Columbia High School announced its valedictorian Lincoln Gipson ’26 and salutatorians Manyata Madan ’26 and Natalie Perkins ’26 for the Class of 2026 at the Columbian Awards on Thursday evening. All three students have had accomplished high school careers, including weighted GPAs over 100.

Valedictorian
Lincoln Gipson

Lincoln Gipson is a member of the National Honor Society, Peer Leadership, Columbia Kicks Cancer, Math League, and the track and field team. He is also a volunteer firefighter with the East Greenbush Fire Company.

Lincoln will attend Northeastern University in the fall where he will study mechanical engineering.

Salutatorian
Manyata Madan

Manyata Madan is a member of the National Honor Society, Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society, and Science Olympiad. She serves as co-Editor-in-Chief of the Devils Advocate and treasurer for Amnesty International. And she was a student member on the Cell Phone Committee which helped develop plans for implementing Distraction-Free Learning in the East Greenbush Central School District.

Manyata will attend the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign this fall. She plans to pursue a career in data science.

Salutatorian
Natalie Perkins

Natalie Perkins is a member of the National Honor Society, Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society, Chamber Singers, and the Student Help Desk. She is enrolled in the New Visions Emergency Preparedness, Informatics, Cyber, and Homeland Security program through Questar III BOCES.

Natalie will attend the University at Albany in the fall where she will study linguistics and international relations.

Congratulations!