SHS Students Receive Academic Awards

Over forty Scarsdale High School seniors were honored not only for their academic, artistic, or leadership achievements but also for their kindness, integrity, inclusive nature and dedication to our District’s motto: “non-sibi; not for oneself,” at the SHS Awards Ceremony on May 7, 2024.

The annual ceremony, thoughtfully organized by a committee of faculty members and led by Assistant Principal Andrea O’Gorman, sought to create a non-competitive celebration of students from a variety of backgrounds and diverse accomplishments during their four years at SHS. While many students were indeed recognized for their success in certain subject matters and other students were honored for their perseverance and commitment to growth and learning, every award recipient was applauded for their enthusiasm, curiosity, and their ability to inspire both their peers and their teachers.

The evening began with Karine Schafer, Chairperson of the English Department, honoring four students who in their own unique ways, each demonstrated their passion for, and deep understanding of literature and the written word.

-The English Department Faculty Awards were given to Nina Maor and Serena Wu.
-The Harvard University Award was given to Sam A. Kofman.
-The Audrey McGinn Creative Writing Award was given toTobias Edward Rosewater

Next to present awards, was Dr. Eve Eisenstadt, Chairperson of the Fine Arts Department. Dr. Eisenstadt honored three students for their exceptional creativity, talent, and devotion to different areas in Fine Arts.

-The Excellence in Visual Arts 2D Awards went to Rachel Jane Coplan.
-The Excellence in Visual Arts 3D Award went to Ella L. Hayes.
-The Media Award went to Danielle Weinberg Barro.

Debra Asher-Zitrin, a representative for Friends of Music and Arts in Scarsdale Schools, was also on hand to celebrate students who excelled in the arts during their time at SHS.

Friends of Music and the Arts Elisa Draper Art History Award was given to Ava Brooke Schnipper
Friends of Music and the Arts Permanent Collection Award was given to Angela Yishian Chiang

The Chairperson for the Mathematics Department, Ms. Maureen Ellison-Connolly, presented four seniors with awards for their masterful problem solving skills, their deep curiosity, and outstanding achievement in mathematics.

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The Math Department Faculty Awards were given to Thomas Edward Kornfeld, Frederick Evan Li, Etai Jordan Pollack, and Leon Jeremy Rode.

In the field of Music and Performing Arts, Chairperson Ms. Lisa Forte honored four students for their passion, dedication, and their remarkable contributions to the SHS community.

-The Band Award went to Owen Brant Gurekian
-The Chorus Award was given to Randee A. Smith
-The Orchestra Award was given to Patrick Peiran Chen
-The Music and Performing Arts Department Award went to Julianna SuYuen Fang

Ms. Debra Asher-Zitrin returned to the podium to present two more awards on behalf of the Friends of Music and the Arts in recognition of the student’s incredible talent, and their time, dedication and enthusiasm for the Performing Arts.

-The Friends of Music and the Arts Drama Award went to Oryna Bludova
-The Technical Studies Award was given to Benjamin Taichi Kawai

Ms. Nicole Pisano, Chairperson of the Science Department, announced the recipients of the Excellence in Science Award and the Department Faculty Awards, and noted these students’ deep understanding of the subject matter, insightfulness, and exceptional leadership skills.

-The Excellence in Science Award went to Patrick Peiran Chen
-Science Department Faculty Awards went to Kevin V. Daniel, Arianna Makrakis Toniolo, and Albert Ming-da Wei

There were five awards presented by Social Studies Department Chairperson, Ms. Jennifer Maxwell. The first award she presented recognized the recipients for their achievement in impressive growth in the area of Social Studies. Maxwell described these students as stellar models of hard work, and touted their dedication and open-mindedness.

The recipients of the Social Studies Achievement Award were Ike Patrick Coffey and Yeonsoo Go

Maxwell went on to describe the recipients of the next awards as students who are thoughtful, brilliant, and demonstrate terrific civic leadership.

-The Excellence in Social Studies Awards were given to Emily Ruth Levine, and Stephanie Sensel
-The Social Studies Department Faculty Award was given to Kyle Vahan Pidedjian

Ms. Carol D’ Angelo of the World Language Department, was on hand to present five awards to students who demonstrated a thirst for knowledge, a passion for culture and language, and showed mastery of a foreign language.

-The French Award was given to Owen Brant Gurekian
-The Latin Award went to Tobias Edward Rosewater
-The Mandarin Award went to Natasha Rose Pereira
-The Spanish Awards were given to Grant Myles Lieberman and Arianna Makrakis Toniolo
-The World Languages Department Award went to Caitlin Summer Higgins

Next, the Chairperson for the Special Education Department, Ms. Eileen Cagner presented the Steve Corbin Academic Success Award to Samantha Cali Cohen. Cagner said the recipient had demonstrated remarkable perseverance and resilience throughout highschool and above all else, is a wonderful person.

The Casey Ferrone Memorial Award, presented by Director of Counseling Oren Iosepovici, went to Ryan S. Leitner who Iosepovoci described as patient, calm, kind, and understanding.

Iosepovici also presented the Counseling Department Award which was bestowed upon Ella M. Krausz who he described as a true upstander and someone who has a heart of gold and genuinely cares.

Judith E. Weil Kindness Award was presented by Weil’s daughter Mandy Weil Lax in honor of her late mother. The Kindness Award was given to Christina Maureen Semple who demonstrates exceptional kindness, generosity, and selflessness and helps to make the world a better and brighter place.

The Scarsdale Rotary Club Awards, Presented by Miriam Pappo were given to Kevin V. Daniel and Neha Prakash Nayakkar for their meaningful volunteer work and tireless acts of service to try to make the world a better place.

Ms. Carol Desoe presented the Retired Scarsdale Teachers’ Association Award to Zephyr Campbell Connolly and described Connolly as having a big heart and a generous soul and as a remarkable human being.

The Scarsdale Foundation Award, presented by Ms. Anne Lyons, was bestowed upon Thomas Kronenberg for his distinguished contributions both in the classroom and in our school community. Lyons said Kronenberg is admired for his poise, confidence, and humble nature.

The Michael V. McGill Book Award was presented by Mr. Art Rublin, Chairperson for the Coalition for Scarsdale Schools. The award was given to Kyle Vahan Pidedjian because he best demonstrated the values of Non-Sibi. Rublin applauded Pidedjian for always supporting others despite their backgrounds and thinking of others before himself.

The NYS Comptroller was presented to Alexander Rizk by Mr. James Tully. Tully described Rizk as a natural leader who works well with a larger team.

The Student Achievement Award was presented by Ms. Catherine Comerford and awarded to Brady G. Silberfein who was described as doing everything she does with maturity, courage and character.

The NYS Office of the Attorney General “Triple C” Awards went to Abby Rachel Feuerstein and Drew Ivy Siegel who are recognized as intelligent, compassionate, positive, and diligent.

Assistant Principal, Ms. Andrea O’Gorman, presented three awards during the ceremony. The first being the Dartmouth College Award given to Yejin Jean Sung for their excellence in service to school and community. Sung is described as owning tremendous grit and work ethic, leaving no stone unturned.

Next, the Halliday Clark, Sr. Memorial Award was given to Carolyn Chen for her leadership and service to the community. Chen is described as a truly exceptional and talented student who owns a great enthusiasm for making school a better place.

The Billy Safian Humanitarian Award was presented to Timothy G. Stoffels, who O’Gorman described as a humble, caring, civic-minded young man who is passionate about volunteer service.

To close out the touching ceremony, SHS Principal Mr. Ken Bonamo presented the evening’s last two awards. He first presented the Scarsdale High School Faculty Award to Nathan Hammer Breslow who Bonamo characterized as being extremely brilliant and as an exceptional student and remarkable human.

The Principal’s Award, the final recognition of the night, was given to Natasha Rose Pereira. Pereira was described as someone who continually challenges herself and is a devoted, poised, and graceful leader.

Scarsdale10583.com offers a huge congratulations to all of the students and their families and a heartfelt thank you to the faculty and community members who helped to make this special celebration possible.