MMI Honors Middle School Students During 2025 Awards Ceremony

Head of School Mrs. Theresa Long announces that MMI Preparatory School held a ceremony on May 13 to honor middle school students for their academic achievements, induct members into the National Junior Honor Society, and honor the eighth graders with a Rising Up Ceremony as they move into the Upper School next year.

Mrs. Long commented “We are incredibly proud of our middle school students for their hard work, curiosity, and commitment to excellence. Whether they are excelling in the classroom, leading by example, or exploring big ideas through their projects, they embody the values that define the MMI experience. We look forward to all they will accomplish as they continue their journey through Upper School and beyond.”

During the ceremony, eighth graders Victoria Park, Robert Brighthaupt, Jade Cabrera, and Jack Benyo received the American Legion Award, an honor given to the top two female and top two male students with the highest grade point average, while Marlow Basalyga and Jeremy Arias were honored with the Good Citizenship Award. This award is given to students who exemplify good citizenship through character, leadership, and scholarship.

MMI also presented subject awards in each grade to the following students:

Sixth Grade – Elaina Seltzer (Music), Aria Karnoski (Visual Arts, English, Math), Mason Makoweic (Geography, Science),

Seventh Grade – Sahiba Kaur (Music, English, Health), Reily Mason (Visual Arts), Ryan Bonafacio (Ancient Civilizations and Math), Megan Yamulla (Science), Addison Potsko (Latin),

Eighth Grade – Yaslin Tejeda Nivar (Music and Government), Jeremy Arias (Visual Arts), Jack Benyo (English), Jade Quijandria (Math), Marlow Basalyga (Science), Robert Brighthaupt (Foreign Language)

Sophie Schulz, Ethan Ungemach, Yaslin Tejeda Nivar, Robert Brighthaupt, Jade Cabrera, Sahiba Kaur, Rian Patel, and Thomas Rogers were also recognized for their outstanding work in the annual MATHCOUNTS competition.

Pictured, First Row, L to R: Advisor Mrs. Shannon Falcheck, Thomas Rogers, Sahiba Kaur, Ethan Ungemach, Head of School Mrs. Theresa Long. Second Row, L to R: Jade Cabrera, Yaslin Tejeda Nivar, Sophie Schulz, Rian Patel, Robert Brighthaupt.

Next, the winners of MMI’s annual Open House were named. Each year, MMI students are challenged with preparing special research projects that are displayed at the event. All MMI students display, explain, and demonstrate their projects in classrooms and locations throughout the school, and all projects are completed under the guidance of faculty advisers. Each project is then evaluated during Open House by a panel of judges from outside the school. This year, categories were divided into two levels: Level 1 is for the sixth and seventh grades, while Level 2 consists of eighth and ninth grades. The middle-school winners who were recognized at the awards ceremony include:

Level 1 STEM: First place — Jacob Hoffman, “Trees in Your Backyard”; Second place —Jaycob Perez Suarez, “How Plants that Died Grow”; Third place — Sahiba Kaur, “Biomimicry”.

Level 2 STEM: Third place — Keirsi Mooney, “How to Have a More Sustainable Christmas”.

Level 1 Humanities: First place — Elaina Seltzer, “Sephora Rampage”; Second place — Riley Mason, “Positions, Rules, and Equipment”; Third place — Rayden Then, “Exploring the Iconic Brooklyn Bridge”.

Level 2 Humanities: First place — Robert Brighthaupt, “The Dark Side of Temu”; Second place — Yaslin Tejeda Nivar, “Handwriting Analysis”; Third place — Sophie Larock, “Mental Disorders”.

Pictured, First Row, L to R: Head of School Mrs. Theresa Long, Sahiba Kaur, Keirsi Mooney, Elaina Seltzer, Jaycob Perez Suarez. Second Row, L to R: Yaslin Tejeda Nivar, Robert Brighthaupt, Sophie Larock, Riley Mason, Rayden Then. Missing from Photo: Jacob Hoffman

Students were also inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. NJHS represents an organization of the world’s highest-achieving middle-level students and provides an outstanding opportunity to grow with academically accomplished peers who are sharpening the habits needed for success in high school and beyond. The students inducted were: Jeremy Arias, Marlow Basalyga, Jack Benyo, Robert Brighthaupt, Jade Cabrera, Emma Casey, Nicholas Corazza, Norjhely Cornelio Pena, Neal DeAngelo, Brayden Hoover, Stella Horvath, Sophie Larock, Lance Lispi, Mikaela Mauna, Ashley Mendoza, Keirsi Mooney, Momin Muhammad, Victoria Park, Jade Quijandria, Thomas Rogers, Sophie Schulz, Tyler Swircek, Yaslin Tejeda Nivar, and Ethan Ungemach.

Pictured, First Row, L to R: Nicholas Corazza, Ethan Ungemach. Second Row, L to R: Jack Benyo, Neal DeAngelo, Thomas Rogers. Third Row, L to R: Robert Brighthaupt, Keirsi Mooney, Victoria Park, Jade Quijandria. Fourth Row, L to R: Marlow Basalyga, Norjhely Cornelio Pena, Brayden Hoover, Yaslin Tejeda Nivar, Sophie Schulz. Fifth Row, L to R: Emma Casey, Jade Cabrera, Mikaela Mauna, Ashley Mendoza. Sixth Row, L to R: Jeremy Arias, Stella Horvath, Sophie Larock, Lance Lispi. Missing from Photo: Momin Muhammad, Tyler Swircek.

The event concluded with the Rising Up Ceremony for MMI’s eighth-grade students, who were recognized by their Advisors, Dr. Heather Grimm and Mrs. Natasha Keyser, and the Associate Dean for Middle School, Ms. Mara Zumchak. The students received a gift as they will end this school year by “Rising Up” to start their Upper School careers in the fall.