Seniors gathered to celebrate their many achievements at Seniors Awards Night on Wednesday night. The school also honored 14 juniors for their outstanding abilities in various subject areas.
The night started with the Menlo-Atherton Awards, which are chosen by M-A faculty and departments. First came awards for students in AVID, with senior Yandel Hernandez Nunez winning the Spirit of AVID Scholarship for embodying what it means to be in AVID by being hardworking and committed to continue his education.
Next, the Computer Academy gave 11 scholarships to students going to a four-year college and four scholarships to students going to a two-year college.
M-A also recognized students with the Faculty Departmental Awards for Academic Excellence, which ranged from art to science. One of the students who won was senior Luis Licea Fuerte for his achievements in English as a Second Language.
“It really means a lot to me because I’ve been working hard for this award and I started learning English four years ago, as a freshman. Since then, I’ve been trying hard to keep up and start to stay strong in the language and keep learning more,” Licea Fuerte said. He also won five other awards throughout the night.
One of the awards given was the Rick Longyear Enthusiast Award, which honored a student who embodied the late M-A science teacher and water polo coach Rick Longyear. The award was given to senior Lucas Selvik for his love and dedication to science and math.
“My family are always so supportive, whether in terms of academics or athletics, they gave me the support I needed to really give everything my all,” Selvik said.
The next section of awards was the Community Awards and Scholarships, which started with the 49ers Cal-Hi Sports CCS Scholar-Athlete of the Year. This honor was given to senior Trevor Cadigan for impressive work as a student athlete.
M-A also honored 16 seniors with the California Scholarship Federation Life Members for being part of the California Scholarship Federation for four semesters from sophomore to senior year, and 23 seniors for being California Scholarship Federation 100% Members by being part of the Federation for all six eligible semesters.
While dozens of seniors were honored as National Merit Commended Students for their excellent scores of the PSATs, M-A also had 15 seniors achieve National Merit Finalist status through their scores and essays they wrote for the competition. In addition, seniors Lilah Chen and Celine Chien* were awarded National Merit Scholarships based on their outstanding performance in the nationwide competition.
To end the night, seniors Mattea Harris, Haniyah Knight, Nevaeh Knight, and Tatiola Sobomehin* were given Ubuntu Scholarships. The scholarships are given to Black students who embody Ubuntu, or the idea that “I am because we are.”
“There were so many amazing awards and so many amazing students and I think that all our hard work really reflects tonight. It’s truly a privilege to be able to recognize all of these amazing students,” senior Corbin Nam, who received a Faculty Departmental award in mathematics, said.
“Everyone was being very supportive and clapping after all the awards, even for people that we didn’t know, we were still clapping. It just felt like a positive uplifting community,” senior Josh Pfistner, who won the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award, said.
*Celine Chien and Tatiola Sobomehin are journalists for the M-A Chronicle.
