By Lauren Taylor ’20
On Friday, September 21, Upper School students gathered in Hauser Auditorium to celebrate students who have exhibited exemplary academic achievement in the previous school year.
The ceremony began by recognizing the Pingry seniors who received an honor from the National Merit Scholarship Program for exceptional scores on last year’s PSAT exam. This year, 41 Pingry students were named National Merit Commended Students. Out of that group, 10 Pingry seniors were recognized as National Merit Semifinalists and granted the opportunity to advance as finalists in the spring. Those students were seniors Andrew Beckman, Miroslav Bergam, Abigail Berger, Felicia Ho, Annette Jones, Matthew Keller, Jackson Lubke, Kevin Ma, Paige Maultsby, and Ketaki Tavan.
Following these recognitions, Dean Ananya Chatterji presented the Citizenship Prize, which is given to one recipient from each grade who best embodies the community spirit of the Honor Code. Headmaster Nat Conard presented the Faculty Prize to one recipient from each grade who has shown commendable effort and commitment the past academic year. Finally, Dean Chatterji presented the Scholarship Prize to the student in each grade with the highest academic GPA.
Next, seniors who excelled in math and science were presented with various awards from the respective departments. These awards included the Rensselaer Mathematics and Science Award, as well as the Whitlock Prize for Math.
Mr. Conard then presented the College Book Awards. Each College Book Award is presented to the member of the senior class who best embodies the qualities and values of the particular college named. Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Mount Holyoke, Penn, Princeton, Smith, Wellesley, Williams, and Yale were the 11 colleges represented this year for the awards.
On behalf of The Justin Society Creative Writing Contest, Ms. Christine Taylor, the chair of the English Department, then announced the winners of the annual competition. Writers submitted their entries last spring, which were then reviewed by the English Department. During the assembly, writers and poets from every grade received awards and honorable mentions for their works of creative writing, poetry, historical fiction, and more.
Breaking tradition, the Cum Laude Society did not announce its new members for the fall of 2018. Rather, all of its members will be inducted in the spring. The ceremony served as a wonderful reminder of the commendable energies that Pingry students and faculty bring to the school every day. The Pingry community congratulates all of the students honored at the ceremony and looks forward to another year of inspiring effort and achievement.