On May 16, Independence High School celebrated the academic excellence of its students at the annual Academic Letter ceremony. To earn an academic letter, students had to maintain an impressive 3.70 GPA or higher for each of the first three quarters of the school year.
The ceremony recognized freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors who met this high standard. As their names were called, the accomplished students made their way to the stage for a photo amidst the proud applause of families and faculty.
Congratulations to the following freshmen who earned the academic letter: Daniel Alrabady, Penelope Averre, Jose Caban, Alyssa Carriero, Carmen Chen, Benjamin Cober, Claire Dailey, Jamie Donovan, Kylie Hanobik, Giovanni Hasrouni, Julia Jurkiewicz, Robert Kalman, Noelle Kitagawa, Katelyn Ksiazka, Lilia Pawuk, Mia Percaciante, Alexandra Polcar, Sophie Polter, Melina Rodriguez, Rylee Shepard, Ryan Suhy, and Caden Wateska.
The following sophomores earned either a letter for the first year or a pin for their second year achieving the academic letter: Matilda Averre, Brooke Balser, Samuel Bernhardt, Allison Bohrer, Gianna Carlucci, Vincent Carriero, Brooke Coldsnow, Lauren Dalrymple, Sam DiGeronimo, Matthew Dubitsky, Landon Eichler, Emily Gibbons, Rabecca Gibson, Elyse Grill, Owen Jenks, Anna Jirmasek, Matthew Jirmasek, Samantha Kandzer, Addison Kolar, Paul Kundmueller, Autumn Lasich, MaryAnne LeRoy, Matthew Liepert, Lindsey Lieu, Gianna Londrico, Nathan Lu, Tate McGovern, Gracie "Axl" Mindzora, Madelyn Mudra, Nora Olexa, Braden Owen, James Panichi, Brooke Patton, Sofia Pichert, Steven Polasko, Max Prosinski, Tatiana Randjelovic, Mia Ricotta, Liam Rienerth, Anderson Sears, Vitali Serediuk, Matthew Shamblen, Mae Sheehan, Lucy Spencer, Giada Spisak, Gabrielle Tokich, Brooke Vollman, Grady Wachs, Victor Walchanowicz, Megan Washington, Alexander Waski, and Haley Wilson.
The following juniors earned the academic letter this year: Nicholas Adams, Joanna Alrabady, Ian Babb, Anna Beacher, Jacob Butcher, Jonathan Chen, Samuel Crooks, Maria DeCapua, Keira Donovan, Molly Dubitsky, Madelyn Flynn, Anthony Freeman, Nina Funk, Sabrina George, Joseph Graham, Adrian Harb, James Kitagawa, Thomas Ksiazka, Isabella Makhlouf, Macey McGhee, Evan McNamara, Charles Meyer, Justin Mintz, Alberta Moreal, Emily Novak, John Ottaviano, Sam Pascarella, Alexander Patterson, Ryan Phan, Paige Priebe, Angelo Rodriguez, Linna Si, Ella Sliwinski, Sofia Smotek, Owen Szymanski, Marissa Taylor, Isabel Trombetta, Ronin Tschetter, Alexandria Velez, Avery Vilcheck, Dyanne Wang, Anna Waski, Mia Whieldon, and Aaron Zambito.
Congratulations to the following seniors who earned their academic letter, finishing their IHS career strong with at least a 3.7 GPA each quarter: Cassandra Adams, Kenneth Aldridge, Andrew Becker, Nathan Bernstein, Ally Biondi, Eliza Botzman, Luke Burmeister, Adriann Buyansky, Danielle Buyansky, Christine DiSalvo, Alexander Eisenmann, Thomas Erdman, Matthew Hebert, Joseph Jana, Colton Jatsek, Landon Jatsek, Joseph Jirmasek, Amanda Kaufman, Nathaniel Kingzett, Jack Korinek, Wiktoria Kulesza, Stephanie Laskowski, Bryanna LeRoy, Camryn Mazzola, Khalil McDonald, Mary McGreal, John Paul Musni, Alana Nowak, Maggie Panichi, Aleeya Pavlick, Tobia Perfetti, Mark Pillar, Ellie Polter, Emily Richards, Catherine Rieger, Makena Rini, Jack Robson, Gabrielle Rodriguez, Isabella Rose, Callia Shumay, Wyatt Snyder, Raymond Sorace, Alainna Teare, James Vincent, Jacob Vitron, Joseph Walchanowicz, and Matthew Wisniewski.
Principal Mike Janatovitch congratulated the students, saying "This academic letter represents your commitment to educational achievement. We are immensely proud of your hard work and serve as wonderful examples to your peers."
The academic letter recipients exemplify the passion for learning and spirit of excellence that makes Independence High School a standout educational community. Congratulations to all the honorees!