Lauren Marchand To Represent At National Competition

Earlier this month, the Broadway Education Alliance announced the winners of the 13th annual Roger Rees Awards for Excellence in Student Performance, and Jericho senior Lauren Marchand was named an Emerging Artist Winner.

Marchand will represent the Roger Rees Awards and the Greater New York area at The Broadway League Foundation’s the Jimmy Awards (also known as the National High School Musical Theatre Awards) on June 26th at the Minskoff Theatre.

Students from 53 high schools located throughout the Greater New York area competed for the title of Outstanding Performer at the awards event that was hosted by Tony and Grammy Award-nominated artist Jaquel Spivey. A panel of Broadway judges selected the winners based on a solo performance of a song they performed in their high school musical during the 2022-2023 academic year.

To be eligible to participate in the Roger Rees Awards, a student must have per- formed a qualifying role in an officially licensed high school production of an eligible show during the 2022-2023 academic year. Lauren played Elsa in the only high school production of Disney’s Frozen in New York State, which was presented by Jericho High School, winner of the United States of Frozen competition, sponsored by the Educational Theater Association (EdTA), Music Theatre International and Disney Theatrical Group.

The Roger Rees Awards recognize the importance of theatre arts education and celebrate the exceptional life and career-long artistic excellence of Broadway’s beloved actor/director, Roger Rees. Playwright Rick Elice, Rees’ partner of over 30 years, and author of Finding Roger, said, “Rog would have liked this chance to educate and inspire young actors, to offer a guiding hand as so many were offered to him when he too was a kid with a dream.”

—Submitted by the Jericho Union Free School District

Jericho Senior Kevin Zhu Celebrates Great Success

Jericho High School senior Kevin Zhu has had a record-breaking month. Kevin was recently named a United States Presidential Scholar. Only 161 high school seniors were recognized for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education fields.

“U.S. Presidential Scholars have always represented the future of our country and the bright promise it holds.I want each of these remarkable students to know: your passion and intellect, pursuit of excellence, and spirit of service are exactly what our country needs,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to the scholars. “On behalf of President Biden, I am delighted to join your family, friends, and communities in celebrating your accomplishments.Aim high, share your talents, and continue embracing opportunities to lead as your exciting future unfolds.”

As directed by Presidential Executive Order, the 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholars are comprised of one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and U.S. fam- ilies living abroad, as well as 15 chosen atlarge, 20 scholars in the arts and 20 scholars in career and technical education.

Additionally, Kevin was named a Coca-Cola Scholar, one of only 150 students who are creating positive change in their communities and around the world.

According to the website, “Kevin Zhu is a researcher, musician, and creative writer. Researching cancer genomics at Stanford University’s Snyder Lab, his top honors include the International Science & Engineering Fair, Regeneron Science Talent Search, and Nature co-author. A musician, Kevin studies at the Juilliard School of Music Pre-College. Since his recital debut at age 9, he’s performed in 10+ countries. Kevin has published several creative works, and was a National Student Poet Semifinalist. In 2020, Kevin became CEO of The Incandescent: an organization promoting mental health via creative arts, reaching 200,000+ viewers in 111 countries. Kevin was named a WAFF Global Teen Leader and recently spoke at the UN General Assembly. Kevin is the co-captain of Jericho’s Varsity tennis team.”

Each Coca-Cola Scholar will receive a $20,000 college scholarship.

Earlier this year, Kevin was named a Regeneron Finalist and last week, at the 2023 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, he earned the Dudley R. Herschbach SIYSS Award and an all-expenses-paid trip to attend the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar, which includes attendance at the Nobel Prize ceremonies.

His project looked at a specific subset of cancer mutations to determine if they are prevalent and can be used as indicators of a cancer diagnosis. He found that his method could be used to identify and diagnose certain cancers earlier than is currently possible.

“Kevin is a truly unique student,” said David Cohen, Jericho High School Co-Principal. “He is academically brilliant and an extraordinarily talented musician. His long list of national and international achievements highlight Kevin’s hard work and are only the beginning of many outstanding accomplishments ahead.”

—Submitted by the Jericho Union Free School District

Field Set For 2023 Final X, Beat The Streets Wrestling June 10 At Prudential Center Syosset High School grad Vitali Arujao among competitors

Sixty of the top wrestlers in the U.S. will compete at Final X, presented by Tezos, on Saturday, June 10 at New Jersey’s Prudential Center, as the full field has been announced by USA Wrestling.

Final X will determine the 2023 U.S. Senior World Teams in all three Olympic disciplines: men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman. There will be 30 weight classes contested, 10 in each Olympic discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight class will compete in a best-of-three series in Final X to determine who will wrestle at the 2023 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia

It is the second straight year Final X will serve as the Beat The Streets New York Annual Benefit. This year’s event will be the 13th BTSNY Annual Benefit. These unique and electrifying annual events help BTSNY raise more than $1 million each year to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after party will follow the conclusion of Final X.

There are a variety of options for Final X wrestling-only event tickets, with prices starting at $40 on Ticketmaster.

Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages (wrestling event plus exclusive after-party celebration access), that also provide the best wrestling-event seats, are available at give.btsny.org/beatthestreetsbenefit2023.

For more information on ticket packages, email Katrin Pokalyukhin at katrin@btsny. org.

Proceeds from Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages will directly help BTSNY, which provides a safe, positive atmosphere for student-athletes to learn the essential life lessons of discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility and a strong work ethic through wrestling.

—Submitted by Final X