Prize Day 2014

Rivers’ annual Prize Day ceremony was held Thursday, June 12, with students being honored for achievements in academics, community service, and personal character. Several faculty and staff members were also recognized for their contributions to the Rivers community.
Rivers’ annual Prize Day ceremony was held Thursday, June 12, with students being honored for achievements in academics, community service, and personal character. Several faculty and staff members were also recognized for their contributions to the Rivers community.

A highlight of the ceremony was the announcement of a new underclassman prize established to honor retiring Head of School Tom Olverson. The Thomas P. Olverson Prize was awarded to Julia Strauss ’15 as “the junior who is a deep thinker and true scholar, a student who manifests the humility and character of Thomas P. Olverson.”

Among the prize recipients was Nate Johnson ’14, who won the prestigious Faculty Prize, awarded annually to the senior who “best exemplifies the school’s traditions of industry, responsibility, and loyalty.”

Four seniors received the Dudley Willis Trustee Prize, given to those seniors who “have distinguished themselves by virtue of their pursuit of excellence, integrity, contributions to the school, and the respect accorded to them by the Rivers community.” They were Molly Busch ’14, Maura Crowley '14, Kevin Hester '14, and James Hotchkiss '14.

Andrew Kaufmann ’14 was the recipient of the Jeremiah J. Sheehan Memorial Prize, awarded “to the student in the graduating class who has shown that he or she follows in the footsteps of Jeremiah J. Sheehan, a former beloved member of the Rivers faculty, in his gentility, kindness, and all-around good sportsmanship.”

Ben Warwick ’14 was honored with The Henry Wilder Foote Prize, awarded “to the senior who has shown the greatest intellectual and social growth.”

Erica Chalmers ’14 received the Hooper Lawrence Memorial Prize, awarded “for those qualities which contribute so much to the happiness of other people: a cheerful disposition, an unselfish nature, and a kind heart.”

Thabi Khumalo '17 and Michael Young '17 earned the Kenneth F. Benjamin ’50 Citizenship Award, given in memory of Ken Benjamin, a member of Rivers’ Class of 1950, a Rivers parent, grandparent, and Life Trustee, to “those students in Grade 9 who, like Mr. Benjamin, lead by example, give selflessly to others, and embody The Rivers School’s Core Values.”

Ben Joiner ’18 received the F. Ervin Prince Prize, given “to the middle school students who best embody the qualities of Erv Prince: a gentle, unassuming character, friendly sense of humor, integrity, inherent consideration for others, and, above all, passion for teaching and sports.”

The following book awards were also presented: the Columbia Book Award for Community Service to Ben Soloway ’14, the Harvard Club Prize to Marissa Birne ’15, the Williams College Award to Jennifer Lowell ’15, the Brown University Alumni Book Award to James Nydam ’15, and the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Faculty Prize to Derek Wang ’16.

Also presented to members of the graduating class were a number of academic awards:
The Robert W. Rivers Prize for English: James Juviler '14
The Mathematics Prize: Tatum Bradley '14
The Science Prize: Jenny Park '14 and Ben Warwick '14
The George Woodbridge ’24 History Prize: Connor Rooney '14
The Interdisciplinary Studies Prize: Sarah Roth '14
The Otto Alcaide Language Prize for Spanish: Claudia Bellido '14
The Otto Alcaide Language Prize for French: Jennifer Rosenfield '14
The Austin A. Chute Memorial Prize: James Hotchkiss '14
The Modern Language Prize for Chinese: Ross Barlow '14
The Three-Dimensional Arts Prize (Ceramics): Linsdey Ades '14 and Samuel Stulin '14
The Three-Dimensional Arts Prize (Sculpture): Kevin Hester '14
The Two-Dimensional Arts Prize: Sareena Kamath '14
The Photography Prize: Leah Ciffolillo '14
The Choral Prize: Ryan Johnson '14
The Classical Music Prize: Ben Warwick '14
The David Killam Instrumental Music Prize: Richard Oates '14
The Nonesuch Players Prize: Louis Rabinovitz '14

Elected to membership in the national Cum Laude Society were 16 seniors: Lindsey Ades, David Alelyunas, Miranda Bachman, Erica Chalmers, Kat Dutile, Emily Fraser, Spencer Graves, James Hotchkiss, Nate Johnson, James Juviler, Sareena Kamath, John McDaniel, Richard Oates, Jenny Park, Ethan Puritz, and Jennifer Rosenfield.

Awarded during the Varsity Awards evening on Wednesday were the prestigious Priscilla Wallace Strauss Athletic Prize to Elizabeth Thayer and the coveted James A. Navoni Athletic Prize to Brandan Gates.

Faculty and staff were honored at Prize Day for their years of service and also with a number of awards. The Mida Van Zuylen Dunn Awards for Teaching were presented to Fred Kosak and Will Mills. Diane DeVore received the Walter Family Community Award,  Judi Schreider received the Bergen-Decker Award, and Dan McCartney was awarded the F. Ervin Prince Teaching Chair.
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