BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Education ended the 2025-26 school year with the announcement of three students of the year. 

This trio was honored at a ceremony at LSU's Lod Cook Conference Center on Monday, May 18. 

Louisiana's Elementary School Student of the Year is Sanil Savita Thorat, who attended Fairfield Magnet School in Caddo Parish Public Schools. Among his many accomplishments, Thorat participated in the Scripps National Spelling Bee and completed the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge. 

Thorat dreams of becoming a doctor and has been volunteering with organizations focused on community wellness.

The Middle School Student of the Year is Kaejha Mary-Anne Christine Stewart from A.E. Phillips Laboratory School in Lincoln Parish Schools. Stewart is an active student musician, performing at Carnegie Hall.

Stewart also leads her school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter, as well as being a member of the National Junior Honor Society and the Science Olympiad and MathCounts teams. 

The High School Student of the Year is Melissa An Le from Ruston High School in Lincoln Parish Schools. Le is heading to Harvard after previously being named Middle School Student of the Year. Le also served as her school's student body president, as well as being elected state secretary of Future Business Leaders of America

Le has also reached thousands through her “STEM to Bloom” video series and serves on the National Girls Collaborative Project board.