On Wednesday April 30, 2014, parents, teachers, and students gathered in the auditorium at 6:30 pm to attend the annual Awards Ceremony. This ceremony honors a variety of students for their outstanding abilities.
From freshmen to seniors, students were recognized for many of their different talents. Students were awarded for their academic excellence, their athletic dedication, and their ‘cavalier-like’ characteristics. Although less than one hundred students were selected to receive awards, none of the students knew what they would be awarded for.
“I knew I was getting something because I got an invitation, but I had no idea what it was and I was pleasantly surprised,” Freshman of Distinction winner Sydney Scanlon said.
The masters of the ceremony were seniors Max Wood and Tia Plagata. With their enthusiasm and organization, the show ran smoothly. Mrs. Barrow also entertained the audience when presenting several awards. She specifically gathered attention by rapping Cristian Alonso’s accomplishments when presenting him with the Senior Silver Award.
“Her[Mrs. Barrow’s] rap was definitely an alarm clock for all of the drowsy parents in the auditorium. It was creative and funny, very entertaining,” sophomore Maya Iskandarani said.
The process of the Awards Ceremony is a lengthy and tedious job that was taken on by senior Patricia Passwaters and junior Claire Shillington. Leading up to the event, the students that were nominated for an award had to go through an application process and be hand-selected by their teachers. Passwaters and Shillington ordered awards, planned speeches, and prepared the entire occasion from beginning to end, in order for the night to be a success.
“The whole faculty nominated a limited number of students per grade and if a student was nominated twice, they received an application. From there, those who submitted the applications were voted on by faculty, and then a smaller committee used the applications and those numbers to match each award to a person. We’ve been working on the awards ceremony since November and towards the end we put in the most work, but it was completely worth it after a successful ceremony,” junior Claire Shillington said.
This year’s winners are said to be a group of great students that could possibly excel as future business leaders. Among them are athletes, scholars, class presidents, and major volunteer workers.
“These students have bright futures ahead of them. They really are a great group and stand out among their peers,” Ms. Zaldivar said.
Freshman Awards
Recipient
Freshman Bronze Scholar Award
Caterina Viscito
Freshman Silver Scholar Award
Henry Santer
Freshman Gold Scholar Awards
Angelica Viscito
Principal’s Freshman Award (Female)
Albany Muria
Principal’s Freshman Award (Male)
Mark Braun
Rookie of the Year
Hannah Cordes
Freshman of Distinction (Female)
Sydney Scanlon
Freshman of Distinction (Male)
Holden Payne
Senior Awards
Recipients
Coca-Cola Award
Cole Scanlon
Junior League of Miami Award
Natalie Crespo
Ralph V. Moore Scholarship
Michael Hammond
Susana B. Tweed Award
Patricia Passwaters
Daugherty Nursing Award
Gema Baltodano
Coral Gables Community Foundation Scholarship Fund
Patricia Passwaters/Michael Hammond
Kerdyk Music Scholarship
Bryan Medina
American Legion Runner Up
Nataniah Trujillo
American Legion Award
Annelise Fernandez
American Legion Award
Daniel Spatz
DIRIGO Award
Tia Plagata
Joan Reitsman Community Education Award
Winny Delcin
Norm Anderson Leadership Award
Daniela Karaki-Suarez
Vernika Silva Spirit of Diversity Award
Minting Xu
Senior Bronze Scholar Award
Derya Tansel
Senior Silver Scholar Award
Cristian Alonso
Senior Gold Scholar Award
Edward Torgas
Paul Bell Excellence Award
Michael Hammond
Principal’s Senior Award (Female)
Michelle Tapia
Principal’s Senior Award (Male)
Nicolas Rivero
Senior Cavalier of Distinction
Patricia Passwaters
Senior Cavalier of Distinction
Cole Scanlon
Junior Awards
Recipient
Duke Book Award
Nicolas Viglucci
Harvard Book Award
Jose Balcazar
Smith Book Award
Marianna Babboni
UNC Book Award
Camila Lupi
Williams Book Award
Mirza Tanis
Brown Book Award
Claire Shillington
Cornell Book Award
Amelia Leon
Bryn Mawr Award
Nina Llado
Princeton Book Award
Alexander Duran
UPenn Book Award
Brooke Donner
Sewanee Book Award
Jessica Wang
UVA Book Award
Caroline Bauwens
DIRIGO (Female)
Valerie Montesino
DIRIGO (Male)
Daniel Regalado
Perseverance Award
Camilo Bacca
Junior Bronze Scholar Award
Daniel Osorio
Junior Silver Scholar Award
Alexa Alcalay
Junior Gold Scholar Award
Cyrus Zeledon
Principal’s Junior Award (Female)
Allyssa Dobkins
Principal’s Junior Award (Male)
Teague Scanlon
Junior Of Distinction (Female)
Hanna Payne
Junior of Distinction (Male)
Coby Sanchez
Sophomore Awards
Recipient
Kiwanis Club Award
Maya Iskandarani
Wellesley Club Award
Sophie Feinberg
Dartmouth Book Award
Gabrielle Saliamonas
City of Coral Gables Award
Eleanor Harley
Rick Gonzalez Memorial Award
Maria Estrada
DIRIGO (Female)
Sabrina Ochoa
Sophomore Bronze Scholar Award
Joseph Villafane
Sophomore Silver Scholar Award
Juan Salazar
Sophomore Gold Scholar Award
Kevin Torgas
Principal’s Sophomore Award (Female)
Taylor Fay
Principal’s Sophomore Award (Male)
Alejandro Arzola
Sophomore of Distinction (Female)
Jordan Payne
Sophomore of Distinction (Male)
Joshua Zambrano
Department Awards
Recipient
Business Techonology Award
Melanie Gil
Business: Coral Gables Women’s Award
Cynthia Martinez
English for Speakers of Other Languages Award (ELL)
Juliana Serafim
Exceptional Student Education Award (ESE)
Giselle Talavera
Fine Arts: Dance
Dayde Moreno
Fine Arts: Arion Music Award
Mark Perez
Fine Arts: ET Cook Memorial Band Award
Kevin Arita
Fine Arts: Theater
Isabella Maldonado
Fine Arts: Chorus
Jorge Diaz
Fine Arts: Visual Art
Katya Sarria
Foreign Languages: Harold Trip Memorial French Award
Thaimi Mustelier
Foreign Languages: Kathe P. Wilson Memorial German Award
Linda Villa
Foreign Languages: Marguerite Reynolds Memorial Italian Award
Michael Hammond
Spanish for Spanish Speakers Award
Monica Rodriguez
Foreign Languages: Richard Gray Spanish Award
Avery Budin
Foreign Languages Department Award
Nicole Aguerre
Language Arts Department Award
Francesco Sautto
Quill & Scroll: Yearbook Award
Michelle Tapia
Quill & Scroll: Newspaper Award
Nicolas Rivero
Quill & Scroll: CavsConnect
Patricia Passwaters
Quill & Scroll: TV Production
Diana Galiano
Quill & Scroll: Literary Magazine
Paulina Picciano
Science Department Award
Derya Tansel
Robert Schneider Social Studies Award
Eduardo Villoch
Social Studies: DAR
Linda Villa
Vocational Education
Katherine Rey
Vocational Education: Family and Consumer Science
Amanda Pou
Fitness Education Award
Maria Schenck
Athletic Award: Dave Lawrence
Gregory Howell
Athletic Award: Jack McClosky
Mark Wynn
Athletic Award: Outstanding Athlete (Female)
Danae Diaz
Athletic Award: Outstanding Athlete (Male)
Antiwone Johnson
Athletic Award: Athletic Scholar (Female)
Elisabeth Wurmser
Athletic Award: Athletic Scholar (Male)
Maxwell Wood