Commencement Awards: The Marjorie Winfield Easter Award Presented to that senior who does not hold a major class office or significant leadership position, but who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes in support of the class and the MKA community: Sam Sobel The Ethel M. Spurr Award Awarded to an outstanding senior of good character who has been actively involved in school activities and willing to help and support the class while maintaining a solid academic record: Ana Lucia Espinosa Dice The Rudolph Deetjen Award Awarded to one male and one female who have made a creditable record in athletics and academic work and whose character and deportment have been a positive influence in the life of the school: Rob Strain and Amanda D Allesandro The Robert Hemmeter Memorial Award Awarded to recognize a senior whose intellectual curiosity and love of books, sports and cultural activities will lead him/her beyond the MKA community: Shelly Tsirulik The Dr. Peter Greer Character Award Given to a senior who is truthful, honest, kind to others and promotes a climate of mutual trust and friendship throughout the school: Rachel Sobel Head s Award- Awarded to seniors who have made a unique contribution to MKA and have changed the school for the better: Leah Murphy, Charles Rilli, Emma Pacifico, Erik Zeug and Derek Kleinman Faculty Awards: 12 th Grade Community Service Award- Awarded to students who, through positive action, have shown unselfish concern for their fellow man and community: Abby South, Yasaman Mahidi The Scott M. Johnson Memorial Award - Awarded annually to a senior who best demonstrates warmth, generosity and goodwill toward others: Jack Besser The Everett Glenn Memorial Award - Honors the most outstanding House Captain who demonstrates the ability to inspire, motivate and unite his/ her House: Lily Andres The Bud Mekeel Memorial Scholarship - Given in memory of O. Stanley Mekeel of the Montclair Academy Class of 1929 to a worthy senior towards college expenses: Zoe Grace Raak
The James D. Timmons Scholarship - Awarded annually to the son or daughter of an MKA faculty member, who has maintained a sound academic record throughout his or her career at MKA and contributed significantly to the school community: Brittany Jones Department Awards for Seniors: William Miller Prize in Science Awarded to the highest-ranking science student in the senior class: Shelly Tsirulik Nazarian Prize for Mathematics Established in l982 and given in memory of the late Winifred and Samuel George Nazarian and presented to the top math student in the senior class: Morgan Booker The Downsbrough Science Scholarship Recognizes a student who shows truly outstanding intellectual capacity in physical science or mathematics by achieving distinguished grades in these subjects and demonstrating exceptional ability on related projects: Ana Lucia Espinosa Dice The Margaret Jenkins Osborne Prize for Excellence in Science Specifically intended for students who have demonstrated outstanding interest in science and superior understanding of concepts and creativity in their studies: Emma Bruce Barras Prize in English- Awarded to a senior for outstanding performance in English: Audrey Lane History Prize Presented to a student who has a true passion for History: Dillon Carroll World Language Prizes - Awarded to the most accomplished student in each world language: French -Jake Sasfai (junior) Latin - Alex Cappitelli Spanish - Vikash Dodani Chinese - Isaiah Kramer Fine & Performing Arts Awards- Given to the most talented student in the fields of music, art, dance and theatre: Visual Arts - Emma Bruce Instrumental -
o Louis Armstrong Morgan Roberts o John Philip Sousa Award Kimmie Kerner Dance Sadie Stuart Communications Rachel Sobel Musical (Vocal) - Kimani Freeman Strings Grace Andres, Izumi Umeda The National Young Arts Foundation Award- The National YoungArts Award is one of the most competitive and prestigious arts competitions in the country: Hannah Kramer (Honorable Mention winner in Visual Arts) The Marilyn Faden Award for Excellence in the Theatre Arts- Presented to students who have a true love of theatre: Musical Theatre - Ross Turkington Drama - Emma Asher Technical - Sam Sobel Scholar Awards 12 th Grade for 2015-16 Mary K. Waring Scholars - Students who make the High Honor Roll in both semesters of a given school year: Nisha Bhagwat, Morgan Booker, Julia Randall, Rachel Sobel, Sam Sobel, Lauren Yagoda Avery Barras Distinguished Scholars - Students who make the High Honor Roll in both semesters of a given school year, and who earn all A s: Emma Bruce, Vikash Dodani, Ana Lucia Espinosa Dice Department & Faculty Awards for students in grades 9-11: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Medal- Awarded to a junior who shows superb performance in the study of mathematics and the sciences: Jacob Waldor The Frank Brogan Memorial Scholarship Recognizes a member of the junior class who shows a special interest and high proficiency in the art of written expression: John Gouwar The John Rabke Memorial Award Presented annually to a junior who is committed to and engaged in activities that promote community service and cultural understanding Alex Eiden The John Rabuse History Awarded to a junior or senior who truly loves American History and has a keen interest in the political process: Alex Sandoval
The Elizabeth O Neil Feagley Award for creativity- Given in memory of Elizabeth O Neil Feagley and jointly awarded by the English and the Fine and Performing Arts Departments: Kate Renshaw-Lewis The MacVicar Prize Awarded to juniors of outstanding personal character who have demonstrated qualities of leadership and good citizenship, and have made a positive contribution to the Upper School: Mariam Abukwaik, Kate Renshaw-Lewis, Matt Rubenstein Faculty Scholar Awards- Established by the Upper School faculty to recognize and honor students who have demonstrated unusual intellectual curiosity, seeking knowledge for its own sake rather than for material rewards: 9 th Grade - Grant Gonsalves, Simone Gulliver, Nyla Williams 10 th Grade - Nico Espinosa Dice, Ethan Kuhl, Evelyn Wallace 11 th Grade John Gouwar, Josh Talbot, Jacob Sasfai, Jacob Waldor Community Service Awards: Presidential Service Awards- A government premier volunteer awards program that encourages citizens, through presidential recognition, to live a life of service. Awards are based on hours of service. A Bronze Award to students who perform 100-174 hours; a Silver to students who perform 175-249 hours; and finally, a Gold Award to students who perform over 250 hours of community service. The following students were recognized for their Community Service Hours: Bronze- Class of 2016 - Mallory Pease, Kennedy Robinson, Catherine Tsai Class of 2017 - Reilly Cirenza, Alison Esterow, Max Goldfarb, Carly Hatfield, Hallie Ryan Class of 2018 - Ishaan Bhalodia, Alex Frieder, Danielle Fuchs, Sukriti Krishnan, Rhea Saggi Class of 2019 - Andrew Roselund Silver- Class of 2016 - Isaiah Kramer Class of 2017 - Michael Bromley, David Carcamo, Sarah Coffel Gold- Class of 2016 - William Bromley, Hope Buchan, Shelly Tsirulik Class of 2017 - Rohan Abraham, Alex Eiden, Hannah Gross, Quinn Meistrich, Dominic Romeo, Shivani Rao Athletics Awards: (those yet to be announced) Klein Award- The MKA "Klein Awards" recognize the top male and female student athletes in each grade who exemplify excellence in academic, athletics and character:
Joe Strain 16, Shannon Raff 16 NJSIAA Scholar-Athlete Award Recipient- Given to that student athlete who has maintained no less than a 3.0 GPA has exhibited outstanding school and community citizenship and has exhibited excellence in his or her chosen sport throughout their career. I am pleased to announce that this year s MKA recipients is: Olivia Vaughn 16 Yogi Berra Museum s Best Teammate Award - Given to that MKA team member who represents the very best of what being a teammate is all about: Ross Turkington 2016 MKA Varsity Award -The MKA Varsity Award recognizes senior athletes for their dedication, success, and achievement throughout the course of their MKA athletic careers. The MKA Varsity Award is given in recognition to those senior athletes who have received 10 or more varsity letters throughout their MKA athletic careers: Billy Hughes 16 (Cross Country, Indoor Track and Track and Field), Izzy Mendez 16 (Field Hockey, Basketball and Softball), Chris Sibilia 16 (Football, Ice Hockey and Lacrosse) Al Staph Award- Presented to a senior who has overcome a physical handicap or serious injury in order to contribute to the success of athletics at Montclair Kimberley Academy: Chris Sibilia 16 Senior Captain s Prize- Awarded each season to the team captain who best exemplifies the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and fair play: Amanda D Allessandro 16