Special Commencement Issue • May 28, 2021
Congratulations, Class of 2021! Berkshire bids a fond farewell to its 114th graduating class. R.G. Meade and Amanda Morgan, retiring faculty members, deliver commencement address.
The Graduation Prizes Angela B. Ansah of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: The Berkshire Cup, the highest distinction Berkshire confers on one of its graduating seniors. It is given each year to the student who is considered by the faculty to have made the greatest contribution to the success of the school year. James M. Lebenthal of Pawling, New York: The Head of School Prize, awarded to the student whose particular contribution to Berkshire has distinguished the school year in a special way and whose leadership led others and influenced many. Abigail R. Hayes of Oakland, California: The Peter Lance Anderson Award, decided by the membership of the Cum Laude Society and given to the student who best exemplifies the qualities of personal excellence, integrity, and academic scholarship.
Nam (Luke) H. Nguyen of Hanoi, Vietnam: The Robert A. Powers Award, which recognizes a sixth former who has demonstrated personal growth, loyalty to the school, and dependability of performance which has distinguished his or her career at Berkshire. Abdoul A. Diouf of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Canada: The Morris Trophy, awarded to the sixth-form male student who has best exemplified proficiency and sportsmanship in interscholastic athletics. Emma L. Birmingham of Enfield, Connecticut: The Herger Trophy, awarded to the sixthform female student who has best exemplified proficiency and sportsmanship in interscholastic athletics. Hamda A. Hussein of Hargeisa, Somaliland: The Anna S. Barrasch Prize, awarded for unselfish interest in people and loyalty to Berkshire.
Gillian M. Maher of Pearl River, New York: The Calvin Fentress Citizenship Award, given for exemplary personal performance, loyalty to Berkshire, and outstanding citizenship in the school community. Megan J. Mokriski of Salisbury, Connecticut: The Princeton Cup, the top sixth-form academic prize awarded for diligence in studies and success in co-curricular activities. Johnathan L. Speer: The Aliis Non Sibi Award. Selected by members of the graduating class, the recipient of this award follows the motto “for others, not themselves.” It recognizes a member of the faculty who, through a love of teaching and abiding commitment to enriching the lives of students, embodies the ideals and spirit of an engaged and treasured member of both the faculty and, equally important, the Berkshire community.
Prize Night Awards and Prizes Adam J. Kohlhepp III wins top teaching award; Nuweira Ahmed and Alexander Byrne named head prefects; DeVon Thompson wins Dean Trophy; Cum Laude Society inducts thirteen
THE CUM LAUDE SOCIETY
LANGUAGES
INDUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS
The Richard P. Unsworth Prize for Excellence in Chinese: Megan J. Mokriski
Class of 2021: Emily A. Arriaga, Abigail R. Hayes, Lindsay S. Knight, James M. Lebenthal, Karintra Techakalayatum, Grace A. Wood-Hull
The Award for Excellence in Fourth-Form Modern Language: Tate L. Plamondon
Class of 2022: Samantha L.S. Bernstein, Samuel A. Haskel, Clara C. Mollerus, Phoebe S. Mulder, Xinhe (Maggie) Shen, Sanjna Srinivasan, Tianhao (Leo) Yang
The Stanley Prize for Excellence in French: Gillian M. Maher The W. Duncan MacMillan Prize for Excellence in Latin: Yu Chen (Max) Dai The Jane Usher Dyer Prize for Excellence in Latin: Jack C. Marottolo
BLACK ROCK SCHOLARS Class of 2021: Tyrese L. Caines, Ava M. Cappella, Hamda A. Hussein, Rylan K. Kennedy
ACADEMIC PRIZES ENGLISH
The Thomas L. Chaffee Award for Excellence in Third-Form English: Katherine Fisher The Lance Turner Third-Form Essay Prize: Asher M. Lefkoff The Joan Williams Award for Excellence in Fourth-Form English: Agatha E. Ryan The Brown University Book Award: DeVon C. Thompson The Tertius Van Dyke Prize for Excellence in Sixth-Form English: Gillian M. Maher The Gerald B. O’Connor ’46 Prize in Journalism: Megan J. Mokriski The Prize for Excellence in Fiction: Alice M. Fisher The Arthur C. Chase Poetry Prize: Maia D. Tolentino The William P. Matthews ’61 Prize for Creative Writing: Gabriel M. Rich
The Prize for Excellence in Spanish: Taylor R. Gilbert HISTORY
The W. Ross Hawkins Prize for Excellence in Modern World History: Motoya Kimura The C. Twiggs Myers Prize for Excellence in U.S. History: Samantha L.S. Bernstein The R. Bruce Morison ’61 Prize for Current Events and Political Science: DeVon C. Thompson The William F. Gulotta Award for Excellence in Government: Megan J. Mokriski The Bosley Memorial Prize for Excellence in History: Megan J. Mokriski The John E. Rovensky Memorial Prize for Excellence in Independent Study: Natasha G. Fertig and Alice M. Fisher MATHEMATICS
The Leslie W. Clifford Prize for Excellence in Third-Form Mathematics: Katherine Fisher The Prize for Excellence in Fourth-Form Mathematics: Motoya Kimura The Berridge Prize for Excellence in Fifth-Form Mathematics: Sanjna Srinivasan The David Campbell Eipper Cup for Excellence in Sixth-Form Mathematics: Wilson Zheng The Rensselaer Medal for Distinction in Mathematics and Science: Sanjna Srinivasan The James A.D. Geier ’44C Prize for Excellence in Computer Science: Nikolas H.W. Gardilcic
SCIENCE
The Award for Excellence in Fourth-Form Science: Agatha E. Ryan The Dwight C. Baum ’32 Award for Excellence in Chemistry: Christian D. Kim The Richard T. Beebe Prize for Excellence in Physics: Matea A. Beadle and Michael C. Burrell, Jr.
The Weil Family Prize for Public Speaking: Angela B. Ansah The David Shumway Barrett ’59 Memorial Prize for Perseverance: Cate J. McLean and Jackson M. Howell The St. Lawrence University Book Award: Madison H. Rabb The Lawrence Thomas Piatelli Prize: Hamda A. Hussein
The Chester W. Rice Science Award: Devan G. Andreski The William Stoddard, Jr. ’65 Memorial Prize: Abigail R. Hayes The Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award: Clara C. Mollerus
FIFTH FORM PRIZES The Marguerite L. Kreh Memorial Award: Nuweira E. Ahmed
ARTS
The James Stone Memorial Award: Amanda C. Miller
The Prize for Excellence in Stagecraft: Saul I. Salazar
The Jeannette B. Cooper Prize Book: Chioma Okafor
The Ray Weston Memorial Prize in Theater Arts: Ellis H. DeMars
The William Brooks Nolan Memorial Award: David O. Oladeji
The Berkshire Dramatics Cup: Andrew J. Sperl
The Robert Davis Allen Prize: EliJose Araujo
The Ernest L. Wakefield Prize for Excellence in Music: Lydia W. Davis and Maia D. Tolentino
The Smith College Book Award: Samantha L.S. Bernstein
The Terry Pines Memorial Prize for Dance: Danae A. Williams The Margaret V. Beattie Memorial Prize for Excellence in Art: Minseo (Michelle) Rhee
The Williams College Book Award: Phoebe S. Mulder The Dartmouth College Book Award: Tianhao (Leo) Yang The Harvard Club Prize Book: Sanjna Srinivasan The Frederic S. Dean Trophy: DeVon C. Thompson
The Segalla Memorial Art Award for Excellence in Studio Art: McKenzie B. Doyle The Allen Buck Prize for Excellence in Photography: Marco Wilson The Robert Leo Theriault Prize for Creativity and Excellence in Ceramics: Emily A. Arriaga
PRIZES AND AWARDS
For school. For life.
The Arthur C. and Alice Ann Chase Commendation Awards: Dongha (Kirill) Lee, third form; Xuan De (Andrew) Shen, fourth form; DeVon C. Thompson, fifth form; James M. Lebenthal, sixth form The John F. Godman Award: Sami Adam and Samuel B. Woessner The Spirit of Berkshire Award: Angela B. Ansah The Chaplain’s Cup: McKenzie B. Doyle The Elaine Mansell Award: Michael C. Burrell, Jr.
Head Prefects: Nuweira E. Ahmed and Alexander C. Byrne
Seaver Buck Faculty Award: Adam J. Kohlhepp III
College Matriculation for the Class of 2021 Sami Adam Henry Alpaugh Chi Chi Amaihe Devan Andreski Angela Ansah Mimi Arriaga Nogosa Atekha Matea Beadle Venetia Beauchamp Emma Birmingham Jake Blackwin Emma Blanchette Matthew Blasius Ava Block Rachel Boardman Emily Bouvier Henry Boyle Cora Brennan Matthew Bridger Esslynne Bui Truong Silas Bullock Mike Burrell Tyrese Caines Amalia Calderini Ava Cappella Hollis Churchill Reid Curran Téa Cuvelier Lydia Davis Owen de Cordova Jeremy DeLaMota Ellis DeMars Nikola Dimitrijevic Abdoul Diouf McKenzie Doyle Charlie Driscoll Nicky Finn John Fiore Matthew Fisher Sofie Fisher Lila Fitzgerald Mike Frechette Avery Freund Marcos Furr Niko Gardilcic Stevie Garofalo Naomi Gibson Taylor Gilbert Jack Gladowsky Abby Hayes Noah Helmke Luke Hescock Hannah Hudson Hamda Hussein Anthony Ierna Burnham Johnston Brett Karkus Carl Kaufer Akshay Kaundinya Rylan Kennedy Bowen Kittredge
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Claire Knight Lindsay Knight Keenan Koopman Niko Kouvaris Katie Kreke Ivanna Lagur Markus Lebenthal Gavin Lui Jake MacDonald Gillian Maher Jacob Marlowe Jack Marottolo Kevin Matos Aiden McDonnell Harrison McGlashan Campbell Mecke Caroline Mezias Ali Mian Umar Mian Lucas Miranda Megan Mokriski Katharine Monahan Hank Morgan Chace Nethersole Luke Nguyen Cole Paredes Sophia Pasquale Cooper Pearce George Pearce Nicholas Pesce Canin Reynolds Michelle Rhee Hayden Riva Franklin Rodriguez Bencosme Chloé Sabbagh Michael Sabin Maeve Schoudel Graham Schwartz Ethan Scott Basil Shillingford Peter Silvester Hunter Smith Andrew Sperl Alexandra Starr Nina Stoops Scott Takacs Christina Tao Moya Techakalayatum Michael Thompson Maia Tolentino John Wahl Kellen Walker Wyatt Walker Davis Whiting Danae Williams Marco Wilson Charlotte Winoker Sam Woessner Grace Wood-Hull Wilson Zheng
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