By: Kevin Thor
For the first time in Clovis East High School history, three Hmong American students in the same graduating class will be attending Stanford University in the fall. Melody Moua, Kevin Thor, and Pajntshiab Vang are part of the Clovis East 2020 graduating class, and in addition to attending the same college, they’re also extremely close friends. There is only between 5 to 7 Hmong high students from across the country that are admitted into Stanford University every year so three from one high school is a huge achievement.
Melody graduated as Salutatorian, with a 4.58 GPA, having taken 8 AP classes. She plans to major in Economics at Stanford. Melody also received NHS, AAA, CSF Lifetime Membership, Academic Scholar of Distinction, Principal’s Medallion, and served as the graduating class’s Class President.
Kevin graduated with a 4.5 GPA and has taken 8 AP classes. He plans to major in Biology at Stanford. Kevin has also received NHS, AAA, CSF Lifetime Membership, Academic Scholar of Distinction, Principal’s Medallion, and served as the graduating class’s Associated Student Body President.
Pajntshiab also graduated as a Salutatorian, with a 4.39 GPA, having taken 5 AP classes. She plans to major in Product Design at Stanford. Pajntshiab has also received Academic Scholar of Distinction, Principal’s Medallion, CSF Lifetime Membership, as well as a four-year, full ride QuestBridge Scholarship.