MMI presents student awards during convocation
(Freeland, PA – May 22, 2015) – MMI Preparatory School recently held its Awards Convocation with many students in ninth through 12th grades receiving awards.
MMI Head of School Thomas G. Hood said, “These students have excelled in a variety of areas and we are pleased to honor their dedication to academics and community.”
Claire Sheen received a certificate of achievement for being named a National Merit Scholarship finalist and recipient, as well as a semifinalist in the 2015 U.S. Presidential Scholars Competition.
Emily Seratch was given the 2015 Jake Kislan ’56 Polonaise Society Award, which honors the highest achieving Polish American graduate of MMI.
The Eckley B. Coxe Jr. Memorial Subject Awards were presented to senior students who have excelled in their fields of study as follows: Art, Madison Luchi; Math, Tristan Gibbons; Science, English, History and Spanish, Claire Sheen; Chinese, Rachel Stanziola; and German Eric Kabitzke.
MMI subject awards were presented to students in the following categories:
Ninth grade: Science, Joshua Kalada-Kania; Art, Lauren Babinetz; Math, Spanish, History, Gabriella Kupsho; Music Performance, Angel Alday; Music History, Nicolo Cottone; German, David Caldwell; Chinese, Sydney Karpowich; and English, Chava Kornblatt.
10th grade: Art, Erin Sari; Math and English, Ali Aijaz; Science, Dana Carrato; History and Chinese, Keenan Overa; German, Sam Sessock; Spanish, Allison McGeehan.
11th grade: Science and Spanish, Jay Solgama; Math, Charles Bower; Art, Allison Warner-Senape; English, Lindsey Walko; History and German, Sarah Moyer; and Chinese, T.J. Jankouskas.
Other award presentations included: Woodmen of the World American History Award, Hayden Francis; American Math Competition Exam 12 first-place award, Jay Solgama; American Math Competition Exam 10A and 12B first-place awards, Ani Chowdhury; Student Mathematics Club of Marywood University regional math exam Level 1 first-place award, Ani Chowdhury; Student Mathematics Club of Marywood University regional math exam Level 1 third-place award, Ali Aijaz; Student Mathematics Club of Marywood University regional math exam Level 2 first-place award, Jay Solgama; Professor John Steiner Gold Math Exam award, Sarah Moyer; Hazleton Art League Art Youth Expo Most Realistically Rendered Award, Claire Sheen; WVIA Visual Artist of the Week Award and WVIA Top 10 Visual Artist of the Year second-place award, Joey Synoski; WVIA Performing Artist of the Week Award, Emily Seratch; MMI Poetry Out Loud Competition winner, Chiara DeMelfi; 20th annual Israel T. and Mildred Klapper Memorial Holocaust Essay Contest High School Division first-place award, Josh Narrow; 20th annual Israel T. and Mildred Klapper Memorial Holocaust Essay Contest High School Division second-place award, Luke Yamulla; Scholastic Writing Awards’ Northeast Writing Region-at-Large Competition Dramatic Script Honorable Mention Award, Luke Yamulla; Scholastic Writing Awards’ Northeast Writing Region-at-Large Competition Poetry Silver Key Award and Flash Fiction Honorable Mention, Zach Heckrote; Scholastic Writing Awards’ Northeast Writing Region-at-Large Competition Personal Essay/Memoir Honorable Mention Award, Victoria Kline; and Barnes and Noble My Favorite Teacher Contest Honorable Mention Award, Dana Carrato for her essay on Donna Titus.
Awards for the National German Exam were presented as follows: German 3 Silver Award, Sarah Moyer; German 2 Silver Award, Sam Sessock; German 2 Bronze Award, Garret Kost and Megan Marchetti; German 2 Achievement Award, Evan Dryfoos; German 1 Silver Award, David Caldwell, Nicolo Cottone and Joseph Taylor; German 1 Bronze Award, Zach Gera and Anna Oliveri. Awards for the Penn State University German Day Competition were: Level 2 Poetry category first place, Garrett Kost; Level 2 Poetry category second place, Sam Sessock; Level 3 Spelling category third place, Sarah Moyer; and Trivia category first place, team of Garrett Kost, Sam Sessock, Samanta Cottone, Sarah Moyer, Brian Driscoll, Andreas Boosalis, Eric Kabitzke, Zach Heckrote, and Evan Dryfoos.
Awards for the National Spanish Exam were presented as follows: Spanish 1 Silver Award, Angel Alday and Gabriella Kupsho; Spanish 1 Honorable Mention Award, Lauryn Banyas, Lauren Freeman, Anna Haber, Chava Kornblatt, Caelyn McGran, and Julia Snyder; Spanish 2 Silver Award, Ali Aijaz, Kayla Leonard, and Allison McGeehan; Spanish 2 Bronze Award, Ani Chowdhury, Nick Young, and Dan Tron; Spanish 2 Honorable Mention Award, Dana Carrato, Gabriella DeMelfi, Joey Kress, and Kisan Patel; Spanish 3 Bronze Award, Andrew Alday and Jay Solgama; Spanish 4 Silver Award, Claire Sheen; and Spanish 4 Honorable Mention, Emily Morrison. The 2015 Premio de Honor Spanish Honor Society Award was presented to Claire Sheen.
Awards for achievements in the sciences were presented as follows: ACS High School Chemistry Competition Exam A first-place award, Ani Chowdhury; 2015 Cedar Crest Biology Olympics Ecology second-place award, Ani Chowdhury; 2015 Cedar Crest Biology Olympics Cell Biology second-place award, Will Bower; and Penn State Hazleton Science Fair first-place award, Joshua Kalada-Kania.
Future Business Leaders of America Pennsylvania Leadership Conference award winners were: Client Services category first place and national qualifier, Emily Seratch; Public Service Announcement category third place and national qualifiers, Yousef Qadri, Jonathan Smith, and Jessica Smith; Introduction to Business Communication category fifth place and national qualifier, Allison McGeehan; and Leadership category ninth place, Keenan Overa.
Awards for MMI’s performance at the Monroe County Mock Trial Tournament were presented as follows: Outstanding Witness Award and first-place student award, Garrett Kost; Outstanding Attorney Award, Emily Morrison, Emily Seratch, and Claire Sheen; Best Witness Award, Mahad Muhammad and Josh Narrow; and Best Advocate Award, Yousef Qadri and Claire Sheen.
MMI students honored for their participation in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association District 9 Orchestra, District Jazz, and Honors Band festivals were: Ninth Grade Honors Band and District Jazz, Aaron Harman; District Band, Ani Chowdhury; and District Orchestra, Angel Alday, Soprina Guarneri, and Claire Sheen.
Academic and community service awards were presented as follows: American Legion Good Citizenship Award, Audrey Stepansky; George Eastman Kodak Young Leaders Award and Scholarship, Lindsey Walko; Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award, Mikayla Dove; Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award in Humanities and Social Sciences, Taylor Peluso; Xerox Award for Innovation and Information Technology, T.J. Jankouskas; Rensselaer Medal Award, Brendan Drusda; Bryn Mawr Book Award, Sarah Moyer; Sage Colleges Student Sage Award, Shaelyn Heft and Jonathan Stish; University of Pennsylvania Book Award, Jay Solgama; Wells College 21st Century Leadership Award, Ed Herbener; Wellesley College Club Book Award, Victoria Kline; Chatham University Rachel Carson Book Award, Alyssa Famalette; and Prudential Spirit of Community Award, Garrett Kost.
Open House winners were also honored with Level 2 awards being given to ninth- and 10th-grade students and Level 3 awards to 11th- and 12th-grade students. Winners were:
Cooking: first place, Madison Luchi, Emily Morrison, and Audrey Stepansky, “Tough Cookies”; second place, Level 2, Hunter O’Clair, “Spanish Wars”; and Honorable Mention: Jared Dasher, Collin Finkel, and Billy Spear, “Just Winging It.”
Humanities: first place, Level 2, Cole Wenner, “Banned Books”; first place, Level 3, Devon Faul, “History of Werewolves in Literature”; and second place, Level 3, Charles Bower, “Poetry and Music.”
Science: first place, Level 2, Lauren Babinetz, “Fractals”; second place, Level 2, tie, Ani Chowdhury, “Genetic Engineering,” and Joshua Kalada-Kania, “Tidal Pools”; first place, Level 3, Jay Solgama, “Effects of Microwave Popcorn”; second place, Level 3, Kara Sitch, “Spirograph”; and honorable mention, Level 3, Alessandra Ortiz, “Mathematics in Ballet.”
MMI Woodman Award: Woodmen of the World Lodge 390 President Gerald Gelgot, left, presented Hayden Francis with the 2015 Woodmen of the World American History Award.
MMI ninth-grade subject award: MMI Assistant Head of School Charles Seidel, back row, presented the ninth-grade subject awards to, from left: Chava Kornblatt, Sydney Karpowich, Angel Alday, Gabriella Kupsho, Lauren Babinetz, Joshua Kalada-Kania, David Caldwell, and Nicolo Cottone.
MMI 10th-grade subject award: MMI Assistant Head of School Charles Seidel, left, presented the ninth-grade subject awards to, from left: Ali Aijaz, Dana Carrato, Erin Sari, Keenan Overa, and Sam Sessock.
MMI 11th-grade subject award: MMI Assistant Head of School Charles Seidel, left, presented the ninth-grade subject awards to, from left: Allison Warner-Senape, Sarah Moyer, Lindsey Walko, Jay Solgma, Charles Bower, and T.J. Jankouskas
National Merit Scholar: MMI Head of School Thomas G. Hood, left, presented Claire Sheen with a certificate of achievement for being named a National Merit Scholarship finalist and scholarship recipient.
Polonaise Society Award: MMI Head of School Thomas G. Hood, left, presented Emily Seratch with the 2015 Jake Kislan ’56 Polonaise Society Award.
Coxe Awards: MMI Head of School Thomas G. Hood, left, presented certificates to the Eckley B. Coxe Jr. Memorial Subject Award winners, from left: Madison Luchi, Tristan Gibbons, Claire Sheen, Rachel Stanziola, and Eric Kabitzke.