CATA Celebrates the Class of 2026, Led by a Gates Scholar

On May 24 at the Wigwam Event Center in Pickerington, Columbus Arts and Technology Academy graduated its Class of 2026, 28 students whose four years reshaped what the K-12 school expects of itself.

Leading the class was valedictorian Oscar Sanchez Blanco, one of 750 Gates Scholars chosen this year from more than 61,000 applicants nationwide. The award sends him to The Ohio State University on a full scholarship, debt-free, to study neuroscience on a pre-med path. During his time at CATA he co-founded the student newspaper and served as president of a student council he helped create, the first in the school's history. He was joined at the podium by salutatorian Makai Hogg.

The class's results reached well beyond one student. Every senior who applied to college was accepted, with offers spanning 27 institutions, including Central State and Wilberforce, two of Ohio's historically Black universities. Fifteen graduates are the first in their families headed to college. Together the class earned 78 industry-recognized credentials in fields from public safety to business.

They gave back, too. Through the student council they founded, graduates donated 359 pounds of produce to the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, raised money for Nationwide Children's Hospital, and launched an annual Thanksgiving feast for families, part of more than 1,800 service hours logged across the class.

"I believe every student in that building is capable of greatness if they're given the support and belief they need," Sanchez Blanco said. "I know that because I'm one of them."

Congratulations to the CATA Class of 2026!