Blair honors students at annual awards ceremony

Blair held its annual awards program on May 19. The two-and-a-half-hour long ceremony honored over 300 students for more than 70 awards. Resource counselor Marcia Johnson coordinated the event, saying that the night ran smoothly after a plentiful reception held 45 minutes prior to the ceremony.

"Everything went really well," Johnson said. Despite the lengthy ceremony, the event was generally well-liked. "People stayed and said they enjoyed it," she said.

While most of the awards were established in previous years, several students applied for scholarships outside of Blair and two memorial awards were introduced - the Stephen J. and Gertrude Rudolph Scholarship, worth $1000, and the $4000 Hazel M. Bratt Foreign Language Scholarship. New student-applied scholarships included the Leadership Montgomery/Youth Leadership awards, the Microsoft User Specialist Certification Award, the Horatio Alger Association Scholarship, the Gates Millennium Scholars Recognition Award and the Coca-Cola Scholars Program Recognition Award.

Guest speaker Maryland Delegate Roger Manno of the 19th District greeted guests after opening remarks from Principal Williams, Johnson, Assistant Principal Myriam Rogers and PTSA Presidents David Ottalini and Robert Gillette. Teachers, parents and members of the community then presented awards to the students. Former Blair Principal Phillip Gainous was slated to present the Phillip F. Gainous Award, but was unable to attend due to previous engagements.

Throughout the night, senior Jean-Rodmy Dorcil and sophomore Leon Scales delighted the audience with two jazz selections. Reception music was provided by the Blair String Quartet, consisting of seniors Dennis Xiang and Kevin Lewi and juniors Frank Wen and Elizabeth Fang. Junior Steven Hill also performed on the piano.

Community and Memorial Awards

US Army National Scholar Athlete Award
Johanna Gretschel, Louis Varella

US Marine Corps
Distinguished Athlete Award
Rexrian Jarrett, Kathryn Scott
Scholastic Excellence Award
Christina Zou
Semper Fidelis Award
Christina Mullen

W.E.B. Dubois Honor Society Recognition Award
Samuel Adeoye, Samirawit Ayane, Patrisha Campbell, Jennifer Fasheun, Darcye Sorinmade

Memorial
Andrew Helgeson Heart of Gold Memorial Award
James Binns
Roger M. Smith Memorial Award
Barbara Hendrick
Shamara Perry Memorial Award
Sierra Ross
Terry Hicks "All Around Student" Memorial Award
Jonas Shaffer
Michele Renee Wilson Memorial Award
Amina Goheer

Departmental Awards

Academy
Academy of Entrepreneurship & Business Management Award
Aaron Sacks
Academy of Human Services Academy Award
Carlos Franco
Academy of International Studies Award
Maryam Elbalghiti
Academy of Media Literacy Award
Angelina Wong
Academy of Science, Math & Technology Award
Olivia Bozik

Athletic
MBHS Outstanding Athlete Award
Helen Anderson, Timothy Visclosky
MBHS Outstanding Sportsmanship Award
Elizabeth Horne, Alexander Wang
MBHS Scholar-Athlete Award
Nilan Schnure, Rachita Sood

Business
Calvin C. Rubens Award
Morgan Nixon, Jonathan Ung
MCT-FCU, The Vault-Outstanding Teller Award
Kingsley Asare-Wassow, Jean-Rodmy Dorcil, Ashley Duclosel, Megan Ferguson, Stephanie Flores, Haben Ghebremeschel, Naimisha Mahesh, Devin Peck, Phi Quang, Jonathan Ung, Herbert Valtez, Louis Varella, Stephanie Verduquez
Microsoft User specialist Certification Award
Ornella Bellamy, Johni Meeks, Rachell Rathinam

Communication Arts Program
Communication Arts Program Anniversary Scholarship
Catherine Cummins
Outstanding in Media Award
Nathan Goldstein, Ariel La, Cate McCraw, Rehana Mohammed, Sriya Sarkar, Sophia Solomon

Counselor/Career Center
Catalyst Foundation Award
Jennifer Fasheun, Carlie Marcel, Melissa Rivas, Benjamin Simon, Tinsae Tolessa, Selene Tituana, Antony Mathias, David Ochoa
Coca-Cola Scholars Program Semi-Finalist award
Nery Siguenza
Gates Millennium Scholars Recognition Award
Kalisha Holmes
Horatio Alger Association Scholarship
Rebka Tekeste
Kappa Alpha Psi Alumni Book Award
David Burnett-Tulloc
Leadership Montgomery/Youth Leadership Award
Sumih Chi, Benjamin Simon
Maryland Distinguished Scholar Finalist Recognition
Vijah Baharani, Jack Berry, Samuel Bullard-Sisken, William Burton, Jason Choi, Caleb Fan, Hareesh Ganesan, Priyanka Gokhale, Sarah Kinter, Andrew Kung, Kun Li, Lingfeng Li, Laura Mirviss, Timothy Peng, Jocelin Potash, Molly Reed, Jasleen Salwan, Nilan Schnure, Rachita Sood, Thomas Stokes, Timothy Visclosky, Ryan Waldman, Jenny Wang, Louis Wasserman, Junqian Zhang, Cong Zhao, Julie Zhu, Christina Zou
Maryland Governor's Merit Scholastic Awards
Joan Atkinson, Jack Berry, Katherine Bertaut, William Burton, Meghan Cadigan, Amanda Chan, Jason Choi, David Dunn, Caleb Fan, Priyanka Gokhale, Nathan Goldstein, Sally Hardin, Michael Hsu, Sarah Kinter, Andrew Kung, Benjamin Lee, Kun Li, Marie Mencher, Laura Mirviss, Ixchel Montenegro, Priyanka Nargundkar, Timothy Peng, Jocelin Potash, Daniel Quang, Alexandra Ralph, Madeline Raskulinecz, Jasleen Salwan, Nilan Schnure, Noah Sennett, Poorva Singal, Rachita Sood, Timothy Visclosky, Ryan Waldman, Andy Zheng, Julie Zhu, Christina Zou
MBHS Alumni Scholarship
Julie Brice, Amina Goheer, Benjamin Simon
MBHS Matters of the Heart Scholarship
Olivia Bozik, Julie Brice, Nikodimos Gebreselassie, Thuong Ho, Carol Kengne, Samuel Robergeau, Sierra Ross, Sumih Chi, Jennifer Fasheun, Johanna Gretschel, Benjamin Simon, Kaleb Abate, Brian Cathcart, Lisa Francois, Amina Goheer, Ruby Johnson, Cate McCraw, Amanda Pollak, Phi Quang
MCPS Distinguished Hispanic Scholars Award
Amanda Ruiz
National Achievement Scholarship Finalist Recognition Award
Ashley Cantave, Keisha Carr, Malcolm Foley, Sean Mbachu, Rehana Mohammed, Betsir Zemen
National Hispanic Scholar Recognition Award
Barbara Hendrick, Alexandra Ralph, Susan Thomas, Molly Martinez (Honorable Mention)
National Merit Scholarship Finalist Recognition Award
Vijay Baharani, Jack Berry, Katherine Bertaut, William Bucher, Samuel Bullard-Sisken, William Burton, Noori Chai, Jason Choi, Caleb Fan, Malcolm Foley, Hareesh Ganesan, Priyanka Gokhale, Walker Hatchett, Andrew Kannan, Sarah Kinter, Andrew Kung, Benjamin lee, David Li, Kun Li, Zhengzhe Liu, Priyanka Nagundkar, Timothy Peng, Jocelin Potash, Molly Reed, Seth Reeker, Jasleen Saslwan, Nilan Schnure, Noah Sennett, Christopher Silberholz, Rachita Sood, Thomas Stokes, Nitin Sukumar, Susan Thomas, Timothy Visclosky, Ryan Waldman, Jenny Wang, Thomas Warner, Louis Wasserman, Yi Yuan, Junqian Zhang, Cong Zhao, Julie Zhu, Christina Zou
Outstanding Student Service Award
Eric Abarca, William Burton, Haoxing Chen, Sumih Chi, Amina Goheer, Kiran Harris, Gabriela Huffman, Gavin La, Molly Martinez, Glenda Melendez, Rehana Mohammed, Morgan Nixon, Seth Reeker, Christopher Silberholz, Benjamin Simon, Noel Stewart, Milagro Treminio, Chao Xue, Shandorf Yirenkyi, Jennifer Romero
Phillip F. Gainous Award
Amanda Pollak
Siemens Award for Advanced Placement
Christina Zou
Siemens Regional Finalist Award
Benjamin Lee, Louis Wasserman
Stephen J. & Gertrude Rudolph Award
Amanda Pollak
University of Maryland Annual High School Programming Contest Recognition Award
Jacob Hurwitz, Nils Molina, Anand Oza, Scott Zimmerman
US Presidential Scholar Recognition Award
Julie Zhu, Christina Zou
US President's Award for Academic Achievement
Danielle Adamson, Esther Akinnagbe, Kingsley Asare-Wassow, Spencer Bonar, Jean-Rodmy Dorcil, Jennifer Fasheun, James Jackson, Selamawit Kibitymer, Benjamin MacLeod, Ixchel Montenegro, Serelmy Santos, Tinsae Tolessa, Shandorf Yirenkyi, Priyanka Nargundkar, Ryan Waldman, Julie Zhu, Christina Zou
Van Hollen Public Service Award
Sumih Chi, Benjamin Simon

English
Cornell Book Award
Edward Gan
Dartmouth Book Award
Peter Volk
Harvard Book Award
Abigail Cember
MD Scholastic Press Association Journalism Awards
Alex Abels, Hareesh Ganesan, Amina Goheer, Nathan Goldstein, Sarah Kinter, Lingfeng Li, Laura Mirviss, Christina Mullen, Amanda Pollak, Jasleen Salwan, Jonas Shaffer, Ankhi Thakurta, Julie Zhu
Mount Holyoke Book Award
Anna Rassman
Outstanding Seniors in English
Danielle Adamson, Charlotte Aldebron, Brittany Allen, Francesca Blume, Spencer Bonar, Olivia Bozik, Julie Brice, Courtney Burtraw, Marcello Cabrera, Meghan Cadigan, Josephine Callahan, Ashley Cantave, Noori Chai, Amanda Chang, Soraya Chanyasubkit, Haoxing Chen, Jason Choi, Sarah Cohen, Mariane Dipad, Chuncong Du, David Dunn, Maryam Elbaghiti, Malcolm Foley, Priyanka Gokhale, Johanna Gretschel, Sally Hardin, Kalisha Holmes, Rexrian Jarrett, Christopher Jennison, Michelle Kae, Rosanna Kaller, Sarah Kinter, Sara Koivula, Ariel La, Benjamin lee, Peter Lorenz, Melanie Martindale, Julia Mazerov, Sean Mbachu, Cate McCraw, Ixchel Montenegro, Christina Mullen, Ruben Munoz, Priyanka Nargundkar, Jamie Nguyen, Zachary Pinsky, Jocelin Potash, Alexandra Ralph, Madeline Raskulinecz, Annie Ropeik, Jasleen Salwan, Sriya Sarkar, Caitlin Schneiderhan, Nilan Schnure, Breton Sheridan, Poorva Singal, Angela Sivak, Iliya Smithka, Steven Sugar, Danielle Tarr, Rebka Tekeste, Ankhi Thakurta, Boris Vassilev, Timothy Visclosky, Ryan Waldman, Jenny Wang, Lisa Whittington, William Woods, Cynthia Xu, Nazanin Yousefnejad, Tina Zhang

Fine Arts
Excellence in Piano
Steven Hill
Excellence in Visual Arts
Leslie Shapiro

Foreign Language
Hazel M. Bratt Foreign Language Scholarship
Danielle Tarr
National Latin Exam Recognition Award
Adam Detzner
Outstanding Student in Spanish
Brian Chang, Ana Palomino, Alexandra Ralph, Nilan Schnure
Outstanding Student in Arabic
Maryam Elbalghiti
Outstanding Student in French
Sarah Kinter, Jocelin Potash, Madeline Raskulinecz
Outstanding Student in Japanese
Dorcas Olawuni
Outstanding Student in Latin
Annie Ropeik

Magnet
Caltech Signature Award
Jiali Fang
Intel Science Talent Search Finalist Recognition Award
Louis Wasserman
Intel Science Talent Search Semi-Finalist Recognition Award
Andrew Kung, Benjamin Lee, Timothy Peng, Jasleen Salwan
Williams College Book Award
Joseph Lynch

Math
Outstanding Mathematics Student Award
Olivia Bozik, Meghan Cadigan, Ashley Cantave, Hai Deng, Nikodimos Gebreselassie, Nery Ochoa, Ho Pham, Jocelin Potash, Rebka Tekeste, Eden Yilma
Renaselaer Polytechnic Institute Medal
Gregory Kohn

Science
Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award
Alma Gonzalez
GWU, School of Engineering & Applied Science Medal
Violet Cavicchi, Peter Myers
Science Student of the Year
Nikodimos Gebreselassie
Xerox Award for Innovation & Information Technology
Joshua Gordon

Social Studies
Bill Lineberry Memorial Scholarship
Maryam Elbalghiti
Excellence in Social Studies Award
Alexander Beede, Amanda Chan, Chuncong Du, Daniel Hauser, Minghao Lu, Julia Mazerov, Rehana Mohammed, Edward Qian, Caitlin Schneiderhan, Jonas Shaffer, Elizabeth Wu
Greenblatt Outstanding Social Studies Student Award
Elena Gooray
Outstanding Achievement in Social Studies Award
Maryam Elbalghiti, Caleb Fan, Amina Goheer, Madeline Raskulinecz, Seth Reeker, Timothy Visclosky
Phil Jones Memorial Award
Andrea Arguera

Other School-related Awards

Student Government Association Recognition Award
Cindy Ayala, Vijay Baharani, Francesca Blume, Will Bucher, Sumih Chi, Jennifer Fasheun, Malcolm Foley, Amina Goheer, Claire Kalala, Ariel La, Molly Martinez, Brittney Oke, Amanda Pollak, Susan Thomas

National Honor Society Officer's Recognition Award
Katherine Raulin, Susan Thomas, Boris Vassilev, Christoff Visscher, Elizabeth Wu