.
After graduation, Jeremiah is enlisting in the Army National Guard, where he plans to serve as a wheeled vehicle mechanic. After his time in the military, Jeremiah hopes to work as a paramedic. He believes the discipline he learned through sports will help in his next chapter.
Haley Hughes, Oakville High School
To say Haley Hughes has been involved in a little bit of everything during her time at Oakville High School would be an understatement. In addition to competing on the softball, basketball, and track teams, Haley has served as a football manager, the Tiger mascot, and the editor-in-chief of the Tiger Journalism newspaper. She’s also been in Leadership, Youth and Government, and Tiger Cage.
She says that she was shy during her first couple of years of school but became more outgoing when she started to get involved at the urging of one of her teachers, Laura Bishop. Haley believes her involvement allowed her to get the full high school experience.
After graduation, Haley is headed overseas to Madrid, Spain, to study criminal psychology.
Zamya-Woods Johnson, Oakville High School
While attending Oakville High School, Zamya Woods-Johnson has been involved in wrestling, track and field, Black Student Union and the A+ program.
Zamya has also been an extremely successful student-artist. In addition to having artwork selected for an exhibit at the Soulard Art Gallery, she was named the overall OHS winner at the Mehlville School District-Wide Art Show.
After graduation, Zamya plans to attend St. Louis Community College for two years before earning a degree in biology from a four-year university. She hopes to one day work as an obstetrician.
Zamya says that classes she’s taken, like human anatomy, have prepared her for her next chapter.
Thaniel Phan, Mehlville High School
While attending Mehlville High School, Thaniel Phan has been involved in band, art, cross country and Mehlville Media. His favorite part of his high school experience is learning in a diverse environment that includes students from many different cultures and backgrounds.
After graduation, Thaniel plans to attend the University of Missouri-St. Louis to study fine arts. He hopes to work as a filmmaker and photographer and has already started a small business doing content creation for companies.
Thaniel is appreciative of his teachers at MHS being flexible with him to allow him to explore his interests while in high school.
Eva Brown, Mehlville High School
Eva Brown has competed on the golf team and been in band, Student Council, National Honor Society, International Club, HOSA - Future Health Professionals and Key Club during her time at Mehlville High School.
After graduation, Eva is attending the University of North Carolina - Greensboro on a full golf scholarship. Eva placed in the top three at the state competition during all four years of high school. She will study kinesiology with plans to work in physical therapy and athletic training.
Eva says the classes that she’s taken at MHS have prepared her for her next chapter.
Jake Bartola, Oakville High School
Jake Bartola says his favorite part of his time at Oakville High School was performing with the theatre program because it allowed him to meet new people and make a lot of friends. Jake was also selected as the school’s Prom King.
This year, Jake has been learning job skills at Nazareth Living Center through the Special School District of St. Louis County’s Community Based Vocational Instruction. After graduation, Jake will continue building those skills through the Vocational Skills Program. He hopes to one day work at a sports store or backstage in a theater program.
Jake says the things he’ll miss most about OHS are theatre and his classes.