St. Thomas annually recognizes those scholars whose contributions have significantly enriched the quality of life in the Eagle Family.  These students exemplify the Basilian unifying values and surpass expectations through their achievement, leadership, and community engagement. While their realms of influence are diverse, they all share a commitment to bettering their campus and the city of Houston.

The Academic Awards Assembly is an annual celebration of not only emphatic scholastic performance and fervent mentorship but also the capacity for charity and compassion.

The Best of the Best
Valedictorian Caleb Davis and salutatorian Thomas Pham are at the vanguard of achievement, demonstrating significant depth and scope of responsibility and embodying the university’s values and goals.

Davis will continue his scholar-athlete career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Pham was accepted into the Business Honors program at Texas A&M.

Pham’s older brother Patrick was the 2021 valedictorian and teamed with Gus Boettcher ‘21 with a ground-breaking first-place achievement in Duo Interpretation at the prestigious National Speech & Debate Association Tournament.  The national championship acclaim for Pham and Boettcher was the first in school history in one of the largest competitive college preparatory events in the United States that dates to 1931.  Patrick also received the Rev. Carl M. Allnoch, CSB Athletic Memorial Trophy for Excellence in Academics, in honor of the 16th principal of St. Thomas.  The older Pham is studying in the Canfield Business Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin after crafting a stellar St. Thomas career spiked with wide-ranging and roaring achievements.

St. Thomas scholars build renowned reputations by making notable contributions to their peers within student affairs, the Eagle community, and the world through exemplary service or active leadership. While these students have pursued academic excellence, they have also devoted extensive time and energy to service outside the classroom and other priorities.

Servant Leaders
Preston Bowman ‘23 was the recipient of the Rev. Allnoch Athletic Memorial Trophy for Excellence in Academics. Bowman will continue his scholar-athlete career with the Colorado School of Mines football. He was unable to participate in the awards event due to an Eagle Track & Field competition.

Jake Pike ‘23 was selected for the Rev. Albert R. Gaelens, CSB Award, given to the senior student who best embodies the school motto of Teach Me Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge. Pike will extend his scholar-athlete career with Lehigh University basketball.

The Principal’s Service and Leadership Award was given to Vincent Iandoli ’23.

Ted Naeher ‘23 was given the Rev. Ronald G. Schwenzer, CSB Campus Ministry Award for most exemplifying the Man of St. Thomas motto of Faith, Service, and Leadership. Naeher will continue his scholar-athlete career with the University of Tennessee rugby.

John Rickert ‘23 was awarded the prestigious Goetzmann Writing Prize, named for St. Thomas Hall of Honor member William H. Goetzmann, Ph.D. ‘48, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and emeritus professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin.  His book Exploration and Empire, a study of the nineteenth-century scientific exploration of the American West, won both the Pulitzer and Parkman Prizes in history in 1967. His Beyond the Revolution (2009) traced the development of post-Revolutionary American thought. Goetzmann was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2000 and the American Philosophical Society in 1999.

Catholic. Basilian. Teaching Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge since 1900.