By Elizabeth Gillingham
In June, the Patrick Henry High School (PHHS) class of 2016 was formally recognized by many community organizations through scholarships and other school awards to approximately 70 students.
Many students received cash scholarships ranging from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands.
In addition to the community awards and scholarships, the faculty at PHHS gave awards to top students who achieved excellence in different departments and special awards given to students in categories like Patriots of the Year and President’s Academic Excellence.
The 2016 recipients of the Junior University Book Awards (Courtesy of Patrick Henry High School)
The following students were recognized by the community with scholarships:
Dr. Stormberg Orthodontics Scholarship: Olga Bronshteyn
Alumni Association Scholarship $1,500: Bamidele Aleshe, Brandon Kennedy, and Ian Rodney
Semper Fidelis Distinguished Athlete Award: Brandon Kennedy and Hannah Riedy
Semper Fidelis Musical Excellence Award: Marina Burkett
Semper Fidelis Academic Excellence Award: Brianna Pinto
Semper Fidelis JROTC Leadership Award: Johnhenry Do
Semper Fidelis JROTC Espiritu De Corps Award: Thomas Timmons
US Air Force Scholarship $83,000: Michael Simmons
Commander Pearsall ROTC Scholarship $500: Ashley Nguyen and Erin Stuck
US Navy ROTC Scholarship $180,000: Matthew Dromgoole, Sophia Nguyen, and Ian Rodney
La Mesa Rotary Club $2,000: Katherine Gi and Brandon Kennedy
California Retired Teachers (Division 4) $1,500: Brandon Kennedy
Cajon Valley Education Association $1,000: Colin Nugent
Resource Conservation District – San Diego $1,000: Bamidele Aleshe
Lake Murray Kiwanis Scholarship $1,000: Brandon Kennedy
Lake Murray Kiwanis Scholarship $500: Rianna Jarnot, Georgina Fang, and Reggennie Toor
St. Dunstan’s Community Outreach $500: Bamidele Aleshe, Alexis Gygax, and Ashley Nguyen
Spartan Yellow Award $90,000: Brooke Harris
Lions Club Scholarship $1,000: Matthew Muehelman
College Promise Scholarship $1,000: Araceli Espinoza, Kevin Kwee, and Ken Tran
Elevate Foundation Scholarship $1,000: Georgina Fang, Brandon Kennedy, and Lillian Rose
California Mathematics Council: Jabril King Mahdi
Boys State Delegate: Darren Henry
Girls State Delegate: Brianna Pinto
The following students were recipients of the PHHS Department awards:
AVID Award: Yasin Ahmed
Drama: Jeremy Stolp
Music – Vocalist: Marshall Cotta
Engineering Academy: Nathanael Larson
Mathematics: Jabril King-Mahdi
Music – Instrumental: Matthew Voogd
NJROTC: Ashley Nguyen
Photography: Madison Graves
Psychology: Diwash Shrestha
Social Studies: Brianna Pinto
Science: Jabril King-Mahdi
Student Government: Carlee Anderson
Visual Arts: Flat Art: Meriah Razak
Ceramics: Katherine Gi
Video Productions: Chase Lirley
American Sign Language: Charlett Hershman
French: Mia Deptolla
Japanese: Mimi Luong
German: Wyatt Gregory
Spanish: Michael Lowry
The last set of students were recipients of the PHHS Special School Awards:
Academic League: Sadie Hui
Link Crew: Greg Chase and Chryssi Ladas
National Merit Finalist $2,500: Ian Rodney
Peer Mediation: Aldrin Donna and Anya Vandersip
Perseverance & Achievement Award: Emily Lauerman and Iris Ly
President’s Academic Excellence (Top Ten Students): William Mason, Hannah Riedy, Jabril King-Mahdi, Nicolas Armenta, Diwash Shrestha, Andrew Nguyen, Dalton Surprenant, Leann Hua, Ian Rodney, and Bryan Tan
The Patriots of the Year for the Class of 2016: Carlee Anderson, Emily Arkin, Wesley Cooksy, Marshall Cotta, Alexis Gygax, Darren Henry, Jabril King-Mahdi, Nathan Lesser, Chase Lirley, Christina Marshall, Ian Rodney, Brittany Sipe, Anya Vandersip
Senior of the Year 2016: Ian Rodney
Most Inspirational Senior: Lauren Haneke-Hopps
Scholar Athletes of the Year: Jade Durst and Chase Lirley
PHHS Counselor/Foundation Scholarships $250: Hunter Wilde, Noah Boek, Adam Hermez, Justin Moughan, Meriah Razak, and Andrew Hertach
Maria Theodore Memorial Scholarship $500: Aaliyah Williams
Donald Giddings Leadership Award $500: Jabril King-Mahdi
Presentation to the Salutatorian: Jabril King-Mahdi
Presentation to the Valedictorians: William Mason & Hannah Riedy
Weissenberg Family Watch Presentation: William Mason & Hannah Riedy
Junior University Book Awards
Every year, different universities recognize outstanding juniors in local secondary schools by presenting books to the top 1 percent of the class. They do this to help attract the best students to their schools and to provide name recognition for counselors and schools when talking about options for their seniors. They also encourage students to look at school outside the area by providing incentives (like promises of scholarships) for students who might select them the following year. The counseling team starts with a ranked list and tries to award each book based on the student interest and talents. This year, the book awards were given to the following students:
Brandeis University Book Award: Wendora Hays
The Brandeis Book Award recognizes outstanding high school juniors committed to academic engagement. Wendora ranked No. 1 in the junior Class of 2017 and had a GPA of 4.78.
Yale Book Award: Clayton Lange
The Yale Book award goes to a student who exhibits leadership skills, demonstrates outstanding personal character and has intellectual promise. Clayton also ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2017 and had a GPA of 4.78.
The Rensselaer Medalist: Riley Gilbertson
The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute gives a medal and a scholarship of $25,000 per year guaranteed for four years to those that apply and are accepted. They are looking for students who distinguish themselves in advanced mathematics and science. Riley ranked No. 3 and has a 4.67 GPA.
Wellesley College Book Award: Shurui Li
Wellesley College is a four-year liberal arts college for women in Boston, Massachusetts. They value outstanding academic and personal achievement and Shurui was selected based on her impressive academic record, her exceptional character and impressive amount of time given to community service. She was ranked No. 4 and has a GPA of 4.61.
St. Lawrence University Book Award: Allison Nguyen
St. Lawrence University honors their recipient for their commitment to active service in the community as well as academic success by giving them a book award and a $1,000 merit scholarship per year if they apply and are accepted. Allison was selected because she has been identified as someone who displays a significant commitment to her school and her community and is ranked No. 4 with a GPA of 4.61.
Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award: Harry Guerra
The Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science award was given by the University of Rochester for rigor and high achievement in science classes and also high PSAT scores in math. Henry was ranked No. 6 and has a GPA of 4.56.
Fredrick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award: Rachel Kosic
The University of Rochester selects students who have demonstrated strong personal character and a commitment to understanding and addressing difficult social issues. Rachel was selected and was ranked No. 6 and has a 4.56 GPA.
George Eastman Young Leaders Award: Abdullhadi Alshami
This award was formerly called the Kodak Young Leaders Award. It is given to deserving students for their high grades in challenging courses; involvement in extracurricular activities and/or strong leadership experience at school and in our community. The award is from the University of Rochester and may lead to a $40,000 scholarship toward tuition if the student applies and is admitted. Abdullhadi was selected and ranked No. 7 and has a GPA of 4.50.
Williams College Book Award: Stephen Nguyen
The Williams College Book Award program is designed to encourage intellectual excellence and to recognize student achievement. Stephen was selected to receive this honor and is ranked No. 7 and has a 4.50 GPA.
Xerox Award for Innovation and Information: Charles Wong
The Xerox Award for innovation and technology is given to students who demonstrate achievement in the pursuit of innovative approaches and an appreciation for the possibilities of technology. Charles was selected and was also ranked No. 7 and has a GPA of 4.50.
PHHS recognized by district for energy conservation
Patrick Henry High School continues to shine in school-wide efforts to conserve energy. Last year, Henry was named No. 1 in the county and this year we came in third with a 5.8 percent reduction. The San Diego School Energy Conservation Competition is sponsored by the San Diego Gas Electric Company by offering prizes to schools who find ways to cut down their energy usage. Coming in third place earned us a cash prize of $300 that will go to our Environmental Club who sponsored many of the cost-cutting ideas we put into practice. The goal of the competition was to lower every school’s electricity use, reduce their carbon footprint, and create fantastic campaigns.
- Kearny High School (SDUSD): First place – 15.3 percent reduction
- Scripps Ranch High School (SDUSD): Second place – 8 percent reduction
- Patrick Henry High School (SDUSD): Third place – 5.8 percent reduction
- San Diego High- SciTech (SDUSD): Most Momentum
Lincoln High (SDUSD): Most Creative Campaign Action
- Mater Dei Catholic (private): Best Overall Campaign
PHHS student representatives were sent to the Board of Education meeting to be recognized with their advisors Adria Van Loan and Courtney Kern.
—Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.