Sam Varn of Awards4U established the Medallion Awards Program in 1987 to recognize dedicated high school students. This program is a great way for teachers to show appreciation for their students’ hard work and perseverance. Teachers nominate students who they believe have gone that extra mile. This program isn’t about recognizing the student with the highest grades; it’s about recognizing those students who go above and beyond in the classroom and in life. This could be something as simple as recognizing a student who showed improvement in a class, or a student who excelled in a specific subject. Up to 100 students per high school receive Medallion Awards each year, and since the program was first established, over 10,000 students have been recognized. This program gives those students who normally go unnoticed a chance to be celebrated for their accomplishments. A few Awards4U staff members were lucky enough to attend the ceremony at Rickards High School. It is so touching to see the personal relationships that have developed between the teachers and their students.
Dr. Michelle Gayle, the principal at Rickards, really believes in the Medallion Program. “This is an event that we look forward to each year at James S. Rickards High School. It gives us the opportunity to recognize those scholars who work in and out of the classroom setting a positive image for themselves and for others.” This year’s Medallion Awards were a huge success, and we wanted to take a moment to congratulate all the winners in Tallahassee. From Rickards High School:
Justin Belk | Richard Brooks | Lavette Bryant |
Romel Cesar | Markeith Cromartie | Shandrika Cuyler |
Eilzabeth Davis | Damian Farmer | Michael Gallon |
Treasure Glover | Tydricka Guinnie | Sarah Gurley |
Tramayne Holmes | Taquil Jenkins | Carlos Johnson |
Zemoria Johnso | Michelle Lamm | CartishaRobinson |
Crystal Salter | Mia Saunders | Akilah Sweeting |
Andrea Sweetman | Alysia Williams | Markel Winters |
From Leon High School:
Parastoo “Paras” Sahar Azamin | Alura Sianne Blake | Trey Ryan Brinkley |
Nzinga Makeda Dennard | Shantisa E. Ferrell | Jiaqui “Josh” Han |
Joseph “Jay” Monroe Helton, III | Alexandra “Alex” D. Holden | Dylan Andrews Jackson |
Benton Avery James | Bria Shavon Knighton | Eboni Renee Martin |
Lance Marvin Orcutt | Gabriel “Gabe” Humberto Perez | Ryan Jacob Reynolds |
Sarah Elizabeth Shahawy | Anakarin “AK” Marela Smith | Laurel Taylor |
Vinson Dewayne Thomas | Andrei Turrou Tillman | Kyleshia Bryttani Walker |
Tylisha Williams |
From SAIL High School:
Joss Abaco | Shamaria Carter | Rebecca Davis |
Jon Erickson-Cotton | Emily Gardner | James Hand-DeMaria |
Steven Goodchild | Jasmine "Lola" Jacobs | Amina Kamau |
Allison Kelly | Chris Lancaster | Mically LeClainche |
Ayo Maynor | Sandra Meuth | Wesley Miller |
Kendall Moret | Carlie Nettles | Julie Spath |
Emily Terry | Jaidyn Wiard | Ashley Worley |
From Lincoln High School:
Aaron (Justin) Adams | Sylvana Alber | Mohanad Ayyad |
Daniel Bollone | Kaci Boylan | Sarah Campbell |
Kasey Carter | Amber Etheridge | Jerion Fitz |
Miesha Footman | Taylor Freeman | Justin Grant |
Lucas Heiker | Jarod Henderson | Taylor (Caity) Hoard |
Jasmyn Howard | Jercari Jackson | Chasiney Kilpatrick |
Woo-Jin Kim | Charles Lemoine | Amy Looper |
Savanna Lyle | Connor Profitt | Troy Rentz |
Brandon Rosenthal | Kyle Scarry | Sawyer Schmookler |
Austin Shaeffer | Melissa Thomas | Mary Beth Thompson |
Jenna Walker | Kaitlin Ward | Amanda Wolfe |
From Chiles High School:
Carolyn Arroyo | Jessica Bouyer | Josh Braswell |
Amanda Campbell | Lauren Claude | Katherine Cox |
T.J. Garnett | Jason Griffin | Justin Griffin |
Hayley Hebrock | Adi Hendlin | Jasmine James |
Katie Lamb | Garrett Laycock | Robert Martin |
Lindsay Morrison | Paul Palmer | Reed Parker |
Colin Perrier | Micah Perry | Rachel Procaccini |
Monica Reznik | Taylor Rhodes | Mark Rumenik |
Marilyn Sanabria | Alex Schroepfer | Samantha Shepherd |
Arielannia Walker | Taylor Williams | Isham Zabala |
From Godby High School:
Kyle Ash | Javonte Barnes | Jamel Batchelor |
Jordon Blackwood | Devontrez Boyd | D'Quan Brigham |
Justin Brooker | Niccole Colvin | Bryan Cooper |
Arista Corral | Faith Dickey | Jamie Graham |
Xue Hou | Elizabeth Jackson | Corneshia Jenkins |
Chad Jones | Troy Kemp | Shelby Kendall |
Symphoni Liburd | Shinika Martin | Allison Mathews |
Marrio McGriff | Devonte' McIrvin | Mandy Monahan |
Brienna Morales | Devonshay Norton | Dharti Patel |
Scotty Pham | Jamaric Proctor | Nehemiah Pye |
Jakarri Thomas | Jermaine Tolver | Elise Valdez |
Sara Villa | Aliya Watson | Jade Williams |