On a soggy Saturday under the tent, Head of School Robert W. Hill III commended students for their “dedication, commitment, hard work, persistence” over the past year.
“Each of us holds these latent potentials,” he told the assembled students and teachers at the annual Academic Award ceremony on May 24. “And so it is this morning, as we recognize truly remarkable academic performance, that I am reminded of the collective whole, that all of us under this tent make each one of us better”
Read the full text of Mr. Hill’s speech here.
See more photos on Flickr or watch the full Academic Awards ceremony below.
Awards Quick List
Introductory Prizes
History
English
Fine and Performing Arts
Science
Mathmatics
Latin
French
Chinese
Spanish
Additional Awards
School Awards
Spring Athletic Awards (presented May 23, 2014)
Cum Laude Inductees (presented January 17, 2014 and May 25, 2014)
Introductory Prizes
Whenever a student is enrolled at Williston Northampton for a defined period or program which does not qualify him or her for a diploma, and that period or program is completed successfully, the school presents an equivalent certificate of academic achievement. Seniors will be recognized at graduation. The following underclassmen are awarded that certificate:
Kazuho Ishii
Julie Lord
Carl “Ben” Scheifele
HISTORY
The A. L. Hepworth Prize, honoring a legendary history teacher, Dean of Students, and tennis coach, 1926-1973, is awarded to those students who have done excellent work in the United States History course:
For improvement: Marie Innarelli
For accomplishment: Emma Kaisla
The Hervey L. Smith, Jr., Prize, established by a member of the faculty from 1939 to 1946, is awarded annually for the highest achievement in the Modern European History course:
Margaret “Maisy” Glick
The Edward M. Lawton Jr. Prizes are awarded for superior work in elective courses in the History and Social Science Department. Ed Lawton taught history from 1947 to 1983, and was the first to teach Asian History and Economics at Williston.
World Civilization: Molly Zawacki
European History: Gleb Pashchenko
AP Microeconomics: Dong Ho “Ray” Kim
Native American History: Nicholas Pattison
International Relations: Alexandra Brooks
Immigration: A’Kala Chaires
Economics: Caleb Parker
AP Comparative Government and Politics: Christian Knapp
Comparative Politics: Timothy Nowacki
The Soviet Union and Contemporary Russia: Alec Bickerstaff
Hitler and Nazi Germany: Persis Ticknor-Swanson
Classical Greece: Maximilien Struys
Women’s and Gender Studies: Gillian Peters
Western Religions: Lucy Boland
Eastern Religions: Hyo Bin “Hannah” Lee
Introduction to Philosophy: Abigail Rogers-Berner
Ethics and Society: Emily Grussing
Existentialism: Sylvia Skerry
The Edward L. O’Brien ’16 Prize is awarded to a student who has achieved high standing in social studies courses and displayed an active interest in American Law and Politics:
Cade Zawacki
The Dag Hammarskjöld History Prize, given by an alumnus of the Class of 1955 in honor of the Nobel Laureate and Secretary General of the United Nations, 1953-1961, is awarded to that student who has written the best lengthy research paper on some phase of international relations or diplomatic history:
Alexandra Brooks
The Martin Tananbaum Prize, honoring the father of Minnie Tananbaum Lomeo, Class of 1966, is awarded to that student who has combined an appreciation for the study of religion, philosophy, or ethics with responsible social activities within and beyond the Williston community.
Zhi Jie “Percy” Chen
The George and Frank Carew Debating Prize was established by brothers, members of the class of 1882, and is awarded for excellence in debate. Originally the prize was given to the winners of the annual Adelphi vs. Gamma Sigma debate.
Emmett O’Malley
ENGLISH
Prizes honoring Asahel Lyman Williston, Class of 1852, trustee, and nephew of the founder, are offered for excellence in English.
Grade 9: Tomasz Paluchowski
Grade 10: Elizabeth Sheline
Grade 11: Emily Peirent
Grade 12: Brendan Hellweg
A prize honoring Gilbert F. Kennedy, Class of 1891 and Williston trustee, for the best junior term paper.
Umi Keezing
The Susan Caroline Ferguson Memorial Scholarship was established by the family and friends of Susan Ferguson of the Class of 1980. The award is made in alternate years to the member of the junior class who attains the highest grades in English or French. It is awarded this year for achievement in English.
Emma Kaisla
The Hazeldine Prize, in memory of Myrtle Elizabeth Hazeldine and her husband, Harry Newton Hazeldine ’21, is awarded each year to the student who has consistently improved the caliber of his or her written work both in English classes and for the student newspaper, The Willistonian.
Olivia Foderaro
The Sidney Nelson Morse Prize, in memory of a member of the Class of 1886 who taught at Williston from 1890 to 1928, are awarded each year to the two students recording the best work in senior English.
Abigail Rogers-Berner
Madeleine Stern
The The Bard College Prize for Critical Writing is offered to that student “who wrote the outstanding paper or essay during his or her senior year.”
Brittany Collins for “Death and Feminine Repression in Hamlet”
The Antonio Giacomini, Class of 1931 Writing Prize is awarded to that freshman who has demonstrated consistent excellence in his or her written work over the course of the entire year:
Ava McElhone Yates
The H. Thomas Wood, Class of 1924 Prize is awarded “to the graduating student who has shown the most promise in the field of journalism during his or her undergraduate days at the school”: For their consistently excellent work for the last six years this year the prize is shared by:
Brendan Hellweg
Dylan Kenseth
Arete, Class of 1985, established four prizes to be given for the student in each of the four grades who has, by record of achievement and faculty recommendation, made the most improvement in the study of English for the academic year.
Grade 9: Hannah Baker
Grade 10: Haoqi “Mike” Huang
Grade 11: Harrison Shea
Grade 12: Margaret Fitzgerald
FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS
The Peter Edgerton, Class of 1974 Memorial Award is given for outstanding service rendered to the Williston Theatre.
Oliver Demers
The Williston Theatre Prize is given to a member of the Williston Theatre who has unselfishly given time and energy in the service of the Theatre.
Ezra Wool
The Marquis F. Dickinson Prizes, honoring a member of the Class of 1858, former Trustee, and son-in-law of Samuel and Emily Williston, are awarded for each year’s best male and female dramatic performances. Winning this year:
Benjamin Sarat (Servant)
Mackenzie Zehring (Urinetown)
The Howard G. Boardman Prizes honor the distinguished founder and director of The Williston Theatre for 40 years. “Boardy” also taught French and served as Alumni Secretary from 1921 to 1961.
To the male and female actors for outstanding performances in supporting roles in 2013-2014:
Henry Lomino (Servant)
Esther Kim (Urinetown)
To that member of the Williston Theatre who has demonstrated the greatest improvement as an actor during the course of a single year.
Kai Brown
The Chester Monroe Merrick ‘65 Memorial Prize is awarded to that student who has contributed in technical areas to the excellence of the Theatre at Williston:
Christopher Berghoff
The Stella Mae Hepworth Memorial Prize is awarded to a senior who contributes significantly to the arts, particularly music. Mrs. Hepworth taught piano to four decades of Williston students beginning in the 1920s.
Lily Sun
The Barbara K. Ansbacher Award, established by Henry Ansbacher, Class of 1988, in memory of his mother, is awarded to a member of the graduating class who has maintained a high level of academic achievement and who has made a significant contribution to the music program.
John “J.D.” Askin
The Music Department Prize is given in honor of Richard Gregory, who taught music, theater, art history, and English at Williston from 1961 to 2004, in testimony to his life-long love for and involvement with music as a composer, performer and teacher and in recognition of his limitless contributions to musical life at Williston.
Oliver Demers
FINE ARTS
Drawing is given for outstanding effort and excellence.
Don Ho “Ray” Kim
Painting Award is given for inventiveness and chance-taking and for excellence in pursuing the visual language expressively).
Gabriel Jacobson
Most Improvement in Painting
Lolo “Janessa” Cheung
Dance Awards
The Choreography Award is presented to a student who has excelled in the art of Choreography. This year’s award is presented to:
Henry Lombino
The Dance Performance Award is presented to a student who has excelled in dance performance. The award is presented to:
Tory Kolbjornsen
Photography Prize:
The Antonio Giacomini, Class of 1931 Photography Prize is awarded each year for excellent work in photography.
Abby Walker
SCIENCE
Prizes provided by the will of Benjamin W. B. Brown, class of 1887, are awarded for the best essay or essays written on the study of biological sciences.
For excellence in AP Biology: Persis Ticknor-Swanson
The University of Rochester and Bausch & Lomb, Inc. of Rochester, New York, offers the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award, an honorary science award medal, to a junior who has made the greatest progress in science during his secondary school years. The student receiving this award is eligible to compete for a science scholarship.
Hyun Woo “James” Kim
The Alumni Association of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute offers a medal to an eleventh grader who has achieved excellence in mathematics and science.
[Note: If student applies and enrolls, the official Rensselaer Medal will be presented during honors convocation in the fall of the first year at Rensselaer.]
Loren Po
The Yves Couderc Physics Prizes honor a teacher of science and music, 1961-1979.
For greatest achievement in Physics: Emily Yeager
For greatest improvement in Physics: Quinn Johnson
For greatest achievement in Advanced Physics: Shiyuan “Matt” Mei
For greatest improvement in Advanced Physics: Jenna Phelan
The Class of 1891 offers two prizes for excellence in chemistry, honoring Professor Frank Adrian Leach, who taught chemistry and biology and served as Director of Athletics, 1892-1902.
Chemistry: Margaret Glick
AP Chemistry: Matthew Steinberg
The Earl Nelson Johnston Prize, established by the Class of 1953, is awarded annually for the best improvement in chemistry. Mr. Johnston taught science from 1918 to 1954, and at times conducted the choir and advised The Willistonian and The Log:
Terence O’Brien
MATHEMATICS
The Mathematical Association of America holds a series of contests each year to determine the strongest mathematical students in the country. The winners of these year-long competitions represent the United States in an International Olympiad. The first of these contests is called the American Mathematics Contest. The student who scores highest at each participating school is named the winner at that school. This prize was awarded earlier this year though we would like to have him stand and be recognized for this achievement. This year the winner was:
Shiyuan “Matt” Mei
The George Parsons Tibbets Prizes, honoring a legendary teacher of mathematics from 1890 to 1926, are awarded each year for best work in:
Calculus: Haoqi “Mike” Huang
Multivariable Calculus: Shiyuan “Matt” Mei
Algebra 2: Jiaying Tang
Algebra 1: William Ashenden
A prize is awarded in memory of the late Judge David Kennedy, Class of 1892, for the best work in Geometry.
Chianna Cohen (8th grader)
The Melvin Jesse Cook Award for achievement in Precalculus was established to honor Mr. Cook, Head of the Math Department, who retired in 1952 after 41 years, and was made an honorary member of that graduating class.
Caroline Borden
The Math Department Award for best work in discrete mathematics.
Shiyuan “Matt” Mei
The Math Department Award for best work in statistics:
Nan Ding
The Computer Programming Prize for outstanding performance in the computer programming courses was not awarded in 2014.
LANGUAGE
LATIN
The following students are receiving awards in honor of their success on the ational Latin Exam. One hundred and fifty-four thousand (154,000) students from 50 states and 15 other countries took this exam. At each level of study, the highest scores were awarded certificates of ‘maxima cum laude’ with a silver medal (or ‘summa cum laude’ with a gold medal).
Silver Medal
Sima Gandevia
The Lincoln D. Granniss Prizes established by the Class of 1953, are awarded for scholastic achievement and earnest, intelligent participation in the Latin courses. The class hopes that the prize, honoring a teacher of Latin from 1910 to 1953, will be respected, as “it is the living symbol of a man who has instilled in all a pleasure in being and learning.”
Latin I: Jeremy Levine
Latin II: Sima Gandevia
Latin III: Emily Grussing
Latin IV: Catie Laraway
AP Latin: Lena Gandevia
The Charles A. Buffum Prize, honoring a teacher of Latin and Greek from 1878 to 1922, is for excellence in sight translation in Latin.
EVAN STARK
French
In March, 93,718 students nationwide participated in the Le Grand Concours National French Contest. This evening we will recognize those students who placed at the national level.
LEVEL 1A (French I):
Jesse Cassuto, third place in Western Massachusetts, third in nation
LEVEL 2A (French II and II Honors):
Beatrice Fogleman, fourth place in Western Massachusetts and Vermont, ninth in nation
Matthew Carney, fifth place in Western Massachusetts and Vermont, 10th in nation
LEVEL 2B (French II Honors – attended a French school)
Harrison Shea, third place in Western Massachusetts, and Vermont, eighth in nation
LEVEL 3A (French III and III Honors):
Caroline Borden, first place in Western Massachusetts and Vermont, fourth in nation
Josephine King, second place in Western Massachusetts and Vermont, fifth in nation
Emma Kaisla, third place in Western Massachusetts and Vermont, sixth in nation
Margaret White, fourth place in Western Massachusetts and Vermont, seventh in nation
LEVEL 4A (French V Honors):
Umi Keezing, first place in Western Massachusetts and Vermont, ninth in nation
Matthew Steinberg, second place in Western Massachusetts and Vermont, 10th in nation
LEVEL 5C (AP French Language – Native Speaker)
William Flynn, first place in Western Massachusetts and Vermont, third in nation
Tara Sarper, second place in Western Massachusetts and Vermont, ninth in nation
The Howard G. Boardman Prizes are for excellence in French. These prizes were established to honor Howard G. Boardman, head of the French Department for many years and Senior Master of the School until his retirement in 1961. They come from a fund established by Professor and Mrs. J. Henry Korson.
French I: Grace Quisenberry
French II: Matthew Carney
French III: Caroline Borden
Honors French V: Umi Keezing
AP French: William Flynn
The B. Hoff Knight Award, in memory of a faculty member, 1967-1968, is awarded to that student who displays an active interest in the study of French and plans further study of the language.
Abigail Rogers-Berner
The Henry E. Donais, Jr. French Prize is given “in memory of Henry E. Donais, Jr., Class of 1959 and former member of the French Department at Williston,” 1966-1969, for best fluency in French by a non-native speaker.
Olivia Foster
SPANISH
The David H. Thomas Spanish Prizes are awarded to those students who have made the greatest achievement as students of Spanish during the academic year. David H. Thomas was elected to the Williston faculty in 1929 and, after 42 years of service as teacher and department head, retired in 1971.
Spanish I: Sima Gandevia
Spanish II: Shoshana Wintman
Spanish III: Katelin Murray
Honors Spanish V: Cameron Hill
AP Spanish: Elizabeth Calderone
CHINESE
The following prizes are awarded to those students who have made the greatest achievement as students of Chinese during the academic year.
Chinese I: Kazuho Ishii
Chinese II: Soo Jeong Han
Chinese III: Dong Ho “Ray” Kim
Chinese IV: Jia Lun “Vivien” Shao
ADDITIONAL AWARDS
The following awards are for student involvement in tutoring and publications.
Abigail Rogers-Berner, president of Arete, will confer the following prize:
Arete, Class of 1985, established a prize to honor that outstanding student tutor who has made a conscientious effort to help fellow students academically. This year the officers of Arete voted the most outstanding tutor to be:
Matthew Carney
JANUS
Henry Lombino
THE LOG
Certificates:
Caroline Borden
Olivia Foster
Emma Kaisla
Dong Ho “Ray” Kim
Hyo Bin “Hannah” Lee
Yuet Ching “Fiona” Li
Emily Peirent
Taylor Potasky
Lindsay Richardson
Book:
For (her) exceptional dedication, enthusiasm, and hard work on the yearbook:
Alexandra Lewis
Overall School Prizes
The Yale College Book Prize is awarded to a ninth grader who excels in scholarship and has made a significant contribution to the life of the school.
Molly Zawacki
The Bowdoin College Book Prize is presented annually to the outstanding ninth grader in scholarship, citizenship, and character.
Emily Yeager
The Smith College Book Award is presented to a tenth grader who exhibits consistent all-around excellence.
Beatrice “Morgan” Fogleman
The Williams College Book Prize is awarded by The Williams Alumni Association to the outstanding tenth grader in scholarship, citizenship, and character.
Caroline Borden
The Lincoln D. Granniss Yale University Scholarship is awarded to that member of Williston Northampton’s upcoming senior class who is qualified by virtue of academic and extracurricular excellence to be a strong candidate for admission to Yale University. Lincoln Granniss taught Latin at Williston, 1910-1953, and was a member of the Yale classes of 1906 and 1925.
Cade Zawacki
The Holy Cross Book Prize is awarded to a student in the top 10 percent of the 11th grade who gives evidence of a strong concern for school and community.
Yiting “Tina” Zhang
The Dartmouth Book Prize is awarded to an eleventh grader who ably combines leadership potential with excellence in achievement both in the classroom and in non-academic activities.
Margaret “Maisy” Glick
The Harvard Book Prize is awarded to the outstanding eleventh grader in scholarship, citizenship, and character.
Emily Grussing