Oak Ridge High School Honors 2026 Valedictorian Asmita Nauduri

The ACES student’s path included Conroe ISD campuses, Oak Ridge leadership roles and plans to study neuroscience at UT Austin.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Saturday, May 16, 2026, 6:19 p.m.

Oak Ridge High School recognized Asmita Nauduri as the Class of 2026 valedictorian during its commencement ceremony Saturday, May 16, at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands.

The significance of the moment was clear as Conroe ISD Superintendent David Vinson personally presented Nauduri with the 2026 valedictorian plaque on stage.

Nauduri is a student in the Academy for Careers in Engineering and Science, known as ACES. The program is Conroe ISD’s STEM magnet program at Oak Ridge High School and operates as a school-within-a-school with the main campus. Deborah Shepard is the headmaster of ACES.

Her path to Oak Ridge included Houser Elementary, Vogel Intermediate for fifth grade, Suchma Elementary for sixth grade, Irons Junior High for seventh grade, Texas Online Preparatory School for eighth grade and Oak Ridge High School for grades 9-12.

During the recognition, Oak Ridge High School Principal Nina Norman asked Nauduri to come forward and listed several of her academic and campus accomplishments. Norman noted Nauduri’s work as a project manager, manager and engineering notebook lead for the Oak Ridge Robotics team, which won best engineering notebook and best overall in the North Houston Hub.

Nauduri also served as an AP Ambassador tutor for the Writing Center and held leadership positions in the National Honor Society and the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Association. She plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where she will study neuroscience.

When asked by Student Center what she would be thinking when her parents were recognized on stage, Nauduri pointed back to her family.

“I hope that they're aware that the reason why I'm here is because of them and how they raised me and it's because of their support that I'm able to do everything that I do,” Nauduri said.

Her parents were asked to stand and be recognized during the ceremony. The moment gave the commencement audience a reminder that a valedictorian’s honor often reflects years of support from home as well as from school.

Nauduri’s recognition closed one part of her Oak Ridge story while pointing to the next. This fall, she is expected to continue her education at UT Austin in neuroscience.