Academic Awards 2013

“The achievements we honor today are not measured in hundredths of seconds or in won loss records,” Head of School Robert W. Hill III told students and teachers during the annual Academic Awards Ceremony on May 25. Read the full text of Mr. Hill’s welcome here.

“But they do have in common with their athletic counterparts, Purpose and Passion and Integrity,” he said. “It takes really hard work to be good at something—doing good well is not easy no matter what the venue.”

Watch the full ceremony or see the list of award winners below.

Awards Quick List

History
English
Fine Arts
Science
Mathmatics
Latin
French
Chinese
Spanish
Additional Awards
School Awards

Spring Athletic Awards (presented May 24, 2013)
Cum Laude Inductees (presented January 11, 2013 and May 24, 2013)

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.

Improvement: Sarah Socolosky
Accomplishment: Brendan Hellweg, Persis Ticknor-Swanson

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.

Emily Peirent

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: Caroline Borden, Margaret Glick
European History: Stephen Goldsmith
AP Microeconomics: Shiyuan Mei
Economics: Cade Zawacki
International Relations: Xiaoping Sun
Immigration: Elizabeth Calderone
AP Comparative Government and Politics: Eric Tallman
The Soviet Union and Contemprary Russia: Jesse Ware
Hitler and Nazi Germany: Jean-Gabriel Lacombe
Classical Greece: Karlyn Simpson
Women’s and Gender Studies: Laura Bowman
Introduction to World Religions: Hannah King
Western Religions: Kathleen Kaisla
Eastern Religions: Emily Sillars
Introduction to Philosophy: Matthew Carney
Ethics and Society: Laura Aptowitz
Existentialism: Keely Quirk
Sports Studies (Williston Scholars): Jean-Francois Boucher

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.

Christian Knapp

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.

Gabriel Archambault

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.

Pierre Deliso
Eva Stern-Rodriquez

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.

Elizabeth Calderone
Madeleine Stern

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ENGLISH

Prizes honoring Asahel Lyman Williston, Class of 1852, trustee, and nephew of the founder, are offered for excellence in English.

Grade 9: Samuele Lombardi
Grade 10: Umi Keezing
Grade 11: Brendan Hellweg
Grade 12: Mika Chmielewski

A prize honoring Gilbert F. Kennedy, Class of 1891 and Williston trustee, for the best junior term paper.

Dylan Kenseth

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 written work both in English classes and for the student newspaper, The Willistonian.

Nathan Gordon

The Sidney Nelson Morse Prizes, 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.

Laura Bowman
Emmaline Hing

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.”

Jilly Lim

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.

Sarah Lucia

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.”

Mairead Poulin

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: Megan Szawlowski
Grade 10: Mary McCarthy
Grade 11: Taylor Potasky
Grade 12: Rui Xu

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FINE ARTS

The  Peter Edgerton, Class of 1974 Memorial Award is given for outstanding service rendered to the Williston Theatre.

Brian Hendry

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 theater.

Mairead Poulin

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 dramatic performances.

Laura McCullagh
Rachel Wender

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 an actor for outstanding performances in supporting roles in 2012-2013.

Benjamin Sarat
Kathleen Kaisla

To that member of the Williston Theatre who has demonstrated the greatest improvement as an actor during the course of a single year.

Zack Maldonado

The Chester Monroe Merrick ‘65 Memorial Prizes: awarded to those who have contributed in technical areas to the excellence of the Williston Theatre.

Emmaline Hing

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.

Madeline Wise

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.

Taek Jin Kim

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.

Magdalen Dewey

Fine Arts Prizes

Drawing is given for outstanding effort and excellence.

Abigail Rogers

Painting Award is given for inventiveness and chance-taking and for excellence in pursuing the visual language expressively).

Hyo Bin Lee

Most Improvement in Painting

Yu Chen Wang

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:

Victoria Durocher

The Dance Performance Award is presented to a student who has excelled in dance performance.  The award is presented to:

Pankti Dalal

The Antonio Giacomini, Class of 1931 Photography Prize is awarded each year for excellent work in photography.

Abigail Jackson

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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.

Most Improved in Biology: Bryan Bates
Biology: Samuele Lombardi
AP Biology: Eric Tallman

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.

Seung Jae Kim

The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute medal was not awarded in 2013.

The Yves Couderc Physics Prizes honor a teacher of science and music, 1961-1979.

For greatest achievement: Gabriel Archambault
For greatest improvement: Edward Hyun

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: Matthew Steinberg
AP Chemistry: Shiyuan Mei

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:

Sylvia Skerry

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MATHEMATICS

The George Parsons Tibbets Prizes, honoring a legendary teacher of mathematics from 1890 to 1926, are awarded each year.

Calculus: David Fay
Multivariable Calculus: Eric Tallman
Algebra 2: Caroline Borden
Algebra 1: Jessica Wendelken

A prize is awarded in memory of the late Judge David Kennedy, Class of 1892, for the best work in geometry.

Yifu Yu

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.

Matthew SteinbergThe Math Department Award for best work in discrete mathematics.
Taehyeong Lee

The Math Department Award for best work in statistics:

Jiayuan Xu

The Computer Programming Prize for outstanding performance in the computer programming courses:

Matthew Cavanaugh

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LATIN

The following students are receiving awards in honor of their success on the National Latin Exam.  One hundred and forty-eight thousand students from 50 states and 13 other countries took this exam. At each level of study, the highest scores were awarded certificates of, ‘maxima cum laude’ with a silver medal, and ‘summa cum laude’ with a gold medal.

Silver Medal

Maitri Dalal
Brendan Hellweg
Kathleen Kaisla
Jilly Lim
Evan Stark

Gold Medal

Lena Gandeva

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: Nicholas Dobbs
Latin II: Emily Grussing
Latin III: Lena Gandevia
Cade Zawacki
AP Latin: Jilly Lim

The Charles A. Buffum Prize, honoring a teacher of Latin and Greek from 1878  to 1922, is for excellence in sight translation in Latin.

Persis Ticknor-Swanson

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FRENCH

In March, 97,353 students nationwide participated in the Le Grand Concours 2013.  This evening, we recognize those students who placed at the national level.

LEVEL 1A  (8th grade and French I):

Matthew Carney, first place in Western Massachusetts, third in nation
Harrison Shea

LEVEL 2A (French II and II Honors)

Caroline Borden, first place in Western Massachusetts, fourth in nation

Emma Kaisla, fourth place in Western Massachusetts, sixth in nation

Josephine King, sixth place in Western Massachusetts, eighth in nation
Margaret White

Leeanna Albanese, seventh place in Western Massachusetts, ninth in nation
J. Napoule Auferoth
Joella Fletcher

LEVEL 3A (French III and III Honors)

Umi Keezing, first place in Western Massachusetts, seventh in nation

Matthew Steinberg, second place in Western Massachusetts, eighth in nation

LEVEL 5A (French Language)

Mika Chmielewski, second place in Western Massachusetts, seventh in nation

LEVEL 5C (AP French Language – Native Speaker)

Gabriel Archambault, first place in Western Massachusetts, second 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: Matthew Carney
French II: Caroline Borden
French III: Umi Keezing
Advanced French Honors: Shaina D’Souza
AP French: Gabriel Archambault
Mika Chmielewski

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.

Brian Hendery

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.

Mika Chmielewski

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.

Gabriel Archambault

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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: Sabina Aslanova
Spanish II: Cara Hudson-Erdman
Spanish III: Cameron Hill
Advanced Spanish Honors: Elizabeth Calderone
AP Spanish: Eric Tallman

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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: Chianna Cohen
Soo Jeong Han
Chinese II: Tomoya Morita
Chinese III: James Jackson
Chinese IV: Minh Do
AP Chinese: Jiwon Lee

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ADDITIONAL AWARDS

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:

Haoshu Xu

JANUS

Pankti Dalal

THE LOG

Certificates: Laura Bowman

Rachel Deena
Hyo Bin Lee
Hannah Lewis
Mairead Poulin
Bianca Schultz
Eric Tallman
Haoshu Xu
Christopher Zawacki

Book: Alizah Barker

THE WILLISTONIAN   

Certificates: Nathan Gordon
Brendan Hellweg
Cameron Hill
Dylan Kenseth
Ava McElhone Yates
Mairead Poulin
Hiu Yan Yeung

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School Awards

The final group of prizes is voted on by the faculty for the top performance in each grade. There are two ninth grade 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.

Calvin Ticknor-Swanson

The Bowdoin College Book Prize is presented annually to the outstanding ninth grader in scholarship, citizenship, and character.

Caroline Borden

There are two 10th grade prizes.

The Smith College Book Award is presented to a tenth grader who exhibits consistent all-around excellence.

Emily Grussing

The Williams College Book Prize is awarded by The Williams Alumni Association to the outstanding tenth grader in scholarship, citizenship, and character.

Cade Zawacki

There are four 11th grade prizes.

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.

Brendan Hellweg

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.

Persis Ticknor-Swanson

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.

Elizabeth Calderone

The Harvard Book Prize is awarded to the outstanding eleventh grader in scholarship, citizenship, and character.

Madeleine Stern

Cum Laude

Editor’s Note: The Williston Northampton School chapter of the Cum Laude Society inducted 21 members from the Class of 2013 during two ceremonies, one in January and a second during Commencement.

Inducted in January:

Mika A. Chmielewski
David I. Fay
Deven S. Greenwood
Emmaline M. Hing
Jilly Lim
Keely B. Quirk
Maddison J. Stemple-Piatt
Eric B. Tallman
Haoshu Xu
Jiayuan Xu

Inducted in May:

Laura M. Bowman
Evan B. Jacobson
Jiwon Lee
Michael J. Moran
Mairead K. Poulin
Karlyn F. Simpson
Eva R. Stern-Rodriguez
Madeline B. Wise
John H. Woodside
Hiu Yan Yeung
Christopher C. Zawacki

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2 thoughts on “Academic Awards 2013”

  1. I was under the big tent today (=freezing!) to watch my neice, Ashby McCoy, graduate… What a great ceremony! I loved the remarks of Headmaster Hill at the very end, quoting a former head of Williston… Would it be possible for you to send them to me? They are certainly worth pondering… Thx very much, Jen Byers

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