Photo: Row 1 from L to R: Head of School Mrs. Theresa Long, Freeland American Legion Post 473 Commander Gerald Gaffney, Alexis Bleiler ’26, Cedrah Abdulrahman ’26, and Freeland American Legion Post 473 Auxiliary member Laura Strober. Row 2: Freeland American Legion Post 473 member Robert DeJohn, Sharan Parikh ’26, Jozef Dovicak ’26, Cassidy McDermott ’26, and Academic Dean Mrs. Jennifer Novotney.
MMI Preparatory School recognized the achievements of its high school students during the Upper School Awards Ceremony on May 13. This annual event, hosted by Head of School Mrs. Theresa Long, honors students from ninth to twelfth grades who showcase excellence in various subjects and events.
“This evening is a celebration of students who have challenged themselves to think critically, lead with purpose, and pursue excellence both inside and outside the classroom,” Mrs. Long noted. “Our Upper School students continue to distinguish themselves through scholarship, creativity, service, and resilience. From academic achievement and research to leadership and community involvement, these students represent the very best of MMI, and we are excited to see the impact they will make in the years ahead.”
During the ceremony, the American Legion’s Academic Excellence Awards were presented by Commander Gerald Gaffney, Mr. Robert DeJohn, and Ms. Laura Strober of the Freeland American Legion Post and Auxiliary 473 to Alexis Blieler ’26 and Sharan Parikh ’26. The 2026 American Legion Award was awarded to senior Cedrah Abdulrahman. The American Legion Essay Award was awarded to Tyler Swericek ’29 for his response to the prompt: “Is the American Dream still relevant today?”
Ms. Joanne Gerhard and Mrs. Jennifer Oakum of MMI presented the next award on behalf of the Drums Lioness Club, an extension of the Lions Club International. This club awarded Ava Genetti ’26 for showing the qualities of leadership and community-minded volunteerism.
Cassidy McDermott ’26 was honored with the White Haven Lions Award. Candidates for this honor must reside within the 18661 zip code and be accepted as a full-time student to a degree program at an accredited institution.
The Freeland Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5010 recognized three MMI students for excellence in the Voice of Democracy Competition: Erica Schwear ’26 (First Place), Ava Genetti ’26 (Second Place), and Ian Composto ’27 (3rd Place). The VFW established the Voice of Democracy program in 1947 to provide students in grades nine through twelve the opportunity to express themselves regarding democratic ideas and principles.
Seven MMI students received the College Board School Recognition Award for demonstrating outstanding academic achievement within their high school community: Eliza Garcia ’27, Sharan Parikh ’26, Cassidy McDermott ’26, Frederick Blaine ’26, Arushi Solgama ’26, Joseph Mayernik ’26, and Morgan Beerbower ’26.
Five MMI students received recognition from The College Board’s National First-Generation Recognition Program. This program is designed to recognize high-achieving students who are first-generation college students. This year’s recipients are: Gavyn Corchado ’27, Eliza Garcia ’27, Sharan Parikh ’26, Cedrah Abdulrahman ’26, and Mehak Manzoor ’26.
Bryce Radzwich ’26 was the recipient of this year’s Hazleton Area Garden Michele Fellin Scholarship, which recognizes students in Luzerne, Carbon, or Schuylkill counties studying horticulture, botany, environmental science, or related fields.
Mr. David Pedri, President of The Luzerne Foundation, joined the ceremony to recognize students who earned the Ed Hughes Memorial Scholarship and Mary Santella Swart Scholarship. The Ed Hughes Memorial Scholarship was presented to Adam Frask ’26 and Erica Schwear ’26. This scholarship, made possible by a fund set up by Mr. Ed Hughes, is awarded to students who display a strong sense of character, who are committed to their communities, and who choose to pursue their education despite facing challenges. Gabriel Horvath ’26 earned the Mary Santella Swart Scholarship, awarded to students in the Hazleton Area School District who plan to further their education.
Ann Marie Kistler, the widow of John Kister, took the stage to present a scholarship honoring her husband’s legacy to Ava Genetti ’26.
Senator David G. Argall honored Erica Schwear ’26 and Caleb Skuba ’26 with the Good Citizenship Award for exemplifying the qualities of good citizenship through their display of outstanding character, leadership, and scholarship.
Annually, the Greater Hazleton Area Polonaise Society honors the highest achieving Polish American graduate of MMI with an award in honor of Mr. Jake Kislan ’56. Contributors to this year’s scholarship are The Wydock Family in memory of their mother, Agnes Wydock, and the Kopetskie family in memory of their parents, Thomas and Florence Kopetskie. This year’s recipient was Joseph Mayernik ’26.
Awards were also given to underclass students who showed outstanding contributions, achievements, and dedication to an individual subject area in the past academic year. Those students were:
Freshmen: Eleanor Onufer (History), Nilson Tejeda (Math), Jade Quijandria (English), Jeremy Arias (Visual Arts), Marlow Basalyga (Performing Arts), Robert Brighthaupt (Chinese Language), Stella Horvath (French), and Eleanor Onufer (Spanish Language, Science).
Sophomores: Marissa Yamulla (History, Math), Arianna Larsen (English, Chinese Language), Max Temchatin (Visual Arts), Madalynn Young (Performing Arts), Kayleigh Erickson (French), Angel Reymunde (Spanish Language), Siya Patel (Science)
Juniors: Amanda Stoffa (History, Visual Arts), Eliza Garcia (Math), Katelyn Gera (English), Christina Chrin (Performing Arts), Sharon Zhuang (Chinese Language, Science), and Angelina Seeba (Spanish Language).
Delilah Yatsko ’27 was presented with this year’s Producer Award for her work on The Shakespeare Festival. This student-led and produced event highlights adolescent ability to perform and produce with minimal adult orchestration.
Six students were recognized for their excellent performances on the National Spanish Exam: Sophie Schulz ’29 (Class Experience Category, Honorable Mention), Alviso Encarnacion ’28 (Bilingual Category), Angel Reymunde ’28 (Class Experience Category, Honorable Mention), Angelina Seeba ’27 (Class Experience Category, Honorable Mention), Eliza Garcia ’27 (Class Experience Category, Bronze), and Katherin Arias ’27 (Billingual Category, Silver).
The MMI Ambassador Service Award was presented to Erica Schwear ’26 for promoting the school at various admission events and seeking out opportunities to volunteer at events geared toward current parents and alumni.
During the ceremony, the winners of MMI’s reimagined Open House were named. This year, each student was required to develop an independent research project while working collaboratively with other grades. The project reflected pride in the subject matter through research and extensive preparation. All projects were evaluated by an off-campus team of judges who selected the winners in the two categories of STEM and Multicultural. Sixth graders worked collaboratively with ninth graders on STEM projects, and seventh graders worked with tenth graders on Multicultural projects. Members of the eighth grade had fun working with the eleventh grade on food projects that were held in the gym. Seniors completed a capstone project.
The upper-school winners who were recognized at the awards ceremony include:
STEM (Ninth Grade Winners): Keirsi Mooney (First Place), Brayden Hoover (Second Place), and Lissa Garcia (Third Place).
Multicultural (Tenth Grade Winners): Justin Park (First Place), Siya Patel (Second Place), and Arianny Nieves (Third Place).
Food (Eleventh Grade First-Place Winners): Katherin Arias, Christina Chrin, and Alexa Fazio for Allergen-Friendly Baked Goods.
Senior Captione Winners: “Bio-Reactive Bandages” by Alexis Bleiler, Jozef Dovicak, Sharan Parikh, Rishi Patel, and Arushi Solgama.
Christina Chrin ’27 was given the American Red Cross Scholarship Award.
The #GARYINSPIRED ME Award was presented to Sharan Parikh ’26.
The University of Pennsylvania offers a Book Award program as part of its Association of Alumnae’s annual awards. This program recognizes outstanding high school juniors, with the award presented annually to a student who embodies the qualities of a scholar, innovator, and community servant, reminiscent of Benjamin Franklin. This year’s recipient was Amanda Stoffa ’27.
Next, awards sponsored by The University of Rochester were presented to the following students: Ruhani Shah ’27 earned the 2026 George Eastman Kodak Young Leaders Award and Scholarship; Sharon Zhuang ’27 was awarded the Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award; Delilah Yatsko ’27 received the Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award in Humanities and Social Sciences; and Amanda Stoffa ’27 was presented with the Rensselaer Medal Award & Scholarship.
Jacob Gatts ’27 earned the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Innovation Award for his outstanding potential in STEM fields.
Each year, Russell Sage College is proud to recognize students who excel in the classroom while being engaged in the community. The winners of this year’s Student Sage Award were: Yoreimy Aponte ’27, Avari Deangelo ’27, Akshay Narayanashetty ’27, and Amber Quijandria ’27.
Keuka College presented the George H. Ball Community Achievement Award to Mia Jones ’27 and Roman Williams ’27.
The Centre Fellows Program Award was presented to Maximus Bleiler ’27 and Zachary Jordan ’27.
The Elmira College Key Awards, sponsored by the Elmira College Alumni Association, were given to Philip Benyo ’27 and Anna Zaroda ’27.
The Rochester Institute of Technology High School Awards Program recognized the following six students who distinguished themselves academically and are active members in their school and community: Ali Mehran ’27 received the 2026 RIT Computing Medal; Angelina Seeba ’27 received the 2026 RIT Humanities and Social Science Award; Alexa Fazio ’27 received the 2026 RIT Engineering and Technology Award; Gavyn Corchado ’27 received the 2026 RIT Math and Science Award; Ian Composto ’27 received the RIT Business and Leadership Award; and Katelyn Gera ’27 received the RIT Art and Design award.
The Junior Scholars Program at High Point University presented awards to Eliza Garcia ’27 and Kenedy Lutz ’27.
The Chatham University Rachel Carson Healthy Planet Award was presented to Amanda Stoffa ’27.
The Alfred University Outside of Ordinary Scholarship Award was presented to Nicholas Swaditch ’27.
The Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering at Alfred University and the Ceramic Association of New York (CANY) Award was presented to Eliza Garcia ’27.
The Bonnie Scholarship at Saint Bonaventure University was awarded to Katherine Arias ’27, Nicholas Erickson ’27, Alexa Fazio ’27, Nathaniel Kringe ’27, and Savannah Romero ’27.
The District 2 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete Award was presented to Yeleiny Paniagua ’26 and Adam Frask ’26.
The Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame Scholar Athlete Scholarship was awarded to Joseph Mayernik ’26.
The final awards of the evening were the Eckley B. Coxe, Jr. Memorial Subject Awards. Eckley B. Coxe, Jr., was the nephew of MMI founder Eckley B. Coxe. A trustee of the Mining and Mechanical Institute, now MMI Preparatory School, he donated the funds necessary to establish a series of monetary awards recognizing academic excellence in each subject area over the student’s entire tenure in the Upper School. The winners were: Cassidy McDermott ’26 (English), Sharan Parikh ’26 (History), Alexis Bleiler ’26 (Math), Gabriel Horvath ’26 (Science), Cedrah Abdulrahman ’26 (Chinese Language), Arushi Solgama ’26 (Spanish Language), Madelyn Young ’26 (Visual Arts), and Erica Schwear ’26 (Performing Arts).
