The Blair community came together virtually on May 26 to celebrate students’ accomplishments at the annual Underclass Prize Assembly, during which faculty presented a number of subject and department prizes. The event is an annual highlight as the school year comes to a close. To view the Underclass Prize Assembly, click play below:
Dean of Academics Nathan Molteni opened the presentation, acknowledging the unusual circumstances that the School has been facing this semester. He also reminded students how proud faculty and staff are for their hard work during this difficult time.
“Today we get to celebrate the best of what our students have accomplished this year,” Mr. Molteni remarked. “You each deserve a slice of the credit for how rich the intellectual life of the School has been this year. We thank you for your willingness to invest yourselves in different opportunities and ideas. Each of you makes the experience of learning here better.”
Mr. Molteni also noted that, in recognition of their hard work and dedication in the classroom, each of the departmental prize winners will have a donation made in his or her name to a charity chosen by the department head that aligns with the department’s broader mission.
After his remarks, the chairs of eight of Blair’s academic departments recognized awardees for exceptional work. English teacher Kaye Evans then inducted juniors into Blair’s cum laude chapter. Following that presentation, Associate Dean of Students Andee Ryerson and Dean of Students Carm Mazza joined Head of School Chris Fortunato and Associate Head of School Ryan Pagotto’97 in recognizing underclassmen with a number of special School prizes. The assembly ended with a message from Mr. Fortunato.
“Our 173rd year ahead offers an unmistakable opportunity for greatness, but we have to be ready for it, and we must rise up to it,” he remarked. “That means sticking together, having each other's backs, putting cause above self, embracing our vulnerabilities, and doing what Blair has always done best, to live and learn and come together as a community.”
The time for Blair’s greatest generation, he added, is here and now. “You may be burdened, but you are also blessed with the responsibility to be Blair’s greatest generation,” he concluded. “Never has there been a time in the history of this School when we will be relying more on every single individual in this community to achieve greatness.”
Congratulations to these awardees:
The Durland Prize for Excellence in Computer Science: Akshar Aiyer ’21
Freshman English Prize: Fengyi Fiona Han ’23 & Xiaoyu Emily Wang ’23
Sophomore English Prize: Vivien Sheridan ’22 & Mia Stillerman ’22
The Henry B. Cowan Prize: Grace Hogue '21 & Linda "Lily" Starrs '21
2D Art Prize: Margaret Dericks ’22
The Kampmann Video Prize: Wingate Hopkins ’21 & Thao Nguyen ’21
Photography Prize: Xiaopei Chen ’21
Global Issues Prize: Elizabeth Kim ’23 & Ellie Walker ’23
Western Civilization Prize: Keith Delaney ’22, Duc Dinh ’22 & Caroline Johnson ’22
U.S. History Prize: Nicholas Harpe ’21 & Jonathan Wong ’21
The Marguerite Deysson Habermann Memorial French Prize: Johannes Boellhoff ’21
Pythagoras Prize for Geometry: Elizabeth Kim ’23
Gauss Prize for Algebra: Aidan Ward ’22
Newton Prize for Calculus: Hao Hank Cui ’22
The Euler Prize for Analysis: Linda "Lily" Starrs '21
Underclass Theater Prize: Nicola Kirkwood ’21 & Michael Richardson ’21
Vocal Music Prize: Ethan Rackleff ’21
Instrumental Music Prize: Jenna Park ’21
Freshman Biology Science Prize: Elizabeth Kim ’23
Sophomore Chemistry Science Prize: Hao Hank Cui ’22
Junior Physics Science Prize: Dylan Zhu ’21
The Joan and Fernando Marcial Prize: Amos Debah ’23
The Stephen Curry Prize: Lual Manyang ’22
The David Avery-Jones Freshman Prize: Mallory Allen ’23 & Carnegie Johnson ’23
The John Kinch Leach Merit Award: Sophia Davis ’22 & Gabriel Ramirez ’22
The Phillips-James Rosen Trophy: Grace Hogue ’21 & Morgan Jones ’21
Cum Laude Inductees - Class of 2021
Alexandra Bakulina ’21
Arjun Krishna Chopra ’21
Lucy Pearl Clayton ’21
Ashley HanRui Dai ’21
Daniel Siyuan Dai ’21
Grace Anderson Hogue ’21
Hayoung Jung ’21
George Lund Sigety ’21
Linda Marie Starrs ’21
Jonathan Jinghei Wong ’21
Jenna Madison Van Valkenburg ’21
Dylan Tianyu Zhu ’21