46 Scarsdale High School Students Recognized for Achievements at Awards Ceremony

Scarsdale High School hosted their Academic Awards Ceremony on Wednesday May 13 to honor those students who attained academic and community service excellence over the past year at the High School, or over their four year High School careers. Parents, teachers, friends and community members gathered in the auditorium to honor 46 students, all juniors and seniors.

The night began with the science awards, the first was the New York Science Supervisors Association Awards presented to the top students in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. The Biology award went to Senior Adina Estrin, a top student in the Advanced Topics Biology program. The Chemistry award went to Senior Henry Kline, who studied Advanced Topics Chemistry this year after doing very well in Chemistry as a sophomore. The Physics award went to Danielle Ezratty, who excelled in both Advanced Topics Physics and junior year Physics with teacher Michael Egan. Following the New York Science Supervisors Association awards, Science Teacher Joseph Vaughan presented the Bausch and Lomb award. This award went to junior Han(Cherie) Xu, who ended the night with three awards, including one in the English Department, and another for overall excellence. The next award given by Mr. Vaughan was the Science Achievement award for academic achievement in the sciences, which went to Senior Geoffrey Fitzgerald. Senior Samuel Koslowsky received the Science Department award, for his excellence in overall science and his Science Research project, his first of two awards on the night.

English Department Chair Ms. Ann Liptak presented the Harvard University, Brown University, and Princeton University Awards, followed by the Audrey McGinn Creative Writing award. Han (Cherie) Xu received the Harvard University award first, her second of the night. Juniors Elliot Klein and Samuel Goldman received the Yale and Brown University awards respectively for their writing skills and their appetite for books and novels. Senior Kara Schechtman was the recipient of the Princeton English Excellence award, for her superior writing skills. Fellow Senior Anil Sindhwani received the Audrey McGinn Creative Writing Award for his remarkable skills in poetry and creative writing, producing characters that are witty and deep. Following Ms. Liptak's presentation, Ms. Linda Leavitt, Editor of the Scarsdale Inquirer presented The Scarsdale Inquirer Award to co-winners Ali Bauersfeld and Jake Abrahams, for their coverage of various local sports teams over the past year.

The Social Studies awards were announced by Mr. John Harrison, Chair of the Social Studies Department. Junior Alexa Miller won the Social Studies Achievement Award for her excellence in the Social Studies department. Senior Yunchao Le took home the Social Studies Excellence award, cited for his exceptional work ethic and his leadership skills. The final Social Studies award, the Social Studies faculty award went to senior Rahul Gosain, for his extraordinary contributions to the social studies department, and his calm, thoughtful, and humble attitude.

Chair of the World Language Department Ms. Sylvie Corten presented the World Languages award, partially speaking about each winner in his or her chosen language of study. Senior Jonny Dorf won the faculty's Spanish Language award, for his exceptional Spanish language skills, both written and spoken. Koji Shiromoto won the French Language award, cited as being someone whose spoken French sounds like music. Koji also received the Eric Rothschild scholarship later on in the evening. The Latin award went to Aaron J. Hallac, for his four years of dedicated study of the language, and excellence studying it. Amy Saslekova won the Mandarin award for her excellence in the language, and also received an award later from the Counseling Department. Matthew Mandel won the World Languages Department award for his phenomenal language skills, and for his renowned status as a polyglot; one who can speak more than three languages, for his knowledge in Mandarin, French, Spanish, and of course English. Finally, Constance Lam won the Dartmouth College award for her excellent language skills.

The next category of awards was more miscellaneous, with the Scarsdale Rotary Club, MSG Varsity, Scarsdale Chamber of Commerce, and other community organizations presenting awards. The Scarsdale Rotary Community Service Recognition awards went to two students; seniors Robert Lee and Maggie O'Keefe, for their community service efforts. Jared Fischer, organizer of a biking club at Scarsdale High School won the MSG Varsity Award for his efforts with the biking program at Scarsdale. Samuel Koslowsky won his second award of the night, the Technical Service Award, for his commitment to the Scarsdale Audio and Video program, and his work with the community. Next was the Casey Ferrone Memorial award, given to a student who plans to study education. This year's winner was Carly Kahan, who has devoted many years of high school to babysitting and working with children. Mr. Jason Wilson of the Chamber of Commerce presented Connor McCarthy with the Scarsdale Chamber of Commerce award, wishing him success in the future.

The Performing Arts awards were given to top musical and theater students. Will Ashman received the Band Award, for his dedication to the trumpet and the Scarsdale Band. Cailey Martin received the Chorus award for her dedication to the Scarsdale choir, despite her status as a world-renowned singer. Talia Schulman received the Orchestra award for her devotion to the cello and the Scarsdale Orchestra. The Sidney R. Case Memorial Scholarship went to Caroline Teicher for her musical skill, mastering several instruments, including the Piano and the Clarinet. India Stachyra won the Friends of Music and Art Drama award for her work with the Drama club and devotion to theater.

Art program awards went to Eliot Sernau, who won the Friends of Music and Art Permanent Collection Award, for his transformation of music into artwork, and will have his art forever on display at the school. Elizabeth Goldstein won the Excellence in Visual Art 2D award for her work with Visual 2D art, creating spectacular drawings for all of her four years. Yunchao Le won his second award, the Excellence in Visual Art 3D for his work with sculptures, some of which were on display in a show in Katonah, New York. Two seniors, Elizabeth Hansen and Bridget Horwood were awarded the Media Award, for their fantastic photos of their friends and other visual masterpieces. Sabrian Kaune won the Elisa Draper Art History Award, for her quick development into an excellent student of art history.

The penultimate group of awards was for the Mathematics department, and began with the Rensselaer Mathematics and Science Award, given to Harry Chalfin for his work in both the math and science fields. The Math Faculty award followed, given to Rebbecca Agustin, for her work at the highest math levels in the school, as both a student and Teacher's Assistant.

The final awards were those of supreme excellence and merit, given for the overall quality of work of the student, or the overall quality of the student. The Wellesley Book Award went to Junior Stephanie Strek, for her top quality work in the school. Amy Saslekova won her second award of thenight: the Counseling Department award, for her complete immersion in the Scarsdale community. The Junior Scholarship/Service award went to Charles Musoff, for his work in community service as a junior. Han (Cherie) Xu won her third award, the Junior Academic Excellence award, for her superior academic work over her junior year. The Halliday Clark Sr. Memorial Award went to senior Adrienne Travis, for her work in and out of school as a star student and tennis player. The Scarsdale Alumni Eric Rothschild Scholarship became Koji Shiromoto's second award of the evening, which he received for his total excellence in everything he does. The Michael V. McGill Book award is given to a student who represents the school motto "Non Sibi", or "Not for Self." This year, the award was a book, The Boys in the Boat picked out by Mr. McGill, and given to Nakul Garg, whose work with the Edward Williams Club tutoring young students in Mount Vernon defined Non Sibi. The Billy Safian Humanitarian Award given in honor of former Scarsdale student Billy Safian was awarded to Kate Schnitzer, for her work with various clubs and organizations helping those less fortunate, especially the homeless. Lindsay Kim won the Scarsdale Foundation Award, for her excellence in Scarsdale. The final award of the night was given to former SHS President Amanda Shuster, for her dedication to Scarsdale and her role as a model Scarsdale Student.

Full Video of the event can be found here.

Note: Scarsdale10583 would have liked to include more photos of the award winners, but the Scarsdale Inquirer prevented us from taking photos at the event.