On Wednesday, May 17th, 2017 our annual Academic Awards Ceremony was held on campus to recognize the academic achievements of our Belles.  This year we acknowledged seniors with a special senior award for excellence in a particular Academic area.  Below are those awards.

Social Studies Award:

I have seen this student push through the rigorous pace and demands of her social studies courses. For her, an academic challenge is an invitation to excellence. The way she approaches her studies is deliberate and organized, yet with great passion and a drive to come to an understanding of her course content. She soaks in instruction in the classroom, but never sits passively or hesitates to ask for clarification. Her focused and engaged approach to her Social Studies courses earned her a passing score on her AP US History exam and has pushed her to the top of the class in Government and Economics. This student sets herself apart from her peers through the joy she exudes while working her way toward mastery of our Social Studies courses. By no means is this student ever “in it” for the spotlight or the accolades, but tonight I am extremely proud to demonstrate how hard work does pay off and present the Social Studies Department award to Natalie Llamas.

 

Health Careers Award:

This student has been an exemplary member of the Health Careers Program throughout her years at St. Mary’s Academy. Despite her extensive involvement in many time demanding activities including all three career paths, the robotic team, and numerous artistic pursuits, she does outstanding academic work. She works extremely well on team projects with superb results. Her questions and comments on the course work help focus and clarify the material for the class. This student has been an active and very supportive member of the Health and Wellness Club. She represent the best attributes seen in the Health Career students. The Health Career Program is proud to present the Health Career Program award to Karen Villatoro.

 

Engineering Award:

 Selecting the recipient of this recognition is never an easy task. Any student, who performs at or near the top of the class in three engineering courses, AP Calculus, and AP Physics, is certainly exceptional. To accomplish this and also successfully complete both the Engineering and the Health Careers Programs is particularly exemplary. This student have been able to achieve these goals. It has been my pleasure to see this student’s progress in each of her Engineering classes. I have been impressed at the intensity of her desire to master the material and have learned to count on her to be fully present whenever she is in class. Her classmates know her as a valuable team member, an important characteristic of an effective engineer. It is my distinct pleasure to award the 2017 Engineering Program Award to Diana Rosas.

 

Math Award: 

This student has been a pleasure to work in the classroom and the robotics team the last three years. In terms of mathematics, she has taken the most challenging program here at St. Mary’s Academy and has distinguished herself in every class including AP Calculus. She brings a quiet enthusiasm to class with an occasional hint of sarcasm, but she speaks loudly with her overall achievement and I’m sure she will continue to excel in college and beyond. We are honored to award Michelle Ramirez for her outstanding achievement in Mathematics.

 

Religion Award:

 In the field of Religion, this student has grown well beyond intellectually curiosity and into depth of thought and understanding of a junior theologian. Her input in class is always appreciated and her honest approach to matters dealing with eternity and our duty to the dear neighbor is greatly appreciated. The religion department is proud to present this religion award to Moneequa Tucker for outstanding achievement in this field.

 

Visual Arts Award:

This student has had outstanding talent and great interest in the visual arts when she first walked into my drawing class her freshmen year so it wasn’t hard to help push her in the right direction.  She was accepted into a highly competitive art program outside of school, Ryman Arts and graduated from there last spring.  She took AP studio art not once but twice.  She has been a member of National Art Honor Society since her freshman year and always comes up with and leads fun activities for arts appreciation week.  Most recently she was awarded an honorable mention in the West Basin, Water is Life art contest.  Her accomplishments have been non stop and I’m sure are to continue. Congratulations Karen Villatoro for the senior award in visual arts.   You will be missed in the arts program but have set the standard for others to follow.

Performing Arts Award:

This student has demonstrated her commitment to the arts in both her coursework and after school opportunities. She has dedicated her time and energy to performing every opportunity she has gotten in her four years at St. Mary’s Academy. She has been involved in every school production, and demonstrated excellence in the Acting course, both as a student and a teaching assistant. She has also served as an anchor on our morning news show, SMA Today since her freshman year. She has a bright future ahead of her both onstage and off. For these reasons, the Visual and Performing Arts Department is enthusiastic in presenting the award for outstanding achievement in the Performing Arts to Kynnedy Oden.

Media Arts Award:

This student has shown incredible dedication to the Media Arts department. After serving as Assistant Director during her junior year, she served as Director of SMA Today this year, coming in early each day before shows to setup the studio and prep the hosts. She has organized fundraisers and commissioned t-shirt designs. She has spent countless hours outside of the classroom completing assignments for Yearbook and Film and TV Production, and has gone out of her way to assist with documenting events at the school and helping through involvement with Stage Crew. The Media Arts Department is extremely proud to have had Elsie Cardoso in our program and enthusiastically presents her with this media arts award.

 

 

Spanish Award

This award is presented to a student whom has demonstrated pride, hard work, dedication, effort and passion to Spanish throughout her years here at St. Mary’s Academy. She has done an outstanding job in her performance in the different levels of her Spanish courses. The award is presented to Lourdes Toscano, graduating Green tie senior. We congratulate her on her achievements and we are confident that she will achieve all of her dreams. Congratulations Lourdes Toscano!!

 

English Award:

This student is an absolute joy to teach. She is engaged, positive, and extremely hard working. Students like her are why teachers get into education in the first place. Her passion for learning extends far beyond the limits of the classroom. In her time as an English student, she has exhibited exceptional writing the ability to understand and comment on complex ideas and texts. The English department cannot wait to see where she goes from here, and is proud to present English senior award to Diana Rosas.

 

 

Science Award: 

 This student has consistently been at the top of her science classes since her Freshman year . She has a solid work ethic, high motivation, demonstrates quality critical thinking skills, and is an exceptional all around student. Her excellence in the sciences is evident in her involvement and passions in the Health Careers Program. She has a gentle spirit filled with humility and grace. The science department is proud to recognize Megan Knox as the science award recipient.

 

Seniors also received cords for their excellence in overall GPA.

Academic Excellence Honors

The following students are receiving the Cum Laude award for attaining a cumulative GPA between 3.3 and 3.59 over her high school career.

  1. Samantha Leyva
  2. Mikaela White
  3. Emily Ayala
  4. Maria Gutierrez Rivas
  5. Asia Mills
  6. Asia Oliver
  7. Moneequa Tucker
  8. Paola Camacho
  9. Kilea Lee
  10. Flor Suarez
  11. Mia Yarbrough

 

The following students are receiving the Magna Cum Laude award for attaining a cumulative GPA between 3.6 and 3.99 over her high school career.

  1. Brooklin Hunter-Johnson
  2. Jennifer Alvarado
  3. Mya Fabien
  4. Kailea Dupree
  5. Lourdes Toscano
  6. Crystal White
  7. Nyla Montgomery
  8. Jazmin Cruz-Hernandez
  9. Janet Borja-Sanchez

 

The following students are receiving the Summa Cum Laude award for attaining a cumulative GPA of a 4.0 and above over her high school career.

  1. Megan Knox
  2. Amy Pinto-Quintanilla
  3. Diana Rosas
  4. Natalie Llamas
  5. Jasmin Perez
  6. Michelle Ramirez Leon
  7. Karen Villatoro
  8. Victoria Bravo

 

Salutatorian – Amy Pinto-Quintanilla

4.35 -second highest cumulative GPA among all seniors

Boston University

Valedictorian – Megan Knox

4.38 -highest cumulative GPA among all seniors

University of California Berkeley

 

 

Special scholarships were also awarded:

The Carlos and Lilia Davila Memorial Scholarship is a $500 scholarship that was established this school year by Mariaelena Davila Auwarter, Blue Tie ’76, Lilia Davila Deligio, Gold Tie ’78, and Linda Davila Aguirre, Red Tie ’79, in honor of their parents who provided vital financial support which allowed their daughters to attend SMA. The Davila sisters wanted to provide a $500 scholarship for a Green Tie sister to assist towards college expenses. The selected student has a 3.65 GPA, her parents are from El Salvador and she plans on continuing her education at Mount St. Mary’s Univesity as a pre-nursing major. The 2017 Carlos and Lilia DavilaMemorial Scholarship recipient is Janet Borja-Sanchez. 
The June Minami-Kamimoto Memorial Scholarship is a $10,000 scholarship that was established by Dr. Roland Minami (June’s husband) to provide college scholarship support for graduating seniors in honor of his wife, June, a Blue Tie from 1960. The recipients for this year are Megan Knox, Natalie Llamas, Lourdes Toscano, and Victoria Bravo.