As Upper School Academic Dean Abigail Cudabac said during the 2024 Honors and Awards ceremony, held on Thursday, May 23, in Thies Auditorium, Charlotte Latin School operates “on the premise that recognizing excellence is always better than not recognizing it.” 

Since Charlotte Latin students operate on a high level in a broad array of endeavors, the ceremony had an abundance of laurels and plaudits. In front of a supportive Upper School audience, students were praised with fulsome speeches and loudly applauded by their peers, and summoned to the Thies Auditorium stage for recognition of their extraordinary achievements.

The Baird Award, sponsored by Baird Private Wealth Management, is given annually to a graduating senior who displays a strong work ethic, seeks growth-promoting opportunities, challenges himself to excel and who has an interest in business, finance, or economics: it went to Aditi Satish ’24.

Captain Ian Marecic awarded a National ROTC Scholarship worth over $154,000 to Colin Degenhardt ’24.

The Morrill Scholarship Program at The Ohio State University recognizes and rewards academically talented students who are actively engaged in diversity-based leadership, service, and social justice activities: it was awarded with distinction to Kwasi Thornhill ’24.

The Hampden-Sydney Book Award went to the multitalented Phillip Hullinger ’25.

The Harvard Prize Book Award honors outstanding high school students for academic and personal accomplishments: it went to Adam Stone '25.

The Optime Merens awards, awarded by Charlotte Latin to “very well deserving” students who would enrich any college campus, were received by Alison Archibald ’25 and Evy Linker ’25.

The St. Lawrence University Book Award recognizes students who have made exceptional contributions in the areas of equality, diversity, and inclusion and have worked to foster a community where all individuals are respected and valued: it went to Jesse Kim ’25.

The University of Virginia’s Jefferson Book Award recognizes “a demonstrated citizen leader who… embraces creativity and innovation…[and] works to improve his or her community locally or globally”: the recipient this year was Eleanor Fisher ’25.

The William and Mary Leadership Award is presented to juniors who show inspirational leadership, outstanding scholarship, and unwavering loyalty to their high school and community: it was awarded to Charlie Sidman ’25.

The Yale Book Award is given to a junior with outstanding character and a high level of intellectual achievement: this year, Camille Becker ’25.

The Class of 1975 Award went to a student Upper School Dean Tracey Vanneste described as an “empathetic, servant leader in every facet of student life”: Lydia Berens ’24.

Awarding the Class of 1982 Award, Dean Vanneste extolled the “exceptional dedication, leadership, and integrity” of its recipient, Stella Burke ’25.

The Marjorie Nicholls Friendship Award, named in honor of a departed member of the Class of 1985, goes to a senior who embodies her spirit of amity: this year, Leah Tewolde ’24.

The Bob Patten Scholarship Award honors a student who exemplifies the spirit, character, and discipline of Bob Patten, long-time Charlotte Latin School football coach and Dean of Students: it went to Chuck Edwards ’25.

The Frederick Douglass & Susan B. Anthony Award recognizes a junior with a demonstrated commitment to understanding and addressing difficult social issues, a dedication to community action, and achievement in rigorous courses in the humanities and social sciences: the honor was received by Sydney Query ’25.

The Global Citizen Award honors a student who “demonstrates a curiosity about the world around them, embraces differing perspectives, communicates effectively across diverse audiences, and advocates for action,” said Director of Global Studies Kelly Willis. The recipient was Sophia Cartafalsa ’24.

The George Eastman Young Leaders Award is given to a junior with strong leadership skills, excellent grades in a challenging curriculum, and dedication to varied, extensive, or time-consuming co-curricular activities: this year, Claire Addison ’25.

The plaque for the Patrick N. Calhoun Sportsmanship Award says that it is for “outstanding contributions to Charlotte Latin School’s Athletic Program in leadership, teamwork, ability, and high standard of conduct”: it went to Jordan Pence ’24.

Lori Davis, Director of Student Publications, gave the Hawk Eye Award to a student she described as a “warm and encouraging mentor, a prolific and enthusiastic writer, and a peer leader who epitomizes the characteristics of a scholar-athlete”: Tommy Beason ’24.

She also presented the Eyry Leadership Award to two students who demonstrated their leadership and joyful spirits during their tenures as co-editors-in-chief of the school yearbook: Avery Cheatwood ’24 and Marina Horiuchi ’24.

The C.W. Stacks Service Award, recognizing a student who has transformed the lives of others through their volunteer work, went to Kristie Shams ’24.

The Student Council award went to four StuCo stalwarts who helped unite their Upper School community over the past four years: Stewart Langley ’24, Natalie Massardo ’24, Lulu Gorelick ’24, and Charley Floyd ’24.

The Outstanding Contribution to Drama Award went to a student that Director of Theater Arts Matt Cosper called a “deeply invested, thoughtful, and creative artist and thinker”: Alexa Marcus ’24.

He praised the winner of the Excellence in Musical Theater Award for “the emotional availability she brings to her work”: Sydney Lawrence ’24.

The Excellence in Technical Theatre Award is presented to a universally respected senior who has demonstrated superior professionalism, knowledge, leadership, and dedication to the Charlotte Latin Stage Crew and the Performing Arts Department: it went to Jasmine Zheng ’24.

The John Philip Sousa Band Award, the top nationwide award for school band, is presented to an outstanding band student in recognition of superior musicianship, leadership, dependability, loyalty, discipline and cooperation: this year, Jackson DiRoma ’24. 

The National School Choral Award, the highest honor for high school choral performers, recognizes the dedication and/or musical achievement of choral students who exemplify great choral singing and leadership within the ensemble. It went to two students: Meghan DuPuy and Ryan Samii ’24.

The National School Orchestra Award goes to a student who has demonstrated outstanding musicianship and leadership: it was awarded to Brian Dong ’24.

The Outstanding Achievement in Visual Art Award was described by Upper School Art Instructor Richard Fletcher as “a giant in a senior class full of proverbial giants”: Hope Gottschling ’24.

The Most Outstanding Competitor in Speech Award was described by Director of Speech and Debate Bilal Butt as “a student with a remarkable ability to command attention and exude confidence every time she performs”: Neesa Phadke ’24.

He cited the recipient of the Most Outstanding Competitor in Debate Award for exhibiting “a rare maturity and composure beyond her years, approaching each debate topic with a balanced and pragmatic perspective”: Kelly Budzichowski ’24.

The Coaches’ Award, the highest honor of the speech and debate program, went to Evan Li ’24.

The Victor Hugo Award, for excellence in French, was awarded to Hope Gottschling ’24.

The Homer Award, for excellence in Greek, went to Grace Finn ’25.

The Petrarch Award, for excellence in Latin, went to Evan Li ’24.

The Cervantes Award, for excellence in Spanish, was received by Alexa Marcus ’24.

Two students received recognition for their extraordinary success in the American Mathematics Competition, each having scored high enough to qualify for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination: Nikhil Ashri ’24 and Kabir Nawaz ’26.

The Bausch + Lomb Honorary Science Award, rewarding high achievement and rigor in science and math classes, plus positive contributions to a student’s school and larger community, went to Lillian Jarmosevich ’25.

The Rensselaer Medal, for excellence in both science and mathematics, was awarded to Adam Stone ’25.

As a result of excelling on the PSAT exam in the fall of their junior years, Charlotte Latin School had 16 Commended Students and six National Merit Finalists, one of whom was awarded a National Merit Scholarship: Evan Li ’24.

The College Board cited the academic achievements of Alessandra Martin ’25 through its National Hispanic and Latino Recognition Program and similarly honored Maya Belton ’25, Toryn Nichols ’24, Kenny Ogbata ’25, and Kwasi Thornhill ’24 through its National African American Recognition Program.

The AP Scholar Award went to 26 students who had scored 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams; the AP Scholar with Honor Award went to 12 students who had an average score of 3.25 on all AP Exams and 3 or higher on four or more exams; the AP Scholar with Distinction Award went to two students who had an average score of 3.5 on all AP Exams and 3 or higher on five or more exams: Andrew Jiang ’24 and Neesa Phadke ’24.

In addition, the program honored faculty members who were retiring from Latin and honored some individual teachers: the Paulyne A. Flemm Award went to Dr. Michael Johnson, the Jane Bratton Spratt Award to Powell Paguibitan, the John B. Stedman Teacher Recognition Award to Whitney Duquette, and the Inlustrate Orbem Award for a teacher doing cross-divisional work went to Bilal Butt, while the Inlustrate Orbem Award for a teacher in the Upper School went to Alan Becker.