Rockbridge County High School’s class of 2026 produced two top graduates whose records reflect years of sustained excellence inside and outside the classroom.
Liam Stillwell, this year’s valedictorian, leaves RCHS with a 4.556 GPA, completing 11 Advanced Placement courses and several dual enrollment classes along the way. A four-year lacrosse player, Stillwell also served as captain of the school’s Academic Team, which won the state title in 2025. He was a leader on the Speech and Debate team as well, competing at all levels of VHSL competition. Beyond his own pursuits, Stillwell offered document translation support for teachers and provided in-person tutoring for fellow students.
In the fall, Stillwell will attend Southern Methodist University as a President’s Scholar, pursuing majors in political science and finance with law school as his long-term goal.
Corinna Allen, the class of 2026 salutatorian, graduates with a 4.527 GPA and one of the most rigorous course loads in the school’s recent memory. Allen completed 11 AP courses across her four years, including AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, and AP English Literature, among others — several of which carried dual enrollment credit. She also took four years of Studio Art and Design and graduates with an Advanced Diploma.
Allen danced with Rockbridge Ballet and Halestone Dance Studio, played varsity tennis for four years — serving as captain and holding the No. 1 singles position for three years and the No. 1 doubles position for all four — and competed on the A-team in Academic Team alongside Stillwell.
She spent three years in the National Honor Society and held leadership roles in Model United Nations, Latin Club, and STAND, a student organization focused on diversity and inclusion, where she served as co-president her senior year. She also served as a small group leader for Project Connection, a teen-led initiative promoting acceptance and compassion between teens and children with disabilities.
Outside school, Allen has spent four years studying Spanish and two studying Japanese, having first taken up Latin in sixth grade. She read more than 100 books last year as part of a New Year’s resolution, plays piano, makes art, and does the New York Times crossword daily with her parents — a streak they’ve kept going for more than four years.
Allen will attend Amherst College in the fall, where she plans to study classics and either mathematics or statistics.
LIAM STILLWELL
CORINNA ALLEN
