Hawk Award nominees highlight Senior Celebration
Tinsley Brown, Reagan Harris, Olivia Olmstead, Sterling Ross and Brisa Villatoro are this year’s Hawk Award nominees.
“The Hawk Award is the highest award voted on by the Hardin Valley Academy faculty and is bestowed upon a graduating senior,” assistant principal Jennifer Vacek said. “The award is presented to the student whose performance has exemplified the finest qualities of HVA.”
Those qualities are listed as dependability, responsibility, citizenship, cheerfulness and moral character, as well as “soaring in academics.”
With many nominees considered by the faculty, “It is truly a great honor to be nominated for this award,” Vacek said.
Winner of the award will be named during the graduation ceremony, which starts 6 p.m., Wednesday, May 22, on the HVA athletics field.
At the same time, the school named Gerri Parker as its Teacher of the Year. She was among five faculty members nominated for the award. Others included Anne Thomas-Abbott, Rudy Furman, Lisa Jacobs and Brooke Bianchi-Pennington.
Kylie Robertson spoke about saying “Goodbye,” Kevin Kesserwani spoke about “The Future: What a Bewilderment.”
Additionally, the faculty recognized the following students who enlisted in the military: Christian Cerchia, Aidan Finney, Zachary Justice and Nicholas Lambert, U.S. Marine Corps.; Jah-Saun Theodore and Arlet Espinosa Rivera, U.S. Air Force; Brady Nichol, Air Force Academy; Gavin Thorne, University of Miami’s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps; and William Tyrell, U.S. Navy.
Along with classroom, ACT and other accolades, the school honored the following:
• Samara Stewart, co-valedictorian with a 4.696 grade-point average, along with David Hart, as co-valedictorian also with a GPA of 4.696, also earning National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics Award and National Merit Scholarship Program Honors.
Hart plans to attend Texas A&M to study mechanical engineering, while Stewart plans to attend University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to study nursing.
• Luke Daniel, salutatorian with a grade-point average of 4.679;
Daniel plans to attend Northeastern University to study computer science and business administration.
Also, this year’s top 10 students also feature Michael Hart, Carson Long, Zain Madadali, Chase Mayton, Braden Salsbury, Addison Slone and Max Smith.
• Triple Play Award to student-atheletes Gracie Waite, who lettered in tennis, basketball and track and field; AJ Gray, who lettered in football, basketball and track and field; and Sachairi Barnett, who lettered in wrestling, cross country and track.
• Sterling Ross, Scott Impellizeri Memorial Scholarship, and Andy Hudson, Service Award.
• Wesley Cooper Berry, Evan Richey Memorial Scholarship and Scott Impellizeri Memorial Scholarship.
• Scott Impellizeri Memorial Scholarships also went to Madeline Brown and Emma Knight.
• Hardin Valley Elementary and Hardin Valley Middle School PTO Scholarship for Teaching to Jaxson Denton, Maddie Brown, Molly Glen, Kayla Ramsey and Madison Stanifer.
• Olmstead also received the Y12 Federal Credit Union Bill T. Hicks Scholarship.
• Coumba Sow received the Henry Naff Scholarship.
• Latino Student Alliance scholarship to Grace Rodriguez and Brisa Villatoro.
