Five State Championships by athletic teams, 15 National Merit Finalists, hundreds and even thousands of community service hours contributed, scores of subject matter excellence awards, 15 Eagle Scouts and 3 Girl Scout Gold Award recipients, and one New Jersey Governor’s Award in Arts Education recipient were just some of the Watchung Hills Regional High School (WHRHS) Class of 2018 accomplishments recognized at the annual Senior Awards Ceremony, on Thursday Morning, June 14 2018, in the Performing Arts Center (PAC).
To start the ceremony, Senior Dan Zimmer led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Class Salutatorian Kevin Tan welcomed and celebrated achievements of the class.
Principal George Alexis welcomed students, students, faculty, administrators and Board of Education members.
“I’ve had the privilege of attending two reunions over the last month, one for high school and one for college,” he said. “Both were reminders of how quickly time moves, but also of how important our formative years are. As you sit here today, I want you to consider your high school days: the experiences you’ve had and the people you’ve come to know. I also want you to keep in mind that though the awards go to individuals, they arise from the richness of your entire class and are evidence of the collective success you have achieved over the last four years.”
Salutatorian Tan said, “The Class of 2018 is among the most accomplished that Watchung Hills has ever seen. We are a class of wrestling champions, decorated gymnasts, and basketball stars. We are a class of Regeneron Science Talent Search winners and a record number of National Merit Semifinalists, award-winning writers and all-state musicians. The selfless volunteers and passionate activists of our class have brought positive changes to our local and state communities. Our GLC pioneered Skylr the Hypnotist and Dancing with the Teachers, events that are now considered school year staples. From athletics, academics, to the arts, there is nothing our class cannot do. I can say with confidence that we have made our mark, and will continue to do so as we reflect upon what it took to attain these exceptional achievements.”
The first award of the ceremony called attention to the fact that Health Educator Jill Gleeson had been named the WHRHS 2018 Teacher of the Year, which drew a loud applause from students.
Outstanding Achievement Awards
English: Excellence in English, Sophia Su; Excellence in Creative Writing, Neha Saju; Excellence in Journalism, Michelle Du; Excellence in Expository Writing, Michael Raman.
Mathematics: Clifford A. Warren Excellence in Mathematics, Sean Coleman; Excellence in Calculus, Alison Hoffmann; Excellence in Statistics, Jeffrey Stickler; Excellence in Computer Science, Kevin Huang.
Science: Excellence in Biology, Olivia Xu; Excellence in Chemistry, Kevin Tan; Excellence in Environmental Science, Sean Boniakowski; Excellence in Physics, Vincent Dai.
Social Studies/History: Stephen Bartlett Excellence in Social Studies/History, Helen Yang; DAR Excellence in History Award, Caitlyn Park; DAR Good Citizens Award, Alanna Margulies.
World Languages: Excellence in Chinese, Daniel Hold; Excellence in French, Linda Ye; Excellence in German, Jessica Hoffmann; Excellence in Italian, Vincent Tartaro; Excellence in Spanish, Audrey Azeez.
Business: Excellence in Accounting and Business, Ella Walsh.
Family and Consumer Science: Excellence in Child Development, Meredith Giegerich; Excellence in Culinary Arts, Amanda Kumor.
Fine and Performing Arts; Nancy O’Reilly Excellence in Art, Natalie Zurek; Excellence in Ceramics, Lucy Longobardi; Excellence in Acting, Sam Sinnott; Excellence in Photography, Emily Snead; Excellence in Video Production, Neil Yang; Band Director Award, Emma Marszalek; Choral Award, William Johnson; John Philip Sousa Award, Jack Horan.
Athletics
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete: Alexis Tekin.
Skyland Conference Scholar-Athletes: Michael Brady and Marlene Tartaro.
Somerset County Scholar-Athletes: Daniel Pilsbury and Julia Cunningham.
Excellence in Athletics and Leadership: Spencer Bokach and Marlise Moesch.
State Championship Recognition: The five athletic state championships are the Girls’ Tennis Team and Girls’ Track and Field Team, and the Boys’ Golf Team, Boys’ Lacrosse Team and Boys’ Wrestling Team.
Co-Curricular
Marching Band Award, Carl Peterson.
Excellence in U.S. F.I.R.S.T. Robotics, Nicole Regimbal.
Dr. Thomas F. DiGanci ASC Award, Julia Waldman.
ASC Awards: Sahil Patel, Tesse Unke, Emma Gaffney, Eris Ulaj, Tristen Chau, Rachel Lee, and Julia Waldman.
Senior GLC Awards: Freddie Hayeck, Emma Sonta, Caitlyn Park, Michael Raginsky, Michael Stein, and Ashil Jhaveri.
Interact Community Service Club Awards: Julia Waldman, Interact President; Alison Hoffmann, “More for Matheny” Chair; Keerthi Adusumilli, “More for Matheny” Chair; Rachel Lehner, 2,492 Hours of Community Service; Annamaria Newmark, 2,492 Hours; Sarah Wilson, 2,492 Hours; Pramath Kalelkar, 910 Hours; Foram Vaidya, 569 Hours; Annika Surapaneni, 541 Hours; and Kevin Tan, 436 Hours.
Community and School Recognition
Air Force ROTC Scholarship: Sean Coleman;
Eagle Scout Recognition: Matteo Baeyens, David Brewster, David Cantone, John Dempsey, Michael Duncan, Michael Erickson, Robert Fippinger, Freddie Hayeck, Pramath Kalelkar, Matthew King, Michael Maloney, Brady Pilsbury, Andrew Roth, Christopher Strona, and Joseph William Wagner.
Girl Scouts Gold Award Recognition: Rachel Lee and Danae Churchhill and Katherine Van Arsdale.
Courier News Academic All-Star Program: Linda Ye.
National Merit Finalists: Kevin Huang, Calvin Li, Rachel Lu, Emma Marszalek, Carl Peterson, Michael Raman, Lindsey Shi, Jeffrey Stickler, Kevin Tan, Craig Vergilio, Olivia Xu, Helen Yang, Linda Ye, Carrie Zhang, and Cherlin Zhu.
National Merit Scholarships: Olivia Xu, Linda Ye, and Cherlin Zhu.
New Jersey Governor’s Award in Arts Education: Ethan Marmolejos.
Elmer Bieler Award: Giovanni Colatruglio and Shelagh Wickey.
Principal Alexis closed the ceremony, saying “Before we close the ceremony, I would like to take a brief moment to recognize Ms. Jewett and the board of education and the faculty, staff, and administration for supporting this wonderful celebration. Thank you to the gracious Project Graduation volunteers for a lovely breakfast. And a heartfelt thank you to Mrs. Vargo and of course Ms. Obuch, who paid attention to the smallest details. Together, they helped make this fifth annual awards ceremony dignified and memorable.”
Alexis continued, “Class of 2018, individual accomplishments arise from a collective effort, and these awards recognize the strength of your entire class. Your diverse talents and perspectives have formed an impressive group that is now part of the Watchung Hills legacy. Thank you for reaching new heights. It’s been a great four years. Let’s finish strong.”
(above) Class of 2018 Salutatorian Kevin Tan, who gave his Salutatory at the Senior Awards Ceremony.
(above) Principal George Alexis, center, on stage with the teachers and guests who presented the various awards to the students at the Student Awards Ceremony.
