Part of the Commencement celebration for the Williston Northampton School includes honoring select seniors with special awards, including induction to the Cum Laude Society. Below are the award winners, as presented during Commencement celebrations. Read more about our 2025 Commencement ceremony here, watch the ceremony in full on YouTube, and see pictures from the day on our Flickr page.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF PRIZES
On Thursday afternoon we held our Athletic Awards Assembly to celebrate another incredible year of success for Williston’s Athletic teams.
I would also like to acknowledge the senior recipients of our top four athletic awards and ask those individuals to stand now and be recognized.
The George Denman Bowl (for boys), and the Alumnae Bowl (for girls) are “awarded to seniors whose contribution to the athletic program has been characterized by exceptional achievement, faithful participation, and loyal devotion to the best interests of the school.”
This year The George Denman Award was given to:
- Herrick Stevenson
This year the Alumnae Bowl Award was given to:
- Violet Carroll
The Athletic Leadership Awards is presented to seniors who have distinguished themselves in terms of the quality of the leadership they have demonstrated as student athletes.
This year the Athletic Leadership Awards were given to:
- Lucy Hoyt (Girls)
- Jake Smith (Boys)
Congratulations!
Before presenting the senior class prizes and awards, I am pleased to make announcements about the Williston Scholars program. This year we offered 7 courses within our Williston Scholars program and there are 12 seniors who will be recognized at this time for their exemplary work. As I read the names of the seniors, I ask that they come forward to receive their certificates.
For Work in the Math Department:
- Carter Cleary
- Chris Anderson
For Work in the History and Global Studies Department:
- Parker Brown
- Olin Rose-Bardawil
- Max Elkin
- Esther Glazer
For work in the Science Department:
- Tyler Yunes
- Liam Barry
- Jack Berrien
- Alyssa Matricciani
For work in the Visual Arts Department:
- Oscar Cui
For work in the Performing Arts Department:
- Annika Stackmann
For work in the English Department:
- Aster Carlstrom
The following are the Senior Prizes, awarded each year at Commencement, as voted by the full faculty, and presented by Head of School, Robert Hill.
The Tara Michelle Katzner Memorial Prize is awarded annually to that student who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, determination, and dedication. This year the prize is given to:
- Daniel McBride
The Henry E. Donais, Jr., ’59 Award is given “to a Senior who has manifested a love of the natural world and who has taken an active interest in the protection and preservation of the world’s environmental resources.” This year the prize is given to:
- Gabriella Bobiak
The Henry Teller Prize, in memory of a history teacher and choral conductor, 1947-1983, is awarded to that person in the Williston Northampton community who by active example encourages intercultural understanding and good will. This year the prize is given to:
- Ava Howard
The Tim Wallis, Class of 1962 Prize was established in memory of an English-Speaking Union exchange student at Williston; the prize is given at Commencement to that senior “who gets much from the School because he or she puts much in.” This year the prize is given to:
- George Alley
The Class of 1942 Prize is awarded in recognition of “Outstanding Service to the School.” This year the prize is given to:
- Rinka Okuno
The George H. Higgins Prize is given to “that student in the graduating class who has displayed outstanding character in school life.” This year the prize is given to:
- Aster Carlstrom
The Katherine M. Ockenden, Class of 1949 Prize is given to that senior who “in the opinion of the faculty has contributed moral, positive leadership.” This year the prize is given to:
- Malaya Anaba
The Westcott E. S. Moulton Award, honoring a member of the Class of 1927 and Williston Alumni Secretary, 1961-1973, is presented to that member of the senior class who has shown a high degree of effort in publications, sportsmanship, leadership, and community involvement leading to continued loyalty and interest as an alumna or alumnus. This year the award is given to:
- Jacob Smith
The L. G. Treadway Citizenship Prize, established by Richard Treadway, Class of 1932, in honor of his father, is awarded to a senior who has been at the school for at least two years, who has maintained a strong scholastic standing, and who has given promise of future achievement. The chief qualities to be considered are personal integrity and contributions made to the best citizenship of the school. This year the prize is awarded to:
- Joaquin James
The Dorothy Bement Prize, honoring a co-founder of The Northampton School for Girls, is given to the senior who has exhibited excellence in academic endeavors and in contributions to citizenship and the overall life of the school. This year the prize is awarded to:
- Isabel Baxter-Paris
The Joseph Sawyer Memorial Prize, honoring the 7th Headmaster of Williston Seminary, 1886-1919, is awarded to a senior who has made outstanding contributions to the intellectual and community life of the school. This year the prize is awarded to:
- Jacob Waah
We now come to the final three prizes which carry the greatest distinction; the first two being awarded to the outstanding students in the senior class, the third honoring the first scholar in the class:
The Sarah B. Whitaker Prize, honoring a co-founder of the Northampton School for Girls, and co-Principal, 1924-1962, is also known as the White Blazer Award. The White Blazer is given to a senior who has made the greatest contributions to the academic, athletic, and community life of the school while exhibiting exemplary leadership and integrity. The White Blazer is awarded this year to:
- Alyssa Matricciani
The Archibald V. Galbraith Prize, honoring the 8th Headmaster of Williston Academy, 1919-1949, is awarded to that senior who in academics, athletics, and citizenship is exemplary, representing that which is best in the school. The Galbraith prize is awarded this year to:
- Jack Berrien
The Valedictory Prize is awarded to the first scholar of the class. It is a combination of two awards from an era in the school’s history, when the Edmund H. Sawyer Prize was given for work in the classical curriculum and the Horatio G. Knight Prize was given for work in the scientific curriculum. These prizes are now combined into one. It honors the student who, by record of performance during the senior year, is judged by the faculty to be pre-eminent in academic achievement. This year the recipient of the Valedictory prize is:
- Jack Berrien
On behalf of the faculty and staff,
Congratulations and Best Wishes To The Class Of 2025!
We will miss you!
Cum Laude Society Induction
Good Morning
We gather this morning to honor thirteen seniors whom we will induct into the Cum Laude Society – the highest academic award that the Williston Northampton School faculty can bestow. In celebrating such academic excellence, we celebrate our fundamental mission: to inspire students to live with scholarly purpose, intellectual passion and personal integrity.
The Cum Laude Society is a national honor society modeled on Phi Beta Kappa. Williston Academy joined the society in 1921. The Northampton School for Girls received its charter in 1951. And, in 1971, the society granted the merged Williston Northampton School a new charter.
All of us gathered here can take inspiration from the three ancient Greek words that form the motto of Cum Laude: Areté, meaning excellence; Diké, meaning justice; and Timé, meaning honor. Excellence, justice and honor can characterize the life each of us chooses to lead – and the faculty applaud everyone here who strives to live a life so inspired.
Moreover, we thank your families. We hope they will enjoy today as a reflection of their influence upon your lives. Please remember to thank all of those people who have helped you to grow your roots and your wings.
As we nurture your curiosity and persistence in the search for truth, beauty and justice, you have taught us much about language and art, about math and science, about history and philosophy and faith – and, above all, about a love of learning.
Because we live in uncertain times your effort matters. You remind us that learning remains a fundamentally progressive, optimistic and democratic enterprise. In you we witness what can be accomplished by a wonderful mixture of human potential and hard work. And we catch a glimpse of a brighter future. May you embrace the opportunity to improve an ever-changing world.
First, students inducted into the Cum Laude Society this past January, please come forward as your name is called. Please line up on the grass in front of the stage to my right.
- Isabel Baxter-Paris
- Jack Berrien
- Yanwan Cao
- Aster Carlstrom
- Carter Cleary
- Sebastian Enriquez
- Joaquin James
- Dionysus Lively
- Alyssa Matricciani
- Daniel McBride
- Jiwon Park
- Ellie Parsons
- Maya Zesiger
Now we will welcome the new inductees to the stage. As I call your name, please come forward to receive your membership pin and certificate from Cum Laude Chapter President Beatrice Cody and Vice President Sue Michalski, then line up in front of the stage:
- George (Pittman) Alley
- Parker Brown
- Gabriella Bobiak
- Brendan Capshaw
- Christopher Doubleday
- Margaret Edwards
- Massimo Elkin
- Alyssa Frazier
- Madelyn McCarthy
- Stella Michalski
- Rinka Okuno
- Xiangcheng (Edmon) Tong
- Tyler Yunes
Please turn and face the stage for your formal induction. Ms. Beatrice Cody, President of the Williston Northampton Chapter of the Cum Laude Society, will read the charge.
Your exemplary record in academics and citizenship has earned for you membership in the Cum Laude Society, a fellowship of scholars whose purpose is to recognize and promote excellence in academic work.
It is our hope that you will accept the honor of membership as a responsibility to strive for similar excellence in all future endeavors, and to contribute to finding solutions to the major challenges that are facing your generation.
On behalf of the faculty, I want to thank you for your consistently strong interest and effort.
Your commitment to the highest level of academic work has inspired your classmates and your teachers.
By the authority duly granted me as President, it is with great pride and pleasure that I welcome you into the Williston Northampton Chapter of the Cum Laude Society.
Congratulations.