84 members of the class of 2013 were awarded accolades at the annual Senior Awards. The ceremony took place on May 21 in the CPAC.
Each academic department gave out awards to recognize specialized accomplishments. 44 students were awarded National Merit, with 31 Commended Students and 13 Finalists. 32 California Scholarship Federation members were announced.
The Kiwanis, Lions, and Rotary Clubs awarded scholarships to notable individuals: the Kiwanis Club selected Ryan Gannett, the Lions Club chose Rachel Riddle, and the Rotary Club recognized Lucy Li. Both Laura Hickey and Kevin Fong were honored as the CIF Scholar Athlete of the Year.
For the very first time in school history, a student won 2 plaques from separate academic departments. Kyle Chan was awarded both the English and Mathematics plaques. “It was such an honor. It feels like my hard work has been recognized, and I feel so appreciated to have teachers see how hard I worked,” he said.
According to Chan, what made the presentation so special was having Mr. Doyle and Mrs. Madra present the English and Math awards respectively. “I’ve had Mr. Doyle for freshman English and now for AP English, so [having him present] has the full circle effect of both the beginning and the end. As for Mrs. Madra, I had her for Calc AB in sophomore year but I’ve also had the opportunity to work with her in Math Club for 2 years, so she’s probably the teacher I’ve gotten to know the best out of all my years at Campo. It was extra special to have those 2 teachers present the awards,” he said.
Also for the first time, the ceremony arrangement included the students sitting on stage and the presenters in the front row of the audience. “In past years, the presenters sat at tables on stage with name plates, but we had to wait for students to come up to the stage. We weren’t really seeing them, so the idea was that the students shouldn’t be in the dark since they were the ones being celebrated,” said College and Career Coordinator Gwenyl Carrel.
Carrel said, “From what I’ve heard of feedback from staff members and parents, they all agreed that this arrangement seemed more suitable and more proud as parents.” Chan agreed with this sentiment. “The arrangement was pretty unique since the format I’m used to is having the presenters onstage, but because of this arrangement I felt there was more student involvement and a unique flair that is uncommon for other award ceremonies,” he said.
Carrel was in charge of the logistics for the night, organizing the event and sending out invitations. Counselor Jake Donohoe was in charge of coordinating all the department awards.
