News of the achievements of local students and members of the Armed Forces.
•• Sean Kilby of Arlington, a graduate of Yorktown High School, has been named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at Virginia Commonwealth University.
•• Lauren Ambrozy has been named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at Belmont University.
•• Alexandra Sheldrake of Arlington has been named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at Nazareth College.
•• William Fineman of Arlington, Joseph Pickel of Arlington and Jonathan Teitelbaum of Arlington have been named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at the University of Iowa.
•• Ambica Sharma, a Washington-Liberty High School student, and Julia Westwater Brodsky of H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program were among 300 scholars nationally selected for the Regeneron Science Talent Search by the Society for Science.
Sharma’s project is “Novel Aurora Kinase, EZH2 and BET Inhibitor Small Molecular Compound Combinations to Treat Glioblastoma Multiforme.” Brodsky’s project is “Characterization of Novel Acinetobacter baumannii Phages EAb3 and EAb7.”
Each student and their school will receive a $2,000 award and will compete to be one of the 40 Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists. The finalists then will compete for more than $1.8 million in awards during a week-long competition in Washington, D.C.
The Regeneron Science Talent Search is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math research competition for high-school seniors. It is a program of Society for Science.
•• The following students were named first-place winners in the 2023 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Literary and Visual Arts contest.
More than 600 entries were received in the competition, with award-winning students honored at the Jan. 19 School Board meeting.
First-place recipients included:
– Literary Arts: Vivian Sunderland, Taylor Elementary School; Alexander Murphy, Cardinal Elementary School; Maedot Ayalew, Kenmore Middle School; and Aaron Lopez, Washington-Liberty High School.
– Visual Arts: Hadeel Fouz, Arlington Traditional School; Sigrid Simon, Taylor Elementary School; Roya Stevenson, Swanson Middle School; and Anjarra Lee, Wakefield High School.
Students were asked to describe in writing or visual art a time when you saw someone treated unfairly because of what they looked like or who they were; or an event in history where people were treated unfairly because of what they looked like or who they were.
•• The Arlington County Council of Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) has honored the 2022-23 Reflections contest winners at the county level.
Reflections is a nationwide contest and arts-promotion program that encourages students to create works in dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography and visual arts, based on a common theme. This year’s theme was “Show Your Voice!” All students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade are eligible to enter.
Students were honored during a Jan. 17 event at Washington-Liberty High School.
Selected for Outstanding Interpretation of the Theme award winners and moving on to statewide competition are:
– Dance choreography: Ivy Weathers, Claremont Immersion Elementary School; Cailin Davis, Arlington County Montessori School; Grace Fettig, Yorktown High School.
– Film: Edward Kaleta, Discovery Elementary School; Emmett Smith, Arlington County Montessori School; Lily Snider, Thomas Jefferson Middle School.
– Literature: Lujayn Fouz, Arlington Traditional School; Awal Musa, Arlington Traditional School; Nora Scott, Thomas Jefferson Middle; Jason Doll, Wakefield High School.
– Music: Leuna de Jesus, Key Immersion Elementary School; Arlymae Carson, Arlington County Montessori School; Jacob Nadherny, Gunston Middle School; Carson Wallin, Yorktown High School.
– Photography: Audrey Schaedig, Discovery Elementary School; Carter Curry, Arlington County Montessori School; Egshiglen Ganbat, Dorothy Hamm Middle School; Jack Roosa, Yorktown High School.
– Visual Arts: Dayton Wells, Tuckahoe Elementary School; Eliana Villwock, Discovery Elementary School; Oynzul Otgonbayar, Dorothy Hamm Middle School; Evelyn Rives, Wakefield High School.
•• Nine Arlington Public Schools students recently were awarded full-year, full-ride scholarships to attend college through two programs.
Amy Fabara of Arlington Tech will attend Lafayette College and Kamel Barghouti of Yorktown High School will attend the University of Virginia on four-year scholarships through the Posse Foundation.
In addition to the scholarship, students receive comprehensive programmatic support throughout their time in college.
In addition, seven seniors were named QuestBridge Scholars and will receive full four-year scholarships to a partnering university.
They include Arlington Tech student Adriana Sparks (Columbia University); Wakefield High School students Luliya Tewelde (University of Notre Dame) and Eva Zidan (undecided); Washington-Liberty High School students Meryem Khadrouni (Columbia University) and Henessis Umacata (University of Pennsylvania); and Yorktown High School students Ribka Desta (Stanford University) and Franklin Claure (Dartmouth College).
All nine students will be recognized at an upcoming School Board meeting.
•• Former Arlington School Board member Barbara Kanninen recently was honored by the Virginia School Boards Association as a Regional School Board Member of the Year.
Kanninen and JoWanda Rollins-Fells of the Caroline County School Board were recognized for their boardsmanship qualities and active involvement in promoting student achievement.
This award can be given to one school board member per VSBA region each year. This is the 21st year that awards have been presented.
Kanninen was elected to the Arlington School in 2015 and served two four-year terms, including several stints as chair, before departing the board in December after opting not to seek a third term.