During an assembly on Friday, October 25, we honored academic achievement by recognizing students who scored well on AP exams and the National Merit Scholarship. Below are the remarks from Academic Dean Kim Polin, and the lists of our honorees. You can download pictures from the assembly on our Flickr site.
Good morning. My name is Mrs. Polin, Williston’s Academic Dean. This morning, I have the pleasure of sharing the recognition earned by a number of our students by virtue of their participation and success in multiple AP classes. These awards are established and shared with us by the College Board, the organization that oversees the AP curriculum and tests and standardized tests such as the SAT and PSAT.
72 graduates from the Class of 2025 were honored in one the four categories designed by College Board. In addition to those graduated students, 56 current students have been recognized for their performance on AP exams taken in grades 10 and 11.
We will display the names of the winners for each category on the screen. At the end of the assembly, we ask that all students who’s name was listed, to please stay after for photos and to receive their award.
First, Recognition as an “AP SCHOLAR” is granted to students with scores of 3 or higher on 3 or more AP exams.
- Lateef O. Aiyeyemi
- Devin F. Berry Brown
- Nicolas P. Bonin
- Ruth S. Butler
- Sarah C. Dripps
- Eden Dushekenov
- Bennett J. Evelti
- Connor W. Graff
- Scarlette E. Graybill
- Luke T. Green
- Maya T. Green
- Charlotte A. Honig
- Hayden P. Hutner
- Tristan Kokoszka
- Taehoon Koo
- Alexander J. Landon
- Will H. Lee
- Dannielle Lu
- Lauren F. Martinez
- Amelia F. McCullough
- Teppei Morita
- Jordyn Osorio
- Henry B. Sanders
- Zoe E. Simon
Recognition as an “AP SCHOLAR WITH HONOR” is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on 4 or more of those exams
- Thuan Doan
- Brandon D. Gou
- Madeline S. Helgeson
- Sarah C. Martini
- Jack W. Nolan
- Haruka Okuno
- Jaejoon Park
- Catherine M. Putt
- Isabel S. Sorkin-Camacho
- Pabhangkorn Suranunt
- Maya E. Vulakh
“AP SCHOLAR WITH DISTINCTION” is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on 5 or more of those exams
- Keshav Ambadi
- Juliana C. Castelo
- Francesca Gionfriddo
- Max Gordon
- Runzhe Hu
- Zhejing Hu
- Aiyana Karanja
- Jaelyn E. Luo
- Katherine C. Martini
- Christopher G. Oswitt
- Junwon Park
- Zola V. Piekarski
- Josephine E. Schumacher
- Kamal Sergeev
- Douglas G. Warner
- Yahya Wilson
- Richard Yu-Hwang
- Binyang Zhang
“AP INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMA” is granted to students who score a 3 or higher on a minimum of five AP Exams, including two from different languages, one exam with a global perspective, and one from math, science, or computer science
- Zhejing Hu
In addition to the AP awards, we will recognize students that have been Commended in the National Merit Scholarship Program. These students have demonstrated exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2025 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students place among the top 50,000 students who entered the competition by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
The recipients are:
- Brandon Gou
- Zhejing Hu
- Alexander Landon
- Sarah Martini
- Junwon Park
- Yahya Wilson
Finally, I would like to recognize the semifinalist in the National Merit scholarship program.
National Merit Semifinalist status was granted to more than 16,000 students nationwide, out of millions who took the PSAT last year. This represents approximately the top 1% of all test takers. Williston students who were awarded Semifinalist status have been invited to continue in the Merit Scholarship competition, in order to advance to Finalist standing, based on a number of additional requirements. This year’s semifinalists are:
- Katherine Martini
- Douglas Warner
Thank you!