Both the valedictorian and salutatorian of the Harker Heights High School Class of 2026 are taking their astonishing talents and accomplishments all the way to Harvard University on the way to creatively amazing aspirations for the future.
Hannah Shin is this year’s valedictorian and Rebekah Koh is salutatorian.
The Harker Heights High School graduation is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, May 29 at the Cadence Bank Center.
Shin and Koh have shared many of the same advanced academic courses, are accomplished artists in different media and were raised in Korean families familiar with a proverb about a frog trapped in a well and expanding one’s worldview.
Valedictorian Hannah Shin
The valedictorian attended Ira Cross Elementary and Manor Middle School before Harker Heights High School. She is president of National Honor Society and Excel and a two-time state winner at the Visual Art Scholastic Event.
She applied to Harvard through its early decision process and earned admission through the QuestBridge program for high-achieving students from low-income families. Her tuition is totally covered.
“I don’t think it’s hit that I’m valedictorian,” said Shin, before sharing the proverb that illustrates the growth she has experienced. “Don’t be a frog stuck in a well. They have a very limited worldview. That was me at the beginning of high school. I think I’ve finally made it out of that well.”
“I’ve grown so much…I’ve figured out how to make the best of the opportunities I have now.”
Volunteering through service clubs, she said, showed her the privilege of giving back to those in need.
She especially learned through a child abuse awareness program that led her to want to study neurology with the goal of increasing access to mental health services.
Combined with a load of Advanced Placement courses and service projects, Shin poured time into creating visual art, earning state recognition. “I’ve progressed as an artist. My technique has improved. I hope to continue it as a major hobby.”
She would like to combine medical science with the use of art to address emotional and mental health. She plans to major in chemistry and seek out service and visual art opportunities.
Salutatorian Rebekah Koh
Koh attended Venable Village and Mountain View elementary schools and Union Grove and Nolan middle schools before Harker Heights High School.
She was securely fixed in the No. 3 position in the class until the final ranking report that revealed her status as class salutatorian. Koh has taken AP and dual credit courses throughout high school.
“I kept going at my own pace,” she said. “I think instead of binding myself to a title I found more validation in other parts of myself. Now it feels like a reward for my hard work…You can be successful without the title.”
Much of her time has gone to learning and instructing others in playing the violin and serving in the small church her father pastors.
Koh is a three-time All-State Orchestra member and a two-time National Youth Orchestra member, which allowed her to travel across Asia with peer musicians from across the nation.
She has also given lessons to six students ranging from seventh to 11th grade, has led a praise team and a chamber group she started at her church, spearheaded a fundraiser to benefit a community in rural Mexico and taught in the Killeen Korean School.
Officially, Koh has amassed more than 800 hours of volunteer service in her four years of high school.
All of those experiences are bringing to fruition her desire to bring greater opportunities to people in need through public policy.
She recently found out she gained admission to Harvard University through the same QuestBridge program as her top-ranked peer.
“It was such a rewarding moment for not just myself but my entire family,” Koh said. “It’s the culmination of the efforts of myself, my family and my teachers, everything throughout 18 years of life. Every hardship is worth it.”
Photos of all KISD valedictorians and salutatorians: https://www.killeenisd.org/photos