(L-R) Valedictorian and senior class vice president Rachel LeBarron, and Golden Achievement Award winner, salutatorian and senior class president Anna Pless. (Photo by Amy Porter)
HUNTINGTON – Gateway Regional High School held the Class of 2017 Awards Assembly in the Performing Arts Center on Wednesday. Seniors formed a line and marched in from the back of the auditorium to “Pomp and Circumstances” played by the Gateway Band.
High School principal Jason Finnie welcomed guests and students, and introduced senior class president Anna Pless, who quoted Thomas Jefferson in her remarks. Gateway superintendent David B. Hopson followed, quoting Walt Disney, “May all your dreams come true.”
New scholarship presentations followed, among them the Gateway Teachers Association Marilyn Pike’s Future Teacher of Excellence Scholarship. Pike was a long time 8th grade English teacher, who passed away this school year. The award was presented by 8th grade science teacher Patricia Diefendorf, who called Pike her mentor, to Anna Pless.
Huntington residents Peri Sossaman and Nancy Kaminski also awarded the first Historic North Hall Scholarship of the Arts to Anna Pless.
Huntington residents Peri Sossaman and Nancy Kaminski awarded the first Historic North Hall Scholarship for he Arts to Anna Pless at the assembly. (Photo by Amy Porter)
In all, Pless, who lives in Chester and is a member of the National Honor Society, received eight scholarships at the assembly and many other awards and recognitions. These included among others the John & Abigail Adams Scholarship, and the Massachusetts Secondary School Administrator’s Student Achievement Award for her work as student representative to the Gateway School Committee. She also received a Gateway Math award, the John Philip Sousa Band Award, and the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award. An All-State alto saxophone player, president and drum major of the Gateway band, Pless will be attending the University of Massachusetts in Amherst to study music and music education.
Pless was also one of five Golden Achievement Award nominees, which assistant principal Anthony P. Sabonis, Jr. called “the most prestigious award at Gateway” that recognizes a member of the senior class who demonstrates leadership, scholarship and service throughout their high school career. Near the end of the assembly, Sabonis made the announcement and presented the Golden Achievement Award of 2017 to Anna Pless.
Another highly honored student of the day was Class of 2017 vice president Rachel LeBarron of Russell. LeBarron also received multiple awards and scholarships at the assembly, including the United States Air Force Excellence in Science and Math award, and Gateway’s Excellence awards in AP Language and Composition, Spanish IV, Anatomy and Physiology, AP Physics I and II, and AP Calculus. At the assembly, LeBarron, a member of the National Honor Society, was announced as the Valedictorian of the Class of 2017, and Anna Pless, the Salutatorian. Rachel LeBarron will begin her medical studies at Boston College in the fall.
(L-R) Dayna Britland, Diana Tereshchuk and Madisen Bang show off their decorated caps, a new tradition for graduation at Gateway. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Many other students in the 54-member senior class received multiple awards and honors, including the other four Golden Achievement Award nominees:
Dayna Britland of Worthington received the John & Abigail Adams Scholarship, Excellence in AP Language and Composition, Creative Writing, Visual Arts, Spanish IV, and Biotechnology. A member of the National Honor Society, Britland, a member of the National Honor Society, will be attending the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Trevor A. Bruno of Blandford, who was president of his sophomore class, received the John & Abigail Adams Scholarship, United States Airforce Excellence in Math & Science, Gateway Excellence in AP Physics I, and the Gateway Math Award. Bruno will be attending Norwich University for Mechanical Engineering.
Seniors line up for photos after the awards assembly. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Franky Tangredi of Southwick and Montgomery, a member of the National Honor Society, captain of the Gateway soccer team, and a Montgomery volunteer firefighter received the John & Abigail Adams Scholarship, the Richard D. and Claire A. Carmel Scholarship, Alice & Henry Euler Scholarship, A. P. Pettis Fund Scholarship, and Montgomery Historical Society Scholarship. He was also recognized for Excellence in Honors English Vi, AP Physics I and II, AP Calculus, and the United States Marine Corps Scholastic Excellence Award. Tangredi will be attending Greystone Preparatory with plans to enlist in the U.S. Navy for Aerospace and Engineering.
National Honor Society member Diana Tereshchuk of Russell was the fifth Golden Achievement Award nominee. Among the scholarships and awards she received were the John & Abigail Adams Scholarship, the Richard D. and Claire A. Carmel Scholarship, Peg Broderick Memorial Scholarship, and ones from the Huntington Lions Club, American Red Cross Blood Services, and the Berkshire Band Foundation. She received Excellence in AP Language and Composition, Biotechnology, and Anatomy & Physiology. Tereshchuk will be attending Elms College for nursing.
Gateway seniors await the call to the Awards Assembly two days before graduation on Friday, June 2. (Photo by Amy Porter)
The John & Abigail Adams scholarships are given to students that achieve high MCAS scores, and are full scholarships to public Massachusetts 2 and 4 year colleges and universities. In all, 15 students at Gateway received these scholarships.
Among other groups giving out awards at the assembly was Best Buddies International for outstanding membership in Best Buddies. Four year membership awards were given to Kiera Coon, Mei Gozgit, Daniel Hemmings, Miranda Piangerelli, Anna Pless and Erica Wolf.
A complete list of Senior Award recipients will be posted on the Gateway Regional website at www.grsd.org next week in the graduation issue of Breaking News.
The Class of 2017 will graduate this Friday, June 2 at 6 p.m. in an outdoor ceremony on Booster Field, weather permitting. If the weather does not cooperate, the ceremony will be moved indoors to the Gateway Performing Arts Center. Seating will be limited to ticket holders only, but will be simulcast onto a large screen in the high school gymnasium for additional guests. The guest speaker for commencement will be Rodney Kleber, retired high school English teacher.
