Aquinas High School LaRiviere scholars and Teaching Excellence awardee named

The LaRiviere Society at San Bernardino Aquinas High School has selected four juniors to receive $2,000 scholarships this year that will be applied to their tuition for their senior year. The 2026 LaRiviere scholars are: Mia Dainko, Olivia Rosa, Luke Oquendo, Rachel Hellrich, and Orlando Trujillo. In addition, the LaRiviere Society has honored Mr. Ted Nguyen with this year’s Teaching Excellence award. Mr. Nguyen teaches mathematics at Aquinas. In addition to this distinction, Mr. Nguyen will receive a stipend of $1,000 for his dedication to his students and his profession. The scholarships and teaching award are named in honor of Father Earl La Riviere, who taught at Aquinas from 1959 to 1969. Many students of that era described him as an inspirational catalyst, guiding them in growth and maturity. His students look back with gratitude for his fostering their ability to think critically and to express themselves with confident voices. He was a towering presence, with a piercing gaze and hearty laughter. His individual attention particularly became a force in students’ lives with a disciplined approach to learning and individual student accountability. He was an example of how just one person can make a positive impact on many others, improving the world greatly one person at a time.