Students Honored During Recognition Assembly

On Monday, May 18, George School students were honored with awards in recognition of their accomplishments at George School across academics, athletics, visual arts, performing arts, poetry, and community. Watch the Recognition Assembly here.

Honor Roll and Head of School List
Head of School Sam Houser began the assembly honoring the seventy-nine seniors who made Honor Roll, the Head of School List, or both for ten or more terms (every possible term or all but one), and seniors who’ve been here fewer than four years but have made the list each term. View the list of students here.

To be named to the Honor Roll students must receive no grade lower than a B or an overall B+ average with no grade below a C. The Head of School’s List recognizes a student’s commitment to excellence in attitude, effort, initiative, and preparation. To be named to the Head of School’s List students must be nominated by at least five of their teachers.

Mary B. Kirk Award
The Mary B. Kirk Award was presented by Tova Meyer on behalf of the College Counseling Department to Edithe-Rose Niyogushima ’20. This award recognizes a member of the graduating class who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to George School and is sent to the recipient’s college to help meet their financial need. Edithe Rose has shown rare dedication to George School and making our community even stronger and she will attend Agnes Scott College in the fall.

Athletics Awards
Director of Athletics Kurt Ruch presented awards to outstanding senior athletes. The Herald Scholar Athlete award winners this year were Alexandra Long ’20 and Will Rampe ’20 who were honored for their outstanding achievements in the classroom and on the playing field.

Thirteen senior students received Pi Award that recognizes students who played on three varisty teams over the course of a single academic year.

• Larry (Cesar) Arreguin ’20 — Football, Wrestling, Lacrosse
• Anna (Annie) Borovskiy ’20 — Field Hockey, Basketball, Softball
• Robin Bouchet ’20 — Cross Country, Swimming, Spring Track
• Abigail Eisold ’20 — Volleyball, Winter Track, Spring Track
• Emma Huttemann ’20 — Equestrian, Equestrian, Equestrian
• Marisa Kalafer ’20 — Equestrian, Equestrian, Equestrian
• Alexandra Long ’20 — Soccer, Basketball, Lacrosse
• Janaia Madden ’20 — Cross Country, Basketball, Spring Track
• Camille Mills ’20 — Soccer, Basketball, Lacrosse
• Tokoloho Mpela ’20 — Soccer, Basketball, Spring Track
• William (Will) Rampe ’20 — Football, Basketball, Lacrosse
• Isabella Robinson-Cloete ’20 — Field Hockey, Basketball, Spring Track
• Walter Wagude ’20 — Cross Country, Winter Track, Spring Track

Alexandra Long ’20 and Cesar Arreguin ’20 were honored for earning twelve varsity letters—they lettered during each season of their entire career at George School. “Congratulations Alexandra and Cesar for this amazing accomplishment to have lettered during each season of your entire career at George School,” said Kurt.

Visual Arts Awards
Represented by Danielle Picard-Sheehan, the Arts Department presented awards for each of the disciplines in visual arts based on passion, growth, risk-taking, originality, being constructively supportive of one’s peers, and demonstrating effort beyond expectations. The following students received awards:

• Ryan Tufford ’20 for graphic design
• Claire Schmucker ’20 for ceramics/sculpture
• Jada Wooten ’20 for painting and drawing
• Naia Madden ’20 for woodworking and design
• Rachel Brown ’20 for photography

Performing Arts Awards
Arts Department Head Mo West presented the Georgie Awards, which honor students who enroll in all three term performance classes in the current academic year. Awardees for 2019—2020 include Ayzia Alexander ’21, Kelly Banfield ’20  Kira Barich ’21  Julia Carrigan ’20  Katie Kendrick ’20, Eric Ruziskey ’20, David Xi ’21, Raven Zhan ’20, and Rex Zhang ’20.

Argo Prose and Poetry Awards
Argo Prose and Poetry Awards were presented by Liz Merkulova ’22 and Alex Rawlings ’22. Caravaggio, a poem by Kelly Banfield ’20 was selected for the poetry award. A prose piece, The Sirens by Heather Thaler ’20 was selected for the prose award.

The Andrew Bourns Grant
The Andrew Bourns Social Justice Endowment Fund was created to honor the legacy of a graduate of the class of 1987 who believed that “for things to get better, one must keep striving to change ignorance to understanding.” The fund provides significant grants to students to undertake direct-service social justice work in the United States. This year, Andrew Bourns Grant was presented by Margee Joshi ’21, Camille Mills ’20, and Shelby Williams ’21 to students who are expected to develop plans that bring value to their projects and their communities, despite the challenging circumstances. This year’s recipients include: Katie Rose Hendry ’22, Angelina Wong ’22, Kira Barich ’21, and Aarav Hathiramani ’22.

Laramore Service Award
The Laramore Service Award was presented by Abby Byrtus ’20 and Conrad Vakili ’20. This award was endowed in honor of the longtime Head of Orton Julius B. Laramore, who had a deep conviction that there is no substitute for courtesy and consideration for others. The Laramore Award recognizes two George School students who are “quiet givers.” Recipients of the Laramore Award have assisted others on a one-to-one basis, quietly demonstrating leadership through acts of kindness, generosity of spirit, and service to our community. Each recipient receives a cash award that they may spend on projects that will directly benefit the school, or up to half on their own personal service projects or enrichment experiences. Recipients will develop their project plans in consultation with the Head of Orton. This year’s recipients are Divya Papaiya ’21 and Ann Scherer ’21.

Opus Dedication
The Opus yearbook traditionally has been presented to an adult in the community who the students wish to honor for their accomplishments and support of student life at George School. This year, the Opus staff has decided to honor someone whose impact was felt in the Class of 2020 since their first day on campus as a freshman–Maggie Jayne Popkin, in recognition of the many gifts she gave her fellow students, and the place she will always hold in our hearts.

Even before her own career as a GS student began, her parents and two older siblings had left indelible imprints on the fabric of this community. With her vivacious energy and humorous outlook, she also began to make her presence known. She had a voracious appetite for learning and would never back down from defending someone she felt was being treated unfairly. Her love of singing and performing felt like they were part of her DNA and she could light up a room or a stage with her passion.