Student Buzz

Rising seniors Rik Chaudhuri ’26 and Jeffrey Hu ’26, debating about the benefits and harms of presidential executive orders, placed among the top 25% at the National Speech and Debate Association competition in June.

After being a research intern in a Johns Hopkins kidney disease lab from December 2023 to August 2024, Pranav Parikh ’25 presented at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week Conference in San Diego, California, considered to be the world’s premier nephrology conference. 

Joshua Turner '26 was recently named the winner of the 2025 Congressional Art Contest for Maryland’s Second District for his oil painting titled “Velma.” The piece will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol complex for one year.

While working at Johns Hopkins BioBank over the summer of 2024, Tyler Olson ’25 developed an indicator device to ensure biospecimen samples remain at the correct temperature while out of the freezer. In November, he presented at a conference in Florida.

In the 2025-2026 school year, a record five Gilman seniors will enroll in college math courses through Johns Hopkins University's Future Scholars Program.

Ethan Reames ’25 earned the sixth highest score in the North American Computational Linguistics Open Competition (NACLO), securing him one of eight spots at the 22nd International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) in Taipei, Taiwan in July of 2025.

Max Kunisaki '25 graduated on June 7, holding eight School swim records, having broken some that had stood for decades. Read more about his progression through the sport at Gilman and where he's headed next as a collegiate athlete.

Gilman recognized many Middle School students for achieving excellence in various pursuits, including academics, athletics, the arts, and service, during the annual Awards Day Assembly on May 21. See more on SmugMug.

Gilman recognized many Upper School students for achieving excellence in various pursuits, including academics, athletics, the arts, and service, during the annual Awards Day Ceremony on May 19.

Congratulations to Eric Sun '27 and William Han '27 on placing second in the 2025 Maryland State Scholastic Chess Championship, held in April at Hammond High School in Ellicott City.

Congratulations to fifth grader Swarneel M., who ranked 10th in the state and 15th nationally in the Math Kangaroo Competition.

A record 28 students in grades 3–7 read all 20 books on this year's Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award list. These high achievers enjoyed a special catered lunch with Head of School Henry Smyth on May 7.

Jackie W. '31, Jaeman Shin '25, and Andy Yoon '25 — at their young ages — all have impressive musical achievements already. Read more about each student.

Congratulations to second grader Michael A. whose poem entitled “Let’s Live in Harmony” was recently selected to be published in Creative Communication’s poetry anthology, “A Celebration of Poets!” Michael shared his poem at the Tri-School Poetry Night at Gilman in late April.

Classical violinist Lawrence Du '28 will perform at Carnegie Hall on July 27, 2025, as a member of the National Youth Orchestra, the nation’s premier youth orchestra. A European tour will follow. 

Teams of fifth through eighth grade students competed in the Battle of the Books against several area independent schools on April 29–30, 2025, hosted at Glenelg Country School. One fifth grade team came in third place!

Since being accepted to the extremely selective Juilliard Pre-College program last semester, Gilman's Ben Feng ’26 and Bryn Mawr's Maggie Schneider ’27 have spent each Saturday traveling to New York City to play alongside some of the most talented young musicians in the country and work with and learn from world-class faculty.

At the spring Cum Laude induction ceremony on April 4, a dozen seniors were inducted, completing the full class of Gilman’s Cum Laude chapter for 2025. Dr. Ted DeWeese, professor of oncology and urology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, gave the keynote address.

Congratulations to Miles B. '30, who recently won two awards in the Coastal Conservation Association of Maryland Pickerel Championship.