As the academic year comes to a close, underclass students and faculty came together for a night of recognition in the DuBois Theatre. On Monday, May 29, the Underclass Prize Assembly honored members of the ninth, 10th and 11th grades for their outstanding academic and co-curricular work throughout Blair’s 175th year.

“Our prize winners tonight embody the intentionality to make the most of each step along the way to pursue both the totality of the learning and the iterative journey at the same time,” Dean of Academics Nathan Molteni said as he welcomed everyone to the assembly. “In honor of that pursuit, we come together to acknowledge individual achievements in learning and community engagement from the past year.”

Click “play” below to watch the assembly. 

Congratulations to all of the students who were awarded for their accomplishments on Monday!

The Phillips-James Rosen Trophy: Brynne Grant ’24 & Machua Muchugia ’24

The John Kinch Leach Merit Award: Dirk Peereboom ’25 & Minh Anh Vo ’25

The David Avery-Jones Freshman Prize: Faye Allen ’26 & Gerald Negvesky ’26

The Joan and Fernando Marcial Prize: C.C. Boellhoff ’25

The Stephen Curry Prize: Carter Neves ’24
 
Cum Laude Society: Nathan Bo ’24, Charlene Jiao ’24, Garrett Lee ’24, Nicole Liao ’24, Simisola Onakomaiya ’24, Charlotte Russell ’24, Owen Shin ’24, Oscar Wan ’24, Cooper Winegar ’24, Clara Yan ’24, Hayden Yau ’24, Daniel Zhang ’24 & Jason Zhao ’24

The Edyth Jeffrey Shakespeare Essay Prize: C.C. Boellhoff ’25, Natalie Chamberlain ’24, Sophie Cheung ’26, Kaya Collier ’26, Mary Da ’26, Jaz Dellaert ’26, Yunha Hwang ’26, Charlene Jiao ’24, Zach Kolaja ’25, Arthur Lee ’24, Kazel Li ’25, Levin Li ’25, Eli Maloney ’25, Rita Meng ’26, Khang Nguyen ’26, Dirk Peereboom ’25, Nick Rocca ’25, Charlotte Russell ’24, Sophia Shah ’25, Owen Shin ’24, Josie Tetteh ’26, Oscar Wan ’24, Cooper Winegar ’24 & Louise Wyche ’26

The Henry Cowan Prize: Meredith Abbott ’24 & Jason Zhao ’24

Sophomore English Prize: Madison Guiry ’25 & Levin Li ’25

Freshman English Prize: Liam Green ’26 & Cathleen Zhang ’26

Art Prize - Two Dimensional Art: Peyton Franz ’24

Art Prize - Three Dimensional Art: Libby Russell ’25

Art Prize - Photography: Oscar Wan ’24

Art Prize - The Kampmann Video Prize: Julian Perello ’24 & Leona Su ’25

Art Prize - Graphic Design: William Antunes ’25

Freshman History Prize: Khang Nguyen ’26 & Derek Chen ’26

Sophomore History Prize: William Antunes ’25, Jack Nothstine ’25 & Libby Russell ’25

Junior History Prize: Ksenia Burdiuzha ’24, Richard Li ’24 & Owen Shin ’24

Chinese Language Prize: Gio Choi ’25

Spanish Language Prize: Ethan Anthony ’24

Newton Prize for Calculus: Noah Hu ’25 & Apple Wu ’24

Hypatia Prize for Pre-Calculus: Gio Choi ’25 & Cooper Winegar ’24

Pythagoras Prize for Geometry: Liam Green ’26

Al-Khwarizmi Prize for Algebra: Khang Nguyen ’26

Vocal Music Prize: Ksenia Burdiuzha ’24

Instrumental Music Prize: Ethan Anthony ’24

Underclass Theatre Prize: Julia Twomey ’25

Religion & Philosophy Prize: Lily Yao ’25

Ninth Grade Biology Prize: Derek Chen ’26 & Liam Green ’26

Tenth Grade Chemistry Prize: William Antunes ’25 & Kazel Li ’25

Eleventh Grade Physics Prize: Charlene Jiao ’24

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Last week, Dean of College Counseling Niki Applebaum ’01 honored several rising seniors for excellence in areas ranging from technology to leadership with the 2024 Book Awards. Distinct from Blair’s departmental awards and underclass prizes, these book awards carry scholarship opportunities connected to particular higher educational institutions should a student apply, be accepted and choose to enroll at that school. 
    
THE RENSSELAER MEDAL, recognizes superlative achievement of rising seniors and motivates students towards careers in science, engineering and technology with a four-year scholarship to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Jason Zhao ’24

THE SAINT MICHAEL’S COLLEGE BOOK AWARD FOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND SOCIAL CONSCIENCE, recognizes an outstanding student who leads with the true spirit of volunteerism with a four-year, full tuition merit scholarship: Ksenia Burdiuzha ’24

In partnership with the West Point Society of New Jersey, Blair Academy recognizes through the DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER LEADERSHIP AWARD exceptional performance in academics, athletics and community service while exhibiting a strong moral character in line with the values exemplified by President Eisenhower: Ethan Anthony ’24 & Clara Yan ’24

The University of Rochester sponsors four awards with accompanying merit scholarships to recognize high school juniors:

THE BAUSCH & LOMB HONORARY SCIENCE AWARD, recognizes high achievement and rigor in science and math classes for a student who also offers positive contributions to her school and within the larger community: Charlene Jiao ’24

THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS AND SUSAN B. ANTHONY AWARD, awarded to a junior who demonstrates commitment both to seeking understanding of and to addressing concerns about difficult social issues with a dedication to community action while earning strong grades in rigorous courses, especially those in the humanities and social sciences: Simisola Onakomaiya ’24

XEROX AWARD FOR INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY, awarded to a student who exhibits a strong interest and achievement in innovation or information technology: Jack Gerdsen ’24

GEORGE EASTMAN YOUNG LEADERS AWARD, awarded to a junior who portrays strong leadership in her school or larger community, while earning high grades in challenging courses and displaying extensive involvement in extracurricular activities: Emma Clavel ’24