• McKinney ISD Superintendent Dr. Rick McDaniel and McKinney North physics teacher Faisal Khan give a fist bump as McDaniel presents North senior Andrew Simmons with the Distinguished Student Award for earning the status of Valedictorian. Simmons chose Khan to receive the Inspirational Teacher Award.
• Each year, 45 McKinney ISD high school seniors are chosen by the teachers at each of MISD's three high schools to receive the prestigious MISD Distinguished Student Award. Each student recipient chooses a teacher who had the most significant impact on them to receive the MISD Inspirational Teacher Award.
• McKinney North High School coach RaShad Robinson with Cameron Banks, McKinney North recipient of the Distinguished Student Award for Athletics
• McKinney North seniors Madeline Prugh (second from left) and Keelin Gaughan (third from left) visit with their families at the McKinney ISD Distinguished Student Awards Dinner on April 29, 2021, at the MISD Community Event Center. Madeline received the Distinguished Student Award for Mathematics, and Keelin is 2021 Salutatorian at McKinney North.
• McKinney ISD Board President Amy Dankel speaks at the 2021 MISD Distinguished Student Awards Dinner on May 5, 2021, at the MISD Community Event Center.
• McKinney ISD Board of Trustees Vice President Stephanie O'Dell speaks at the MISD Distinguished Student Awards Dinner held on April 29, 2021, at the MISD Community Event Center.
• (l-r) McKinney ISD Superintendent Dr. Rick McDaniel, McKinney High School Valedictorian Thorsen Kristufek, McKinney High School Inspirational Teacher Carol Winters and MISD Board of Trustees Vice President Stephanie O'Dell
• McKinney ISD Board of Trustees member Philip Hassler welcomes students, families and guests at the McKinney ISD Distinguished Student Awards Dinner held on April 29, 2021, at the MISD Community Event Center.
• McKinney Boyd High School Salutatorian Morgan George and her family talk with McKinney Boyd High School art teacher Samuel Thomas before the Distinguished Student Awards Dinner on May 5, 2021 at the MISD Community Event Center.
• Arthur Simmons, McKinney North High School recipient of the McKinney ISD Distinguished Student Award for Fine Arts, visits with friends and family after the ceremony on April 29, 2021, at the MISD Community Event Center.

McKinney, Texas – It’s one of the highlight events of the year for McKinney ISD, the annual MISD Distinguished Student Awards, a gathering of 45 of the district’s finest students from McKinney Boyd High School, McKinney High School and McKinney North High School— seniors whose academic and extracurricular resumés testify to a dizzying level of accomplishment over the course of their four years of high school.

The Distinguished Student Award is one of the highest honors that MISD bestows upon a student.

The Distinguished Student Awards Dinner made a welcome return to the MISD Community Event Center for 2021 after its cancellation last spring due to concerns over the pandemic.

Traditionally held on one night, the 2021 event was spread over three evenings—April 29, May 5 and May 6, one ceremony for each MISD high school—to better accommodate social distancing efforts. Members of the MISD Board of Trustees and MISD Superintendent Dr. Rick McDaniel were joined by district and campus leadership in welcoming students and their families as honored guests at each dinner.

McKinney ISD Superintendent Dr. Rick McDaniel speaks at the 2021 MISD Distinguished Student Awards Dinner on May 5, 2021.

Distinguished Student honorees are selected each year in the following areas: English, Science, Social Studies, Mathematics, Career and Technology, Foreign Language, Fine Arts, Athletics, another specific field of study (At-Large), and the Valedictorian and Salutatorian from each high school.

In addition to these exceptional students, the district honors some of MISD’s finest teachers. Each of the Distinguished Students is asked to select the teacher who has made the most significant impact on his or her life, and these dedicated teachers are honored with the MISD Inspirational Teacher Award.

At each of the awards ceremonies, students and their Inspirational Teachers were called to the stage where McDaniel and board members waited to bestow the awards as a video presentation highlighted each student’s achievements and shared their comments about their Inspirational Teacher.

(l-r) McKinney ISD Superintendent Dr. Rick McDaniel, McKinney High School Valedictorian Thorsen Kristufek, McKinney High School Inspirational Teacher Carol Winters and MISD Board of Trustees Vice President Stephanie O’Dell listen as a recorded presentation highlights Thorsen’s accomplishments and shares his thoughts about how Winters impacted his education.

At the conclusion of each of the awards ceremonies, McDaniel shared some parting thoughts.

“Obviously, all of you in this room are headed for great things,” said McDaniel. “You will undoubtedly be successful at whatever it is that you choose to do in life. My request is this. I ask you to take the time to come back and thank those individuals that poured their lives into you, whether it’s your parents, your teachers—the ones that were honored here tonight, or perhaps some other individual that positively impacted you while you were a student in McKinney ISD. Take the time to thank them … I hope that you leave here tonight feeling like you’ve been honored and that we’ve provided you with a night that you can look back on fondly. I wish you all the very best, and the next time I see you, I’ll be shaking your hand as you walk across that stage at graduation. What a special and well-deserved night that is going to be.”

Here are the 2021 McKinney ISD Distinguished Students:

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