Enthusiastic celebration and joyful applause filled the Griffin Auditorium on June 1 as the high school community gathered for the Student Awards Assembly to commemorate the graduating Senior Class and to honor outstanding students.

Principal Paul Beekemeyer opened by encouraging the Class of 2023 to cherish the present and relish their moments together.

Faculty and administrators, who select the majority of the honors, presented awards, while individual department recognitions were printed in the program.

Two musical performances provided breaks from the awards presentations.

Academic teams were recognized for their distinguished accomplishments and clubs were given the L.A.B. award, which appreciates clubs that foster leadership, action and belonging.

The Phoenix Award, the only student-determined recognition, was awarded at the final moments of the assembly amid roaring applause as students commemorated the recipients for their tremendous spirit and kindness.

Frederick Pytel was awarded the Phoenix Award for the Senior Class.

“It’s really great to have an award that’s voted for by the student community,” Frederick said in an interview after the assembly. “It’s definitely cool to get this award at the end, and it’s nice to get the recognition by the school.”

Awards presented at the assembly for the first time:

Brent Cawelti Award in honor of the late U-Higher, recognizing seniors who have made considerable progress during their high school years, been academically strong, and participated in co-curricular activities or sports: Maya Atassi, Ben King

Alan Stern Award in honor of the late alumnus to seniors in the creative arts: Dalin Dohrn, Jana Lesniak

Citizenship Awards:

9th grade: Camila Bravo, Zuri Cosey Gray

10th grade: Taariq Ahmed, Perla Lais

11th grade: Myles Cobb, Lucas Caldenty, Haley Maharry, Rathin Shah

12th grade: Lizzie Baker, Charlie Benton, Juan Chaides, Yaseen Qureshi

Senior Service Awards: Fermi Boonstra, Juan Chaides

L.A.B Awards: ArtsFest, Asian Students’ Association, Black Students’ Association, Eye to Eye, F1 in Schools,  Intersectional Feminism, Jewish Students’ Association, Latinos Unidos, Muslim Students’ Association, Social Justice Week Committee, Students with Disabilities Association, Power of Words, U-High Health and Wellness Club, Young Women of Color

Bill Zarvis Award: Katie Bai, Lizzie Baker, Corona Chen, Maya El Shamsy, Elizabeth Frost, Charlotte Henderson, Jeffery Huang, Ben King, Ethan Kucera, William Montague, Bryan Pan, Kenneth Peters, Yaseen Qureshi, Sohrab Rezaei, Jake Roggin, Kriti Sarav, Charlotte Sims, Serena Thomas 

The James Wherry-Willis Award: Will Meyer

William “Doc” Monilaw Medalists: Maya Atassi, Luke Grotthuss, Xavier Nesbitt, Jacqueline Slimmon

David Scheunemann Award in honor of the late alumnus to a junior with outstanding accomplishments in music, literature and science, and with diverse interests: Alma Francez

Faith Dremmer Award in honor of the late U-Higher to a student who manifests her many personal and academic qualities: Zoe Stephens

Phoenix Awards:

9th grade: Osvaldo Carretero

10th grade: Sofia Picciola

11th grade: Adam Cheema

12th grade: Frederick Pytel