Students' dedication pays off in CSF awards ceremony

Two sophomores and 11 juniors were honored at the CSF Awards Breakfast by their teachers, who nominated students for their dedication and willingness to learn.

This event took place during the collaboration period on May 19, when teachers and their nominated students gathered for breakfast and the awards ceremony.

Junior Nick Renda was among those nominated, as he was selected by his English teacher Suzanne Herzman to receive the Brown Book English Skills award for his ability to understand strong literature and for really enjoying reading.

"It's really an honor; at the ceremony there only about 13 students, and it was really an amazing thing that I happened to be one of the people sitting there," said Renda.

The ceremony recognized students in multiple subjects such as English, leadership, math, science and social studies. Even though students were only nominated for one subject, Renda believes that some students could have received multiple nominations.

"It was fun for me because a lot of the students there are very well-rounded, meaning that even though they only had one nomination, they were qualified enough to receive multiple, so it was fun being recognized at the same ceremony as them," said Renda.

Other students recognized at the breakfast were sophomores Anika Jhalani and Shriya Nagpal, and juniors Daryl Chang, Sarah Blegen, Anthony Sutardja, Shannon Galvin, Kevin Mu, David Wang, David Zeng, Neya Vishwanath, Alex Chan and Nina Mohanty.

But with such a large honor comes hard work. To be honored as a CSF Award winner, students must establish their dedication and passion in their respective subjects. It may require a lot of effort for many students to do so, but this was not the case for Renda and his passion for English.

"I have a lot of fun in English class, and I feel like [Herzman] knows me well, and when I'm in that class, I can do well by just being me," said Renda.

Students Awards Presenter

Shriya Nagpal-Holy Leadership Award-Dona Feizzadeh

Daryl Chang-Rensselaer Medal Winner-Bob Kucer

Sarah Blegen-Mount Holyoke College Book Award-Natasha Ritchie

Anthony Sutardja-MIT Leadership Award-Jenny Garcia

Anika Jhalani-Northern California Youth Leadership Award-Frances Saiki

Shannon Galvin-Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award in Humanities and Social Sciences-Matt Torrens
Kevin Mu-California Mathematics Council Certificate-Debra Troxell

David Wang-California Mathematics Council Certificate-Audrey Warmuth

Nick Renda-Brown Book Award-Suzanne Herzman

Baush and Lomb Honorary Science Award-David Zeng-Kathy Nakamatsu

Neya Vishwanath-Wellesley Book Award-Kerry Mohnike

Alex Chan-Harvard Book Award-Kerry Monhike

Nina Mohanty-George Eastman Leadership Award-Karen Hyde