A message from Kaitlyn Tashjian, Director of Guidance
These honors and awards acknowledge that the young women at Lacordaire are women of courage, leadership, integrity, faith, power, compassion, sisterhood, pride, and determination. They have absorbed the knowledge, life lessons, and examples set forth by their mentors, teachers, Lacordaire sisters and families, and they are ready to make their voices heard and put their passions into action.
This group of students withstood the years of isolation and virtual learning, and they have emerged with a zeal for life, excited to tackle whatever lies ahead of them. They have shown us the power of resilience in the face of adversity. They have shown us compassion and what it means to put aside differences and be there for others, no matter what. They have taught us that hard work, a positive attitude, and faith in oneself does in fact pay off and lead to success. Each of these young women is going to take on the world in their own unique way, but each will carry with them the values of their Dominican education at Lacordaire.
JUNIOR CLASS AWARDS & HONORS
- The Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award, given in recognition of outstanding academic achievement and intellectual promise in the field of science from the University of Rochester with a possibility of a four-year scholarship up to $20,000, is awarded to: Melanie Gonzalez
- The George Eastman Young Leaders Award from the University of Rochester is awarded to a young adult who exhibits outstanding leadership skills, combined with excellent academics and also comes with the possibility of a four-year scholarship up to $20,000, is awarded to: Milanya Navani
- The Frederick Douglas and Susan B. Anthony Award from the University of Rochester is awarded for academic excellence and addressing social justice in school and community and comes with a possibility of a four-year scholarship of at least $20,000. This award goes to : Amber Greene
- The Xerox Award for Innovation and Information Technology award from the University of Rochester is awarded for innovation and high achievement and comes with a possibility of a four-year scholarship up to $20,000. This award goes to: Stephanie Mutuku
- St. Michael’s College awards a scholarship and book award for high academics and social conscience. This also comes with the possibility of a full scholarship for all four years. This award is presented to 2 Juniors: Stephanie Mutuku and Milanya Navani
- The Student Sage Award from Russell Sage College recognizes exceptional high school juniors who are engaged within their community, have earned high academic achievement, and make the school an exciting, creative, and engaging place of learning. This award guarantees a scholarship of at least $64,000 over four years. This award is presented to: Ava Grace Balian, Alexandra Corrigan, Juliana Cvetanovic, Halle Jules, Rio Sorge, and Valeria Tapia
- The Alfred University Scholars Award recognizes high school juniors who are outside of the ordinary and have high academic achievement. This award comes with a scholarship of $120,000 over four years at Alfred University. This award is presented to: Ammy Peralta
- The Wells College 21st Century Leadership Award celebrates high school juniors for their exemplary leadership demonstrated through academic performance, steadfast integrity, and community spirit. This award guarantees a scholarship of at least $40,000 over four years. This award is presented to: Ava Grace Balian and Mary Mecheal
- The Clarkson University Leadership Award recognizes outstanding leadership qualities, positive contribution to school and community and academic excellence. The award, one of the highest honors at Clarkson University, is coupled with the possibility of a $100,000 scholarship over four years. This award is presented to: Melanie Gonzalez
- The Clarkson University Achievement Award recognizes academic excellence and positive contribution to school and community. The award, one of the highest honors at Clarkson University, is coupled with the possibility of a $80,000 scholarship over four year. This award is presented to: Kira Hirsch
- The Elmira College Key Award recognizes high school juniors based on academic excellence as well as outstanding school and community leadership and is coupled with a minimum $20,000 scholarship per year. This award is presented to 3 Juniors: Ciara Latchman, Mary Mecheal, and Grace Pagan
- The Colonel Emerging Leader Award from Wilkes University is awarded to high school juniors who demonstrate academic potential and excellent leadership skills. This award guarantees a minimum scholarship of $8,000 over four years at Wilkes University. This award is presented to 4 Juniors: Ciara Latchmen, Ammy Peralta, Jolie Catherine Reyes, and Valeria Tapia
- The Women in STEM Award from Rochester Institute of Technology recognizes outstanding female high school juniors who have demonstrated superior achievement, ability, and interest in science, computing, robotics, and/or math This award is coupled with a scholarship valued at $76,000 over four years at RIT. This award is presented to: Stephanie Mutuku
- The Science and Math Award from Rochester Institute of Technology recognizes high school juniors who have demonstrated an interested and superior academic ability in science and math related courses. This award is coupled with a scholarship valued at $76,000 over four years at RIT. This award is presented to: Amber Greene
- The Art and Design Award from Rochester Institute of Technology recognizes high school juniors who have demonstrated an interested and superior ability in art, design, and creativity. This award is coupled with a scholarship valued at $76,000 over four years at RIT. This award is presented to: Jolie Catherine Reyes
- The Business and Leadership Award from Rochester Institute of Technology recognizes high school juniors who have demonstrated an interested and superior ability in business, leadership, and entrepreneurship. This award is coupled with a scholarship valued at $76,000 over four years at RIT. This award is presented to: Milanya Navani
- The Humanities and Social Sciences Award from Rochester Institute of Technology recognizes high school juniors who have demonstrated superior ability in the humanities and social sciences. This award is coupled with a scholarship valued at $76,000 over four years at RIT. This award is presented to: Kira Hirsch
- The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Medal Award for outstanding science ability and superlative academic achievement comes with the possibility of a scholarship worth up to $120,000 is awarded to:Stephanie Mutuku
- The following Juniors were nominated for Tufts University Summer 2023 Pre College Intensive.
For Engineering Investigations:
Stephanie Mutuku and Grace Pagan
For Entrepreneurship and Innovation Bootcamp: Milanya Navani
For Leadership and Social Change: Ava Grace Balian, Alexandra Corrigan, Juliana Cvetanovic, Melanie Gonzalez, Amber Green, and Rio Sorge
For Mini Med School: Kira Hirsch, Ciara Latchman, Ammy Peralta and Valeria Tapia
For Graphic Design Bootcamp:
Halle Jules and Jolie Catherine Reyes
For Adventures in Veterinary Medicine: Mary Mecheal
- Every year the Upper Montclair chapter of the New Jersey Federation of Women’s Clubs chooses young women to represent the club at the Girls’ Career Institute at Douglass College on the campus of Rutgers University. Three of our current Juniors will attend. Congratulations to: Amber Greene, Ciara Latchman, and Grace Pagan
- We would like to recognize the following Juniors who were chosen to participate in the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools’ Students of Color Conference this past year. Congratulations to: Ava Grace Balian, Melanie Gonzalez, Amber Greene, Allie Jules, and Jolie Catherine Reyes
- We would like to recognize a Junior whose artwork was accepted into the South Orange Performing Arts Center’s Inspired Minds Exhibit. Congratulations to: Ava Grace Balian
- Each year, one student’s artwork is chosen as the cover art for the Zephyr Literary Magazine publication. This year, the cover art was created by: Victoria Hui
ACADEMICS & ARTS
We would like to recognize the academic and artistic achievements of our current Juniors, Sophomores and Freshmen as well as those who achieved high levels of excellence and other honors and awards this year.
For having achieved a high degree of excellence in academics with a GPA for the year at or above a 4.0, certificates are awarded to the following students:
Juniors:
Ava Grace Balian, Stephanie Mutuku, Milanya Navani, and Grace Pagan
Sophomores:
Adriana Barnett, Nasreen DeFrank, Katherine Fan, Mia Sophia Gonzalez, and
Isabel Pedersen
Freshmen:
Anne-Christa Benoit, Laila Dailey, Juliet Eckhard, Carmela Guido, Marissa Melore, and Julia Rearden
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
Juniors in the visual arts: Ava Grace Balian, Amber Greene
Sophomores in the visual arts: Elin Smith-Freitag
Freshmen in the visual arts: Sophia Kulesa, Marissa Melore
Juniors in performing arts: Milanya Navani
Juniors for the performing arts tech: Allie Jules
Sophomores in performing arts: Adriana Barnett, Francis Feliciano
Sophomores for the performing arts tech: Katherine Fan
Freshmen for the performing arts: Julia Rearden
Freshmen for the performing arts tech: Veronica Venegas
The L Pin
The “L” Pin is a unique honor bestowed on students who, by the vote of the faculty, are considered to be an excellent example of what a student at Lacordaire Academy should exemplify.
The 2022-2023 school year L-Pin is awarded to:
Freshman – Veronica Venegas
Sophomore – Katherine Fan
Junior – Grace Pagan
Senior – Gianna Sanchez
SENIOR ACADEMIC MEDALS
For having achieved a high degree of excellence in academic areas, medals are awarded to the following students:
For excellence in the study of RELIGION – Kelly Miller
For excellence in the study of MATHEMATICS – Kendall Mathis
For excellence in the study of ENGLISH- Kaili Martinez-Beasley
For excellence in ADVANCED CREATIVE WRITING – Kaili Martinez-Beasley and Kelly Miller
For excellence in the study of ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE- Kaili Martinez-Beasley
For excellence in the study of SOCIAL STUDIES- Genesis Batista
For excellence in the study of PSYCHOLOGY- Sara Marallano
For excellence in the study of FRENCH– Emmy Carovillano
For excellence in the study of FINANCIAL LITERACY – Kelly Miller
For excellence in the study of VISUAL ARTS – Charlotte Kipp and Natalie Rosado
For excellence in the study of ACTING- Kendall Mathis
For excellence in the PERFORMING ARTS – Sofia Ceballo, Kaili Martinez-Beasley, and Gabriella Mazal
For excellence in PERFORMING ARTS TECH – Gianna Sanchez
For excellence in the study of PODCASTING – Genesis Batista
For excellence in the study of LAW- Lucy Sierra
For excellence in the study of PHOTOGRAPHY- Ariel Tazewell
For excellence in the study of COOKING – Camilla Minuzzo
For having achieved a high degree of excellence in academic areas, medals are awarded to the following students who studied beyond the curriculum with One Schoolhouse. Emilia Carovillano in AP Art History
Our Salutatorian for the Class of 2023 is Gabriella Mazal.
Our Valedictorian for the Class of 2023 is Kaili Martinez-Beasley.
We will now recognize the achievements our seniors have attained in the areas of academics, arts, service, activities, athletics and extracurriculars.
- Each year Lacordaire Academy honors the student who has shown the most improvement in academics from entering Lacordaire to her senior year. This year’s award is presented to:Lanaye Harris Bornell
- Each year the artwork of a Lacordaire Academy student is voted on by faculty, staff and administration to be featured on the annual Lacordaire Academy Christmas card. The student whose artwork was featured in December 2022 was: Charlotte Kipp
- We would like to recognize a Senior whose artwork was accepted into the South Orange Performing Arts Center’s Inspired Minds Exhibit. Congratulations to: Charlotte Kipp
- We would like to recognize one of our Seniors whose research was published this past year. This student, during an internship with Oxford Scholastica this past summer, researched stem cells and their potential to help reverse cardiovascular disease. Her research and findings were published on OxJournal! Congratulations to: Gabriella Mazal
- This year we have 2 special Legacy Awards to present to two Seniors who have been at Lacordaire since Pre-K and First Grade. It is a rare, yet exciting, experience for us to watch a young woman grow and progress through the Lower, Middle and Upper divisions of Lacordaire Academy. We are pleased to present the Legacy Awards to: Charlotte Kipp and Gabriella Mazal
- We would like to recognize a Senior who was awarded a full scholarship to one of the nations top colleges through the 2022 QuestBridge National College Match. Out of over 17,900 applicants, QuestBridge selected roughly 5,000 Finalists and only 1,755 of the Finalists were matched with full scholarships. We could not be more proud nor more excited for this deserving young woman. Congratulations to: Kelly Miller
- We would like to now acknowledge Seniors who have been leaders within our clubs and organizations at Lacordaire this year.
Student Government Executive Board:
President – Gabriella Mazal
Vice President – Sofia Ceballo
Secretary – Gianna Sanchez
Treasurer – Kelly Miller
National Honor Society:
President – Kelly Miller
Vice-President – Gabriella Mazal
Secretary – Genesis Batista
Treasurer – Sofia Ceballo
Members – Kaili Martinez-Beasley
Lucy Sierra
Mu Alpha Theta Math Honors Society:
Executive Officer – Sofia Ceballo
Executive Officer – Charlotte Kipp
Executive Officer – Gabriella Mazal
Executive Officer – Lucy Sierra
Members – Genesis Batista
Kaili Martinez-Beasley
Kelly Miller
Gianna Sanchez
Camilla Minuzzo
National English Honors Society:
President – Kaili Martinez-Beasley
Vice President – Gianna Sanchez
Secretary – Sofia Ceballo
Treasurer – Lucy Sierra
Members – Genesis Batista
Gabriella Mazal
Kelly Miller
Mission Club:
President – Sofia Ceballo
Vice President – Gabriella Mazal
Senior Representative – Kendall Mathis
Senior Representative – Gianna Sanchez
Preachers:
Sofia Ceballo
Gianna Sanchez
Checkerboard Newspaper:
Senior Editor – Kaili Martinez-Beasley
Senior Editor – Kendall Mathis
Senior Editor – Kelly Miller
Environmental Club:
President – Kaili Martinez-Beasley
Vice President – Kelly Miller
Treasurer – Kendall Mathis
Zephyr Literary Magazine:
Editor-in-Chief – Kaili Martinez-Beasley
Editor-in-Chief – Gabriella Mazal
Copy and Layout Editor – Genesis Batista
Copy and Layout Editor – Kelly Miller
Visual Art Editor – Lucy Sierra
Staff Member – Emilia Carovillano
Laco Voices:
Co President – Genesis Batista
Co President – Gabriella Mazal
Secretary – Lucy Sierra
Treasurer – Charlotte Kipp
Anime Club:
President – Natalie Rosado
Art Club:
President – Kelly Miller
Member – Kendall Mathis
Congratulations to all of our leaders and organization members!
ATHLETICS
In the area of athletics, we would like to recognize the seniors who have played two or more varsity level sports during their time at Lacordaire Academy. Athletic achievement awards are presented to:
Sofia Ceballo
Lanaye Harris Bornell
Gabriella Mazal
Camilla Minuzzo
Gianna Sanchez
The National Christian School Athletic Association, of which Lacordaire is a member school, awards one Senior athlete per year, per school the Servant Leadership Award. This award recognizes athletes who exemplify leadership by serving their teammates and opponents, displaying Christlike character in their competition, and interacting with others with a deep commitment to building them up. Lacordaire is proud to present the NCSAA Servant Leadership Award for 2023 to: Gianna Sanchez