Rivers Celebrates Annual Prize Day
Rivers’ annual Prize Day ceremony was held Friday, May 26, honoring students for their achievements in academics, the arts, and community service, and for personal character. Several faculty and staff members were also recognized for their service and contributions to the Rivers community. Among the prize recipients was Brett Rahbany ’17, who won the prestigious Faculty Prize, awarded annually to the senior who “best exemplifies the school’s traditions of industry, responsibility, and loyalty.”
Three seniors— Aliza Bloostein ’17, Nazeli Hagen ’17, and Katherine Regan-Loomis ’17—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.”
Jermaine Samuels’17 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.”
Joshua Polanco Calderon ’17 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.”
Sydney Epstein ’17 received the Henry Wilder Foote Prize, given by the Class of 1923 to the senior who has shown the greatest intellectual and social growth.
Hannah Long ’21 received the F. Ervin Prince Prize, given “to the middle school student who best embodies 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 Upper School awards were also presented: the Harvard Club Prize to Joseph Nedder ’18, the Thomas Olverson Prize to Louise Ambler ’18, the Williams College Book Award to Emma Chowdhury ’18, the Brown University Alumni Book Award to Phie Jacobs ’18, the Columbia Book Award for Community Engagement to Lorraine Byrne ’17, and the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Faculty Prize to Michael Manasseh’19.
Jacquelyn M. Benjes ’20 and George A. Reinhardt ’20 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.”
Also presented to members of the graduating class were a number of academic awards:
The Robert W. Rivers Prize for English—Katherine Regan-Loomis ’17
The Mathematics Prize— Brett Rahbany ’17 and Michael Young ’17
The Science Prize—Michelle Ryder ’17
The George Woodbridge History Prize—Benjamin Puritz ’17
The Interdisciplinary Studies Prize—Aliza Bloostein ’17
The Otto Alcaide Language Prize for Spanish—Samantha Baldwin ’17
The Austin A. Chute Memorial Prize—Andrew Martin ’17
The Three-Dimensional Arts Prize (Ceramics)—Frank Ferrara, III ’17
The Three-Dimensional Arts Prize (Sculpture)—Paul Hawkins ’17
The Two-Dimensional Arts Prize—Alicia Bellido ’17
The Photography Prize—Sydney Epstein ’17
The Choral Music Prize—Bathabile Khumalo ’17
The Classical Music Prize— Graydon Hewitt ’17 and Sarah E. Lamour ’17
The David Killam Instrumental Music Prize—Benjamin Gomez ’17
The Nonesuch Players Prize—Joshua Polanco Calderon ’17
Elected to membership in the national Cum Laude Society were 17 seniors: Aliza Bloostein, Robert Gallo, Nazeli Hagen, Shahen Hagen, Asher Leeming, Andrew Martin,
Grace Monaghan, Madeleine Moore, Aspen Pierson, Benjamin Puritz, Joshua Polanco Calderon, Brett Rahbany, Kristen Randall, McCauley Reardon, Katherine Regan-Loomis, Michelle Ryder, and Michael Young.
Also presented were several athletic awards, including the prestigious Priscilla Wallace Strauss Athletic Prize to Madeline Segall ’17 and the coveted James A. Navoni Athletic Prize to Michael Young ’17. The Independent School League Award for Excellence was presented to Azar Swain ’17 and Kaitlin Wood ’17. The Senior Awards for Exceptional Dedication to Athletics, given in memory of Matthew S. Epstein ’89 to three-season senior athletes, went to Lorraine Byrne, Derek Lamparelli, Benjamin Puritz, Madeline Segall, and Kaitlin Wood.
Faculty and staff were honored at Prize Day for their years of service and also with a number of awards. Dr. Julian Willard, Chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies Department, received the F. Ervin Prince Teaching Chair. John Bower, Director of Diversity and Inclusivity, received the Walter Family Community Award. The Mida Van Zuylen Dunn Awards for Teaching were presented to math teacher Elizabeth Wendorf and Humanities teacher Arielle Kaplan. Director of Academic Scheduling and history teacher Carol Davidson received the Bergen-Decker Award.
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Rivers admits academically qualified students and does not discriminate against students or families on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or ethnic or national origin in the administration of its educational programs, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic programs, and other school-administered programs.