Victoria Basharina, a senior at William Floyd High School, has been selected as one of just 25 New York State nominees for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students who represent excellence in education and the promise of greatness in the leaders of tomorrow.
New York State Commissioner of Education, Betty A. Rosa, selected Victoria among a strong pool of statewide candidates to advance to the nationwide competition. There are 25 total nominees – 20 in the general component and five from the Career and Technical Education component categories.
Victoria was selected in the general component category and is one of only four students from Long Island and just two from Suffolk County selected for this honor this year.
Victoria is the second William Floyd student to earn the honor of becoming a U.S. Presidential Scholars nominee in the past three years with Alexandra Clougher being named a CTE component nominee in 2022.
“In my 23 years as a school counselor, I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of students, all unique and special in their own way, but Victoria Basharina is a standout to me and probably one of the brightest and most interesting young women I have met in my entire career,” said Ashley Siebert, Victoria’s guidance counselor. “She represents the very best of what we hope to foster in our students: intellectual curiosity, resilience, compassion, and the drive to make a positive impact.”
Victoria, 18, of Mastic, has a weighted grade point average exceeding 100. She is on track to graduate No. 11 in a class of 767 students in the Class of 2025. She has completed 13 advanced placement courses including algebra in seventh grade at William Floyd Middle School. She challenged herself with this course at such a young age despite knowing she would not be able to receive high school credit per NYS regulations.
Joe DeStefano (R,C-Medford), who represents the William Floyd School District, said, “I’d like to humbly give my congratulations to Victoria Basharina for being nominated for the 2025 U.S. Presidential Scholar's Program. This program was established as one of the nation’s highest honors a student can receive for their own academic excellence and achievements. Victoria has not only demonstrated academic excellence but has also gone above and beyond to demonstrate worthy leadership qualities within her school and local community.”
Victoria emigrated from Russia in the first grade, and soon after arriving in America, she began attending Moriches Elementary School. Despite the challenges she faced of adapting to a new country, language, and culture without all members of her family present, she used it as an opportunity to build strength and empathy toward others, which is evident through her various community service activities. She spends any free time that she has volunteering at food drives, toy drives, fundraising events, community clean-ups, waterfront conservation events, and ecological studies, and tutoring students who are new to the country and learning English.
The United States Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964 to recognize some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative, and performing arts.