Fourteen juniors were honored by their teachers at the annual California Scholarship Federation (CSF) Award Ceremony breakfast on May 18.
The event took place during the collaboration period on Wednesday. Teachers nominated various students for awards in leadership, humanities and STEM fields.
These awards include the George Eastman Leadership Award, the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science award, the brown book award and the California Mathematics Council certificate.
Among the nominees, junior William Hu was selected by physics teacher Kirk Davis to be honored with the Bausch and and Lomb Honorary Science Award for high achievement and rigor in science classes.
“I felt accomplished,” he said. “I was getting recognized for my work throughout the year.” said Hu.
Junior Janie Oberhauser, who received both the NCTE Achievement in Writing and Wellesley College Book awards, was ultimately rewarded for following her own passions in creative writing.
"Writing for me is an escape from everyday stress for school and tests, and it's also a really fun creative outlet," Oberhauser said. “Writing for school in of itself is something I enjoy, but writing for pleasure in my free time is something I always look forward to.”
Though only a few students have earned these awards, anyone has the potential to obtain them, given the effort and dedication.
“I think the only reason I earned the award over others is because of the time I put into my passions,” Hu said.
Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award: William Hu (presented by Kirk Davis)
Brown Book Award: Karissa Dong (presented by David Sabel/Natasha Ritchie)
California Mathematics Council Certificate: Yehchan Yoo (presented by PJ Yim)
Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award in Humanities and Social Sciences: Rachel Davey (presented Matt Torrens)
George Eastman Leadership Award: Eileen Toh (presented by Rebeca Marshburn/Alinna Satake)
Harvard Book Award: Anya Herne (presented by Natasha Ritchie)
MIT Leadership Award: Nicholas Sum (presented by Kristen Thomson)
Mount Holyoke College Book Award: Spring Ma (presented by Amy Keys)
NCTE Achievement Award in Writing:Kevin Chow, Janie Oberhauser (presented by Natasha Ritchie/Amy Keys)
Wellesley Book Award — Janie Oberhauser (presented by Amy Keys)
Rensselaer Medal Winner — Katherine Sun (presented by Cheryl Lenz)
Smith College Book Award — Nicole Lin (presented by Amy Keys)
Williams College Book Award — Saya Sivaram (presented by Steve Troyer, Natasha Ritchie)
Xerox Award for Innovation and Information Technology: Shannon Chen (presented by Judi Heher)