Special Commencement Issue • May 27, 2022
Congratulations, Class of 2022! Berkshire bids a fond farewell to its 115th graduating class. Steve Kaczmarek ’85, outdoorsman and founder of Borealis Fat Bikes, delivers commencement address.
The Graduation Prizes DeVon C. Thompson of Feeding Hills, Massachusetts: 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. EliJose Araujo of Massena, 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. Sanjna Srinivasan of Udhailiyah, Saudi Arabia: 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.
William O. Onubogu of West Orange, New Jersey: 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 their career at Berkshire. Stuart C. Egan of San Francisco, California: The Morris Trophy, awarded to the sixth-form male student who has best exemplified proficiency and sportsmanship in interscholastic athletics. Chioma Okafor of Blantyre, Malawi: The Herger Trophy, awarded to the sixth-form female student who has best exemplified proficiency and sportsmanship in interscholastic athletics. Amanda C. Miller of New Canaan, Connecticut: The Anna S. Barrasch Prize, awarded for unselfish interest in people and loyalty to Berkshire.
Nuweira E. Ahmed of Newark, New Jersey: The Calvin Fentress Citizenship Award, given for exemplary personal performance, loyalty to Berkshire, and outstanding citizenship in the school community. Samantha L.S. Bernstein of Hollywood, Florida: The Princeton Cup, the top sixth-form academic prize awarded for diligence in studies and success in co-curricular activities. Cheng-Chia (Tasia) Wu: 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 Maura MacKenzie wins top teaching award; Grace Benedict and Matthew DeVine named head prefects; Aidan Pesce wins Dean Trophy; Cum Laude Society inducts twenty-one THE CUM LAUDE SOCIETY INDUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS
Class of 2022: Joshua E.S. Bernstein, Alice M. Fisher, Midori E. Fitzgerald, Brayton E. Howard, Christian D. Kim, David O. Oladeji, Calvin M. Osterberger, Sierra N. Posey, Madison H. Rabb, Caroline C. Reilly, James S. Scullin, Phoebe E. Smith, DeVon C. Thompson, Abigail A. Vernali Class of 2023: Keyi (Fiona) Dong, Motoya Kimura, Aidan J. Pesce, Agatha E. Ryan, Xuan De (Andrew) Shen, Huy (Sam) M. Tran, Sihan (Helen) Zhou
ACADEMIC PRIZES ENGLISH
The Thomas L. Chaffee Award for Excellence in Third-Form English: Ellie J. Grimmett The Lance Turner Third-Form Essay Prize: Anh Khuê (Angela) Pham The Joan Williams Award for Excellence in Fourth-Form English: Yihan (Catherine) Yan The Brown University Book Award: Agatha E. Ryan The Tertius Van Dyke Prize for Excellence in Sixth-Form English: Phoebe E. Smith The Gerald B. O’Connor ’46 Prize in Journalism: Samantha L.S. Bernstein The Prize for Excellence in Fiction: Luke O. Trevisani The Arthur C. Chase Poetry Prize: Emma P. Ferer The William P. Matthews ’61 Prize for Creative Writing: Livia G. Angioletti LANGUAGES
The Richard P. Unsworth Prize for Excellence in Chinese: Samantha L.S. Bernstein The Award for Excellence in Fourth-Form Modern Language: Isla J. Pearson The Stanley Prize for Excellence in French: Charlotte J. Bonomo The W. Duncan MacMillan Prize for Excellence in Latin: Gabriel D. Dahari
The Jane Usher Dyer Prize for Excellence in Latin: Agatha E. Ryan The Prize for Excellence in Spanish: Hugh W. Bonnette HISTORY
The W. Ross Hawkins Prize for Excellence in Modern World History: Chioma Okafor The C. Twiggs Myers Prize for Excellence in U.S. History: Motoya Kimura The R. Bruce Morison ’61 Prize for Current Events and Political Science: Phoebe S. Mulder The William F. Gulotta Award for Excellence in Government: Samantha L.S. Bernstein The Bosley Memorial Prize for Excellence in History: Alice M. Fisher MATHEMATICS
The Leslie W. Clifford Prize for Excellence in Third-Form Mathematics: Edward Y. Lee The Prize for Excellence in Fourth-Form Mathematics: Yu Chen (Max) Dai The Berridge Prize for Excellence in Fifth-Form Mathematics: Motoya Kimura The David Campbell Eipper Cup for Excellence in Sixth-Form Mathematics: Caroline C. Reilly The Rensselaer Medal for Distinction in Mathematics and Science: Keyi (Fiona) Dong The James A.D. Geier ’44C Prize for Excellence in Computer Science: Joshua E.S. Bernstein SCIENCE
The Award for Excellence in Fourth-Form Science: Katherine Fisher The Dwight C. Baum ’32 Award for Excellence in Chemistry: Caroline C. Reilly The Richard T. Beebe Prize for Excellence in Physics: Agatha E. Ryan The Chester W. Rice Science Award: Clara C.M. Mollerus
The William Stoddard, Jr. ’65 Memorial Prize: Jieyun (Angella) Ma
The David Shumway Barrett ’59 Memorial Prize for Perseverance: Emma N. McGowan and Liam P. Bard
The Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award: Xuan De (Andrew) Shen
The St. Lawrence University Book Award: Zantia J.K. Anderson The Lawrence Thomas Piatelli Prize: Amanda C. Miller
ARTS
The Prize for Excellence in Stagecraft: Xinhe (Maggie) Shen
FIFTH FORM PRIZES
The Ray Weston Memorial Prize in Theater Arts: Isabella I. Piantini
The Marguerite L. Kreh Memorial Award: Motoya Kimura
The Berkshire Dramatics Cup: Phoebe S. Mulder The Ernest L. Wakefield Prize for Excellence in Music: Zeynep L. Kara and Tianhao (Leo) Yang The Terry Pines Memorial Prize for Dance: Thai An K. Rosario The Margaret V. Beattie Memorial Prize for Excellence in Art: Benjamin E. Cabot The Segalla Memorial Art Award for Excellence in Studio Art: Caroline B. Kerner The Allen Buck Prize for Excellence in Photography: Midori E. Fitzgerald
The James Stone Memorial Award: Adelaide A. Robertson The Jeannette B. Cooper Prize Book: Grace C. Benedict The William Brooks Nolan Memorial Award: Chelsea L. Coard The Robert Davis Allen Prize: MohamedAmin M. Abdillahi The Smith College Book Award: Katherine V. Dorman The Williams College Book Award: Xuan De (Andrew) Shen The Dartmouth College Book Award: Justine A. Rabley The Harvard Club Prize Book: Agatha E. Ryan The Frederic S. Dean Trophy: Aidan J. Pesce
The Robert Leo Theriault Prize for Creativity and Excellence in Ceramics: Thai An K. Rosario INDEPENDENT STUDY
The John E. Rovensky Memorial Prize for Excellence in Independent Study: Eleanor D. LaCasse
PRIZES AND AWARDS The Arthur C. and Alice Ann Chase Commendation Awards: Sofia F. Esposito, third form Melissa M. Schuermann, fourth form Matthew W. DeVine, fifth form Maya F. Hampton VanSant, sixth form
For school. For life.
The John F. Godman Award: Midori E. Fitzgerald and William B. Sinclair The Spirit of Berkshire Award: Amanda C. Miller The Chaplain’s Cup: Joshua E.S. Bernstein The Elaine Mansell Award: Augustus L. de Vink The Weil Family Prize for Public Speaking: DeVon C. Thompson
Head Prefects: Grace C. Benedict and Matthew W. DeVine
Seaver Buck Faculty Award: Maura A. MacKenzie
College Matriculation for the Class of 2022 Nuweira Ahmed Wakaba Aihara Vivian Akyirem Sydney Allen Sally Anderson Liv Angioletti Eli Araujo Anna Barbieri Joey Belenardo Carter Bernstein Jesse Bernstein Josh Bernstein Samantha Bernstein Hugh Bonnette Ben Boren Bennett Braden Kurby Brown Alex Byrne Ben Cabot Suzie Canetto Reid Capello Lal Çelikbilek Alex Church Autumn Coard Danil Colin Emme Coughlin Anthony Dadio Nick Donaldson Dewie Egan Maury Escalona Will Esposito Emma Ferer Natasha Fertig Alice Fisher Midori Fitzgerald Connor Flanagan Ethan Fowler Boden Gammill Will Goldthwaite Charlie Gosk Jayson Green Ashlyn Ham Maya Hampton VanSant Sam Haskel Elle Herrington Emma Herrington Sam Hill Abby Hornung Brayton Howard Jackson Howell Graham Hynes Alex Justh Ada Kennedy Caroline Kerner Christian Kim Ellie LaCasse Tristan Land
Northeastern University University of California, San Diego Northeastern University Boston College Denison University Trinity College University of Rochester Southern Methodist University University of South Carolina, Columbia University of Colorado Boulder Syracuse University Tufts University Tufts University Villanova University Middlebury College University of Denver Denison University Bowdoin College St. Lawrence University College of Charleston Connecticut College Northeastern University Southern Methodist University Villanova University University of Massachusetts, Amherst College of Charleston Washington College Junior Hockey Trinity College St. Lawrence University University of Notre Dame Southern Methodist University Cornell University Georgetown University Mount Holyoke College Colgate University Chapman University Trinity College Northeastern University Northeastern University Clark University Clarkson University University of Richmond Dartmouth College University of Kentucky Elon University The University of Alabama College of the Holy Cross University of Virginia Junior Hockey Pitzer College Wesleyan University University of Vermont Syracuse University University of Southern California Colorado College Santa Clara University
Addie Loughery Kiro Manoharan Jamie McDonnell Amanda Miller Olivia Mirabito Clara Mollerus Kane Morgan Athi Msiza Phoebe Mulder Ella Murphy Emmanuel Nda James Nemeth Minh Nguyê~n Will O’Callaghan Chioma Okafor Connor O’Keefe Frank O’Keefe David Oladeji Will Onubogu Cal Osterberger Landon Pickett Sierra Posey Madison Rabb Charlie Randall Caroline Reilly Gabe Rich Thai An Rosario Landon Rush Anna Schoorlemmer James Scullin Topher Sharp Maggie Shen Jake Simonds Lillie Simpson Will Sinclair Phoebe Smith Logan Soffer Scott Soh Finn Sposato Sanjna Srinivasan Pratt Stetson Theo Stiffler Pryor Sullivan Reed Tarleton Peter Tcheleshev Isabel Thomas DeVon Thompson Luke Trevisani Riley Trippe Charlotte Turner Silas Van Vranken Abby Vernali Geraldine Visoso Bravo Danni Watson Henry White Anthony Xin Leo Yang
University of Miami Columbia University Lafayette College Colby College Cornell University Cornell University Bard College Gettysburg College Barnard College James Madison University Bentley University University of Richmond Fordham University University of Miami University of Connecticut University of Colorado Boulder Trinity College University of Pennsylvania Bowdoin College Junior Hockey George Washington University University of Denver Amherst College Amherst College Dartmouth College Emerson College Trinity College Clarkson University Villanova University University of Virginia Southern Methodist University Georgetown University Western New England University College of Charleston Junior Hockey Hamilton College University of Miami New York University Bucknell University Drexel University Junior Hockey University of Minnesota University of Virginia Wake Forest University Babson College Duke University Columbia University Bucknell University University of Denver Colby College University of Denver University of Virginia Undecided Howard University Bucknell University University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign University of Southern California