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Local Students Receive Sojourner Truth Award

Mar 18, 2020

More than 30 Washingtonville Middle School students received Sojourner Truth Awards during a county-wide ceremony held at SUNY Orange on March 6. In addition to the official event, Washingtonville Middle School held an in-school ceremony to celebrate the students’ continued hard work.

WASHINGTONVILLE – More than 70 Washingtonville Middle and High School students received Sojourner Truth Awards during a county-wide ceremony held at SUNY Orange on Friday, March 6. The students were honored in the areas of good citizenship, athletics, diversity, creative arts, perseverance/effort, technology, sciences, foreign languages, English language arts, and mathematics. The award recipients were nominated by their teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators.

For the past 30 years, SUNY Orange has honored Sojourner Truth—the highly regarded 19th century African-American woman who lived in the Mid-Hudson Valley region after escaping from slavery—by giving out awards in her name. The awards recognize the achievements of deserving Orange County students who are traditionally underrepresented. It is a celebration of youth, accomplishment, and culture.

Washingtonville Grade 10 student Jade Sampson received a scholarship during the county-wide Sojourner Truth Awards ceremony held at SUNY Orange (in addition to her award) after being nominated by her teacher, Kevin Calderin. Jade (center front) poses with other Washingtonville High School award recipients and Principal Connolly.

Washingtonville Grade 10 student Jade Sampson received a scholarship during the ceremony (in addition to her award) after being nominated by her teacher, Kevin Calderin. Mr. Calderin stated that Jade’s control of the written word is exceptional. “Her voice shines through her work with an unmistakable philosophical bent. Jade has a fire of curiosity and mental energy that uplift those who engage with her,” he said.

In addition to the official event, Washingtonville Middle School held an in-school ceremony to celebrate the students’ continued hard work.

Superintendent Washington is very proud of the Washingtonville recipients. “These students are very deserving of recognition. We hope they will continue striving towards excellence in all that they do.” he said.

The following Middle School students received awards: Skyler Abankwah, Elian Alarcon, Victoria Alvarenga, Jennay Amaral, KaitlyBaeza, JeremieBapte, Jenna Belcher, Isabella Brown, Melanie Brown, Garvani Compere, Brianna Ferreras, Marquis Frias, Brandon Garcia Rosales, MonaleGbolo, Ethan Gonzalez, Avi Guillen, Danielle Hernandez, Maynor Hernandez-Sanchez, Adamarys Hidalgo, MukisaKemmelman, Brandon Martinez, Kailani Martinez, Madison Mobray, Olivia Monaco, Leilani Nishimoto, Brian Noronha, Dianamary Ocasio, Ramie Osorio, Jason Parsons, Jeniaya Reyes, Samuel Robles, Angelina Royland, Anastasia Shaw, Michael Silva, Olivia Tran, Javian Vega, Isabelle Vo, Jadalynn Williams, Andrea Rodriguez Cancel, and Adelyn Sandobal.

The following Washingtonville High School students were recognized: Alayah Fernandez, Alex Maldonado-Soto, Anastasia Samoylovskaya, Angel Quezada, Aryanna Wongsing, Ashton Quinones, Aurelio Medina, Ava Campoverde, DaviniChareonlarp, DeLisa Harper, Gabriel Sanchez, Hailey Lewis, Hannah Wright, Jade Sampson, Jamelis German, Julia Ariano, Justin Moscinski, Karla Esteban, Keira Baeza, Logan Serafin, Madison Brown, Madison Torres, Maria Juarez Castillo, Marvin Noronha, Mikaylee Garcia, Mishika Sawhney, Richard Romero, Samantha DiLiberto, Sofia Fredericks, Sofia Zizolfo- Gonzalez, Stephen DeLaCruz, Trent Saunders, and ZendrahBonnick.