Lone Tree valedictorian Jaxon Mullinnix will receive his 2019 Presidential Scholar award this weekend.

The pool of potential scholar candidates starts with the 3.6 million students who graduated this year. From there, the list is cut to 5,200 candidates based on SAT and ACT scores. Of those 5,200 students, a total of 161 students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico were named Presidential Scholars. Mullinnix was one of four Iowans to receive the honor, and was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education. Mullinnix accredits the achievement to the hours he’s spent in and out of the classroom. He adds that in addition to his academic success, he’s dedicated over 1,000 hours of service outside of school.

As great of an achievement as this is, Mullinnix says this is just the beginning, “It’s cheesy to say, but I hope to one day be a member of the United States Congress and be able to make an impact legislatively on people’s lives. I think I have ideas that can help people and a determination and an effort that can be useful in the government.”

Mullinnix will be attending the University of Southern California to study political science. Scholars will be given a Presidential Scholar Medallion at a ceremony Sunday in Washington, D.C.