By Elizabeth Gillingham

In June, the Patrick Henry High School (PHHS) class of 2016 was formally recognized by many community organizations through scholarships and other school awards to approximately 70 students.

Many students received cash scholarships ranging from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands.

In addition to the community awards and scholarships, the faculty at PHHS gave awards to top students who achieved excellence in different departments and special awards given to students in categories like Patriots of the Year and President’s Academic Excellence.

The following students were recognized by the community with scholarships:

Dr. Stormberg Orthodontics Scholarship: Olga Bronshteyn

Alumni Association Scholarship $1,500: Bamidele Aleshe, Brandon Kennedy, and Ian Rodney

Semper Fidelis Distinguished Athlete Award: Brandon Kennedy and Hannah Riedy

Semper Fidelis Musical Excellence Award: Marina Burkett

Semper Fidelis Academic Excellence Award: Brianna Pinto

Semper Fidelis JROTC Leadership Award: Johnhenry Do

Semper Fidelis JROTC Espiritu De Corps Award: Thomas Timmons

US Air Force Scholarship $83,000: Michael Simmons

Commander Pearsall ROTC Scholarship $500: Ashley Nguyen and Erin Stuck

US Navy ROTC Scholarship $180,000: Matthew Dromgoole, Sophia Nguyen, and Ian Rodney

La Mesa Rotary Club $2,000: Katherine Gi and Brandon Kennedy

California Retired Teachers (Division 4) $1,500: Brandon Kennedy

Cajon Valley Education Association $1,000: Colin Nugent

Resource Conservation District – San Diego $1,000: Bamidele Aleshe

Lake Murray Kiwanis Scholarship $1,000: Brandon Kennedy

Lake Murray Kiwanis Scholarship $500: Rianna Jarnot, Georgina Fang, and Reggennie Toor

St. Dunstan’s Community Outreach $500: Bamidele Aleshe, Alexis Gygax, and Ashley Nguyen

Spartan Yellow Award $90,000: Brooke Harris

Lions Club Scholarship $1,000: Matthew Muehelman

College Promise Scholarship $1,000: Araceli Espinoza, Kevin Kwee, and Ken Tran

Elevate Foundation Scholarship $1,000: Georgina Fang, Brandon Kennedy, and Lillian Rose

California Mathematics Council: Jabril King Mahdi

Boys State Delegate: Darren Henry

Girls State Delegate: Brianna Pinto

The following students were recipients of the PHHS Department awards:

AVID Award: Yasin Ahmed

Drama: Jeremy Stolp

Music – Vocalist: Marshall Cotta

Engineering Academy: Nathanael Larson

Mathematics: Jabril King-Mahdi

Music – Instrumental: Matthew Voogd

NJROTC: Ashley Nguyen

Photography: Madison Graves

Psychology: Diwash Shrestha

Social Studies: Brianna Pinto

Science: Jabril King-Mahdi

Student Government: Carlee Anderson

Visual Arts: Flat Art: Meriah Razak

Ceramics: Katherine Gi

Video Productions: Chase Lirley

American Sign Language: Charlett Hershman

French: Mia Deptolla

Japanese: Mimi Luong

German: Wyatt Gregory

Spanish: Michael Lowry

The last set of students were recipients of the PHHS Special School Awards:

Academic League: Sadie Hui

Link Crew: Greg Chase and Chryssi Ladas

National Merit Finalist $2,500: Ian Rodney

Peer Mediation: Aldrin Donna and Anya Vandersip

Perseverance & Achievement Award: Emily Lauerman and Iris Ly

President’s Academic Excellence (Top Ten Students): William Mason, Hannah Riedy, Jabril King-Mahdi, Nicolas Armenta, Diwash Shrestha, Andrew Nguyen, Dalton Surprenant, Leann Hua, Ian Rodney, and Bryan Tan

The Patriots of the Year for the Class of 2016: Carlee Anderson, Emily Arkin, Wesley Cooksy, Marshall Cotta, Alexis Gygax, Darren Henry, Jabril King-Mahdi, Nathan Lesser, Chase Lirley, Christina Marshall, Ian Rodney, Brittany Sipe, Anya Vandersip

Senior of the Year 2016: Ian Rodney

Most Inspirational Senior: Lauren Haneke-Hopps

Scholar Athletes of the Year: Jade Durst and Chase Lirley

PHHS Counselor/Foundation Scholarships $250: Hunter Wilde, Noah Boek, Adam Hermez, Justin Moughan, Meriah Razak, and Andrew Hertach

Maria Theodore Memorial Scholarship $500: Aaliyah Williams

Donald Giddings Leadership Award $500: Jabril King-Mahdi

Presentation to the Salutatorian: Jabril King-Mahdi

Presentation to the Valedictorians: William Mason & Hannah Riedy

Weissenberg Family Watch Presentation: William Mason & Hannah Riedy

Junior University Book Awards

Every year, different universities recognize outstanding juniors in local secondary schools by presenting books to the top 1 percent of the class. They do this to help attract the best students to their schools and to provide name recognition for counselors and schools when talking about options for their seniors. They also encourage students to look at school outside the area by providing incentives (like promises of scholarships) for students who might select them the following year. The counseling team starts with a ranked list and tries to award each book based on the student interest and talents. This year, the book awards were given to the following students:

Brandeis University Book Award: Wendora Hays

The Brandeis Book Award recognizes outstanding high school juniors committed to academic engagement. Wendora ranked No. 1 in the junior Class of 2017 and had a GPA of 4.78.

Yale Book Award: Clayton Lange

The Yale Book award goes to a student who exhibits leadership skills, demonstrates outstanding personal character and has intellectual promise. Clayton also ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2017 and had a GPA of 4.78.

The Rensselaer Medalist: Riley Gilbertson

The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute gives a medal and a scholarship of $25,000 per year guaranteed for four years to those that apply and are accepted. They are looking for students who distinguish themselves in advanced mathematics and science. Riley ranked No. 3 and has a 4.67 GPA.

Wellesley College Book Award: Shurui Li

Wellesley College is a four-year liberal arts college for women in Boston, Massachusetts. They value outstanding academic and personal achievement and Shurui was selected based on her impressive academic record, her exceptional character and impressive amount of time given to community service. She was ranked No. 4 and has a GPA of 4.61.

St. Lawrence University Book Award: Allison Nguyen

St. Lawrence University honors their recipient for their commitment to active service in the community as well as academic success by giving them a book award and a $1,000 merit scholarship per year if they apply and are accepted. Allison was selected because she has been identified as someone who displays a significant commitment to her school and her community and is ranked No. 4 with a GPA of 4.61.

Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award: Harry Guerra

The Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science award was given by the University of Rochester for rigor and high achievement in science classes and also high PSAT scores in math. Henry was ranked No. 6 and has a GPA of 4.56.

Fredrick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award: Rachel Kosic

The University of Rochester selects students who have demonstrated strong personal character and a commitment to understanding and addressing difficult social issues. Rachel was selected and was ranked No. 6 and has a 4.56 GPA.

George Eastman Young Leaders Award: Abdullhadi Alshami

This award was formerly called the Kodak Young Leaders Award. It is given to deserving students for their high grades in challenging courses; involvement in extracurricular activities and/or strong leadership experience at school and in our community. The award is from the University of Rochester and may lead to a $40,000 scholarship toward tuition if the student applies and is admitted. Abdullhadi was selected and ranked No. 7 and has a GPA of 4.50.

Williams College Book Award: Stephen Nguyen

The Williams College Book Award program is designed to encourage intellectual excellence and to recognize student achievement. Stephen was selected to receive this honor and is ranked No. 7 and has a 4.50 GPA.

Xerox Award for Innovation and Information: Charles Wong

The Xerox Award for innovation and technology is given to students who demonstrate achievement in the pursuit of innovative approaches and an appreciation for the possibilities of technology. Charles was selected and was also ranked No. 7 and has a GPA of 4.50.

PHHS recognized by district for energy conservation

Patrick Henry High School continues to shine in school-wide efforts to conserve energy. Last year, Henry was named No. 1 in the county and this year we came in third with a 5.8 percent reduction. The San Diego School Energy Conservation Competition is sponsored by the San Diego Gas Electric Company by offering prizes to schools who find ways to cut down their energy usage. Coming in third place earned us a cash prize of $300 that will go to our Environmental Club who sponsored many of the cost-cutting ideas we put into practice. The goal of the competition was to lower every school’s electricity use, reduce their carbon footprint, and create fantastic campaigns.

• Kearny High School (SDUSD): First place – 15.3 percent reduction
• Scripps Ranch High School (SDUSD): Second place – 8 percent reduction
• Patrick Henry High School (SDUSD): Third place – 5.8 percent reduction
• San Diego High- SciTech (SDUSD): Most Momentum

Lincoln High (SDUSD): Most Creative Campaign Action

• Mater Dei Catholic (private): Best Overall Campaign

PHHS student representatives were sent to the Board of Education meeting to be recognized with their advisors Adria Van Loan and Courtney Kern.

—Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.