Excellence happens in all corners of the campus every day, but the power of various achievements and honors all came together on Tuesday, May 23, in one impressive celebration in the Olcott Center.  

Loomis Chaffee juniors and seniors were honored for achievements in many realms during the 2022–23 school year. 

The Celebration of Excellence concluded with the passing of the gavel from the outgoing Student Council president, senior Kirsten Lees, to the incoming president, junior Preston McNulty Socha, and the announcement of the Teacher of the Year. 

To a standing ovation and raucous cheers, Kirsten announced the selection of science faculty member Koby Osei-Mensah as Teacher of the Year. The honored teacher is chosen by the Student Council based on student nomination essays. The Student Council decided the winner this year in what Kirsten described as a “long and thoughtful meeting.” 

Some of the comments she read about Koby were “always willing to make time for a student,” “accepts feedback and wants to improve as a teacher,” “cultivates a positive and diverse environment,” and “an unconditional support system for the community.”  

  

Celebration of Excellence Awards 

CUM LAUDE 

For Seniors. The Cum Laude Society’s mission is to recognize academic achievement in secondary schools for the purpose of promoting excellence, justice, and honor.  

Anika Ahilan 

Dylan Balise 

Quinn Bernardin 

Adrianna Bevis 

Robert Bushley 

Xiaohu Cao 

Wookho Chiang 

Benjamin Cosentino 

Edouard Dupont 

Chloe Eng 

Ignacio Feged 

Rebecca Fowler 

Allen Gao 

Charles Griffin 

Louis Hernandez 

William Howley 

Julie Kang 

Emily Khym 

Brandon Kim 

Quan Le 

Kirsten Lees 

Michelle Liu 

Anthony Luo 

Sofia Mansilla 

Alessandro Mocciolo 

Madison Oh 

Calvin Pan 

Edward Park 

Sofia Preuss 

Nandini Ramanathan 

Amelia Rinaldi 

Elliot Shani 

Helen Shen 

Amy Song 

Seth Sukboontip 

Annie Sun 

Eric Sun 

Samantha Tishler 

Chau Tran 

Benson Wang 

Ella Xue 

 

FOUNDERS PRIZES 

Angela Adu-Boateng 

Sylvia Barresi 

Orion Browne 

Owen Caligiuri 

Jason Chen 

Zaylie Gore 

Anuva Kolli 

Anthony Ndika 

Chelsea Ndzana-Zogo 

Mina Ruffle 

Lauren Sonnenfeld 

Kwame Tuva 

Angela Ye 

  

JUNIOR and SENIOR DEPARTMENTAL AWARDS 

Presented to members of the junior and senior classes chosen for academic, athletic, and artistic excellence: 

 

Junior English Award 

Andrew Dao 

Katie Fullerton 

Mercuri Lam 

Preston McNulty Socha 

Chloe Pendergrass 

Fanou Zhang 

  

Norris E. Orchard Senior English Prize 

Emily Khym 

Sandro Mocciolo 

Madison Oh 

  

Sarai Ribicoff Senior Journalism Prize 

Emily Khym 

Samantha Tishler 

  

Junior Art Award 

Brian Choi 

Sebastian Cohen 

Susan Figueroa 

Julia Grant 

Mercuri Lam 

Lucas Levine 

Leah Ozgun 

Emily Tang 

Isabella Wang 

  

Sanford B.D. Low Senior Art Prize 

Charlie Bourne 

Rebecca Fowler 

Kirsten Lees 

Sofia Mansilla 

Abhi Muthavarapu 

Susan Ran 

Jill Rinaldi 

Rene Russell 

Annie Sun 

  

Junior Modern and Classical Language Award 

Sophia Li (Arabic) 

Vanessa Kim (Chinese) 

Chloe Pendergrass (Chinese) 

Ryan Che (French) 

Andrew Dao (French) 

Jason Chen (Latin) 

Isabella Delach (Spanish) 

Valerie Ruiz (Spanish) 

  

Chéruy Senior Modern and Classical Language Prize 

Daisy Xu (Arabic) 

Sal Katz (Chinese) 

Emily Khym (Chinese) 

Maeve Dowd (French) 

Ignacio Feged (French) 

Ella Xue (French) 

Charlie Griffin (Latin) 

Calvin Pan (Latin) 

Sandro Mocciolo (Spanish) 

  

The Carling Prize 

Inari Jade Barrett 

  

Koppleman Junior History Award 

Anh Dao 

Chloe Pendergrass 

Lauren Sonnenfeld 

  

Samuel C. Suisman Senior History Prize 

Emily Khym 

Madison Oh 

Calvin Pan 

  

Frederick G. Torrey Philosophy and Religious Studies Prize 

Alli Benthien 

  

Social Science Prize 

Inari Jade Barrett 

Adrianna Bevis 

Edouard Dupont 

Jim Le 

Calvin Pan 

  

Junior Dance & Theater Arts Award 

Jamnia Ai (Technical Theater) 

Brigham Cooper (Theater) 

Nana Achiaa Donkor (Theater) 

Sophia Li (Technical Theater) 

Cameron Rogers (Technical Theater) 

Lauren Sonnenfeld (Theater) 

  

Morris H. Brown Senior Dance & Theater Arts Prize 

Arthur Beaugeard (Theater) 

Nathan Ko (Theater) 

Madison Oh (Dance) 

Sophia Prendergast (Dance) 

Anna Roth (Dance) 

Jade Silverstein (Theater) 

  

Junior Mathematics Award 

Ryan Che 

Jason Chen 

Brian Choi 

Chloe Pendergrass 

Emily Tang 

  

Donald M. Joffray Senior Mathematics Prize 

Toby Bushley 

Wookho Chiang 

Anthony Luo 

Seth Sukboontip 

Eric Sun 

Chau Tran 

Dylan Balise 

  

Junior Science Award 

Ryan Che 

Andrew Dao 

Lucas Levine 

Michael Li 

Zarin Rizvi 

Angela Ye 

   

J. Newfield Senior Science Prize 

Dylan Balise 

Quinn Bernardin 

Michelle Liu 

Sofia Mansilla 

Sandro Mocciolo 

Eric Sun 

  

William C. Card Junior Music Award 

Jamnia Ai 

Brigham Cooper 

Anuva Kolli 

Jessica Luo 

Preston McNulty Socha 

Angela Ye 

  

Aaron P. Pratt Jr. Senior Music Prize 

Margaret Hamel 

Pynn Harinsuit 

Danielle Justo 

Calvin Pan 

Benson Wang 

  

Loomis Chaffee Senior Community Engagement Prize 

Anika Ahilan 

Xiaohu Cao 

William Howley 

Sofia Mansilla 

Ella Xue 

  

Junior Female Physical Education Awards 

Samantha Mancini 

Jackie Ryckman 

  

Barbara W. Erickson Senior Athletic Achievement Prize 

Maggie Johnson 

Fiona Murphy 

  

Junior Male Physical Education Award 

Nathan Cobery 

  

Friends of Loomis Chaffee-Grubbs Prize 

Chandler Coe 

Aidan Healy 

  

Matthew Whitehead Award 

Inari Jade Barrett 

Delaney Denno