Oak Harbor’s top ten students reflect, look ahead

Published 1:30 am Friday, June 5, 2026

Graduation swiftly approaches for the Wildcats.

Before walking on Saturday, June 13 at Wildcat Memorial Stadium, the 10 seniors with the highest grade point averages spoke to the News-Times about their high school experience and what they consider their biggest accomplishments in that time.

While these students varied in their extracurricular activities, their passions and their aspirations, they are all driven beyond their years.

Allie Sheppard

Theater held plenty in store for Allie Sheppard. She joined Drama Club, participated in several plays and even wrote her own, entitled “Cassandra,” featured in this year’s Drama Fest.

Offstage, Sheppard served as president of the school’s National Honor Society chapter and participated in Young Authors Club. She intends to major in English at Reed College in Portland.

Abigail Giugliano

Abigail Giugliano’s sights are set on a career in the arts, working in 2D animation, and she set herself up for success taking a variety of art and performing arts classes. Giugliano also joined treble choir, the harbor singers, and showband and winter color guard.

Color guard took Giugliano far, all the way to Pasadena, California. She and another student represented Oak Harbor High School nationally marching in the 2026 Rose Parade with Bands of America’s Honor Band.

Emilia McGaha

Balancing academics, extracurriculars and a social life throughout high school is no small feat, but Emilia McGaha is proud to have done so. She loved AP Chemistry and AP Calculus, joined multiple clubs and found success as part of the school’s varsity soccer and flag football teams, which both qualified for the postseason.

McGaha plans to pursue a masters in biochemistry, with a minor in microbiology, at Indiana University.

Madison Thompson

Madison Thompson wants to serve her country as a Navy pilot, and her high school accomplishments suit her for it. As part of the NJROTC program’s marksmanship team, she became a top-10 marksman at All-Service JROTC Nationalsand qualified for the Junior Olympics.

Thompson is heading to the United States Naval Academy after graduation.

Allena Locklear

Between volunteering nearly 1,000 hours and serving as a student representative for the district’s school board, Allena Locklear’s high school career is characterized by her efforts to give back to the community.

Locklear ran track and field, played basketball and swam for Wildcat teams as well. She plans to attend Washington State University this fall to study bio-engineering.

Taryn Lucero

Her academic excellence makes Taryn Lucero proud, as she maintained a 4.0 while taking six AP classes and earning 65 college credits before getting her diploma. Lucero particularly enjoyed taking AP chemistry. Outside the classroom, she made the varsity swim team all four years.

Lucero wants to study medicine at the University of Arizona, with the goal of becoming a pediatric oncologist.

Henry Schuller

The varsity golf team won’t be the same without Henry Schuller. This season, he battled an injury to make the postseason, and stood as the only boys golfer from the school to advance to the second day of the state tournament.

Despite his athletic achievements, Schuller is proudest that he kept a 4.0 throughout his high school career. He plans to study engineering at Whitworth University.

Katie Sheppard

Katie Sheppard got down to business as a Wildcat. Growing the school’s Future Business Leaders of America chapter by over 400% is one of her biggest accomplishments. And, under her guidance as chapter president, 16 members qualified for the state competition in Spokane this year.

Videography is another passion of hers, and she plans to study film and business at the University of California, Los Angeles after graduation.

Ma Camisha Janae Chua

After competing with the high school’s SkillsUSA chapter since her freshman year, Ma Camisha Janae Chua finally qualified to compete at the national level as a senior. She traveled to Atlanta, Georgia for the competition. She also participated in robotics and the National Honor Society.

Now, Chua is off to Seattle, where she will major in mechanical engineering at the University of Washington.

Emelyn Payne

When Emelyn Payne walks, she will have earned her diploma and her associates degree from Skagit Valley College. That is one of her biggest high school accomplishments, along with creating a design for the school resource officer’s police car as a sophomore.

Payne plans to study biochemistry at Pacific Lutheran University with the goal of working in the research and development of pharmaceuticals.