The Choate News commencement
Vol. CXIX · No. IV
2025
Choate Rosemary Hall 333 Christian Street Wallingford, CT
• special edition
S U N D AY, J U N E 1 , 2 0 2 5
thechoatenews.choate.edu
Form Prizes Sixth Form Prizes
David T. Layman, Jr. Prize to a sixth form student who, through perseverance, resilience, and growth, has taken full advantage of the opportunities at Choate Rosemary Hall. Winners: Nevaeh’J Becerra Rodrigo Alejandro Chon Him Cuellar Jr. Kameron Mohammed Honorable Mentions: David Ray Glover-Barr Camila Grimanesa Maria Ximena Granda Benavides Fernanda Belén Opazo Aravena Flora Macdonald Bonney and Owen Morgan Prize to a sixth form student who has displayed great empathy and unselfish dedication to helping others within the school community. Winners: Kiran Gabriel Makam Nao Murata Dana Kai Li Tan Honorable Mentions: Jordan Dodd Simeon Joseph Levesque R assweiler Award and William Gardner & Mary Atwater Choate Award to a sixth form scholar who, in achieving academic excellence, has demonstrated a true love of learning. Winners: Katherine Sierra Chong Peisong Li Syna Mathod Honorable Mentions: Emma Catherine Bowles Fiona Shinran Fu Xi Lim School Seal Prize to a sixth form student for outstanding contribution to the school community over the course of their Choate Rosemary Hall career. Winners: Ifeanyichukwu Kaiser Ndokwu Jeremiah Oluwatobiloba Olubowale Sophie Shuying Park Honorable Mentions: Kai Shing Ernie Mok Leanne Barbara Parks Class of 1976 Leadership Award to that sixth form student who has demonstrated strong leadership qualities at the School. Winner: Candace Helen Beverly Honorable Mentions: Chelsea Synclaire Branch Adam Joshua Fleischman Virginia Elizabeth Nelson
Fifth Form Prizes
K atherine Carlebach and James Eliot Oakes Prize to a fifth form student distinguished by dedication to and positive influence on the life of the School. Winners: Friday Maria Acuna Annabel Claire Cady Isabelle Lange Marvin Honorable Mentions: Erin Summer Kim Phoonseeraah Tieanworn Katelyn Emily Tortorella Mark Pitman and Caroline Ruutz-Rees Prize to a fifth form student who exemplifies the values of the School, including sound character and academic excellence, and has demonstrated constructive leadership in the community. Winners: Harper Elizabeth Marsden-Uren Thandiwe Graciela Taylor Honorable Mentions: Elizabeth Burgstahler Arden Boas Peres Andrew James Stahlman Choate Rosemary Hall Fifth Form Award to a student who has taken unselfish constructive action for the benefit of others in the school community. Winner: Dominique Anuli Welcome Honorable Mentions: Isabelle Yuzhu Jiao Zaki Shamsi
Fourth Form Prizes
R ay Brown and Marjorie Brampton Harvey Prize to a fourth form student distinguished by enthusiastic engagement in the life of the School. Winner: Kaylin Samying Lam Honorable Mentions: Anthony Andrade Victoria Mae DeVito Kaitlyn Wing Jun Yu Mary Elizabeth Lowndes Prize to a fourth form student who exemplifies the values of the School, including sound character and academic engagement, and has made significant contributions to multiple areas of the School. Winners: Wisdom Humalie Laihao Wei Honorable Mentions: Lara Amer Petechapat Areewong
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Evan J. Reed ’79 Award to a student who has displayed generosity of spirit and dedication to others in the school community. Winner: Juliet Lydia Eller Honorable Mention: Yichen Sun
Third Form Prizes
Julie M. Case Prize to a third form student who has exhibited significant perseverance, resilience, and growth. Winners: Nile Pappoe Djata Maximiliano Alexander Velasquez Frances Burton Chaffee and Alfred A. Cook Prize to a third form student who has demonstrated sound character, academic dedication, and enthusiastic engagement in multiple areas of school life. Winners: Madison Reese Bloom Adrienne Prater Bruce Masahiko van Wingerden Honorable Mentions: Liana Isabel Alkhayer Kiki Wenren Choate Rosemary Hall Third Form Award to a student who, through thoughtful engagement with others, has demonstrated compassion, kindness, and inclusivity. Winners: Curtis Mghanga Mbaya Mac Privateer Ha Jin Sung
Department Prizes
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Arts Department
English Department
Burnham Prize for excellence in visual art.
Burger Prize for creative writing published in a Choate Rosemary Hall publication.
Winners: Nevaeh’J Becerra Nao Murata Martin Birnbaum Art Award for excellence in drawing and painting. Winner: Simin Yakta Honorable Mention: Mira Anne Parapatt Choate Rosemary Hall Music Department Prize for excellence in performing ensembles. Winners: Xiyin Yang Xinying Yao Honorable Mentions: Christopher Alexander Joseph Arissa Chloe Lee Mariana Alondra Verdi Jingyuan Zhang John Clough Memorial Prize for instrumental music. Winners: Zixin Cao Adam Joshua Fleischman Honorable Mentions: Dylan Lee Clifton Jae-Woo Kim Xiu Lim Joyce Liu The Duncan Phyfe Prize for excellence in piano. Winner: Peisong Li Hicks Lawrence Prize for overall excellence in music. Winner: Farrah McQueen Christopher L. Rives ’76 Prize for excellence in technical theater. Winners: Béibhinn Catriona Geaney David Ray Glover-Barr
Winners: Sophia Allison Liao Connor Buckley Zeitlin John Dos Passos Award for excellence in creative writing. Winners: Evelyn Sunah Kim Max Benjamin Leventon Honorable Mentions: Stanley Cho Ella Louise Morris Thomas B. Curtis ’81 Memorial Prize for enthusiasm in the study of English. Winners: Simeon Joseph Levesque Nao Murata Honorable Mention: Connor Buckley Zeitlin Fayetta McKown Award for excellence in English. Winner: Katherine Sierra Chong Honorable Mentions: Monicke Costa Xiyin Yang
History, Philosophy, Religion, and Social Sciences Michael J. Packevicz Jr. ’82 Prize for excellence in the study of philosophy and religion, given by the Class of ’82. Winners: Jordan James Gonzalez Xiu Lim Honorable Mentions: Ana Isabella Bury-Negron Julian Lazaar Lemper-Turkisher Choate Rosemary Hall Prize for excellence in the study of psychology. Winner: Kaho Hannah Hoshi
Robert Carter Bryan Prize in dramatics. Winners: Max Benjamin Leventon Amelia Sipkin Honorable Mention: Valentina Mariam Askar Honegger Prize for special achievement in dramatics. Winners: Candace Helen Beverly Jordan Dodd Honorable Mentions: Talia Laura Bourdon Adam Joshua Fleischman Francis LeMoyne Page Prize for outstanding contribution to more than one field in the creative arts. Winners: Katherine Sierra Chong Leanne Barbara Parks
Honorable Mentions: Chelsea Synclaire Branch Shaylah Rose Finnerty Zachary Goodyear Prize for excellence in the study of political science. Winner: Xiu Lim Honorable Mentions: Fiona Shinran Fu Simeon Joseph Levesque Celeste Martha Shattuck Douglass C. North ’38 Award for excellence in the study of economics. Winners: Zixin Cao Xiu Lim Arjun Shiv Pathy Honorable Mentions: Dana Kai Li Tan Paxton Augustus Zerega
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Benjamin F. Sylvester, Jr. Prize for excellence in the study of history. Winners: Simeon Joseph Levesque Nao Murata Honorable Mention: Zixin Cao Clarence Hale Prize is awarded to a sixth former who has demonstrated enthusiasm and excellence in a variety of areas of study offered by the Department of History, Philosophy, Religion and Social Sciences. Winners: Zixin Cao Xiu Lim Honorable Mentions: Fiona Shinran Fu Simeon Joseph Levesque
Language Department Choate Rosemary Hall Prize for excellence in Latin. Winner: Fiona Shinran Fu Honorable Mention: Joyce Liu Choate Rosemary Hall Award for excellence in French. Winners: Chelsea Synclaire Branch Ella Louise Morris Sundari Elizabeth Katharina von Wentzel Choate Rosemary Hall Award for excellence in Spanish. Winner: Lila Rose Gizzie Honorable Mentions: Syna Mathod Teniola Allison Obayomi Choate Rosemary Hall Award for excellence in Chinese. Winners: Sarina Davi Fernandez-Grinshpun Jai Vishnu Midha Honorable Mentions: Max Benjamin Leventon Linda Elizabeth Porter Choate Rosemary Hall Award for excellence in the study of Arabic. Winners: Kayla Diane Bashawaty Abigail Kim Honorable Mentions: Moustapha Gueye Zaki Shamsi Jos Hoppenbrouwers Language Prize to that student who, through assiduous study of more than one world language, has demonstrated a deep interest in and respect for other cultures. Winner: Andrew Knecht van Dyke Honorable Mentions: Jaeik Aidan Cha Monicke Costa Joyce Liu
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Department Prizes
Mathematics and Computer Science Choate Rosemary Hall Award for excellence in Calculus. Winner: Seyeon Lee Honorable Mentions: Deyi Max Meng Yumeng Wang Kiran Reddy Pendri ’06 Award for excellence in Advanced Study of Mathematics. Winner: Alex Zhao Honorable Mentions: Emma Catherine Bowles Changil Moon Choate Rosemary Hall Award for excellence in Statistics. Winner: Zixin Cao Honorable Mentions: Kiran Gabriel Makam Matthew Chan Trudell Choate Rosemary Hall Award for excellence in programming. Winner: Jane McCormick Breviu Honorable Mention: Farrah McQueen
Paul Juliff Prize given to that member of the senior class who has made outstanding contributions to both the arts and sciences. The talents, warmth, and sincerity of Mr. Juliff are clearly reflected in the contributions of the recipient. Winner: Joyce Liu Choate Rosemary Hall Award to a sixth former for overall excellence in science. Winner: Emma Catherine Bowles Honorable Mentions: Seokhyun Chin Peisong Li Joyce Liu
Athletics Department The Edith Wallis and Ben Sylvester Award for the greatest contribution to athletics in the third form. Winner: Chase Cameron Powers Honorable Mentions: Sebastian Kai Huang Mac Privateer Rhema Edysha Woolcock Hester C. Macquire and William A. Swiacki, Jr. Award for the greatest contribution to athletics in the fourth form. Winner: Tatianna Nasjae Irizarry
Choate Rosemary Hall Award for excellence in robotics. Winners: Eben Asher Bauman Nicholas Linfield Huber Honorable Mentions: Adam Joshua Fleischman Ann Song
Science Department Choate Rosemary Hall Award for outstanding accomplishment and genuine interest in physics.
Honorable Mentions: Sophia Bobae Lind Emerson Andrew Nappi Yichen Sun The Eugenia Baker Jessup and William A. Pudvah, Jr. Award for the greatest contribution to athletics in the fifth form. Winner: Annabel Claire Cady Honorable Mentions: Logan Alexandra Dubuc Katelyn Emily Tortorella
Winner: Syna Mathod Honorable Mentions: Nicholas Linfield Huber Ale Yuan Alex Zhao Choate Rosemary Hall Award given for outstanding accomplishment and genuine interest in chemistry. Winners: Seyeo Lee Peisong Li Choate Rosemary Hall Award for outstanding accomplishment and genuine interest in biology. Winner: Euisung Hong Honorable Mentions: Antonio Gael Giraldez Greco Caroline Mina Kim Choate Rosemary Hall Award for outstanding accomplishment and genuine interest in environmental science. Winner: Kai Shing Ernie Mok Honorable Mentions: Sarina Davi Fernandez-Grinshpun Zein Kabbani Dana Kai Li Tan
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The Caroline Ruutz-Rees and Seymour St. John Award for the greatest contribution to athletics in the sixth form. Winner: Calli Ann Gilchrist Honorable Mentions: Mia Anne Bratti Rodrigo Alejandro Chon Him Cuellar Jr. Daneel Nicholas Polakoff The Charles Wickliffe Kennerly Memorial Award to the student whose generous nature and good will represent the highest ideals of fair play and who, through uncommon sportsmanship, has positively influenced others and brought great credit to family and school. Winners: Piper Belle Cameron Jeremiah Lance Washington Honorable Mentions: Rodrigo Alejandro Chon Him Cuellar Jr. Mariana Kim Keyes Daneel Nicholas Polakoff
Journalism John Merrill Donnelly Prize for significant and creative contribution to journalism and student publications. Winner: Fiona Shinran Fu Honorable Mention: Arjun Shiv Pathy
Special Award The Sally Green Hart and Larry Hart Citations to those students who have given the School an unusual flavor, performed services in unique undertakings, and have won the affection as well as the respect of their peers. Winners: Justin Christopher Edwards Teniola Allison Obayomi John Rocco Reilly Mariana Alondra Verdi
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College Matriculation
American University Amherst College Aurora University Barnard College Bates College Boston College Boston University Brown University Cal Poly California Institute of Technology Case Western Reserve University Claremont McKenna College Colby College Columbia University Concordia University Connecticut College Cornell University Dartmouth College Denison University Drexel University Duke University Elon University
Emerson College Emory University Fordham University Georgetown University Georgia Institute of Technology Grinnell College Hamilton College Harvard University Howard University Indiana University Ithaca College Johns Hopkins University Loyola University Maryland Massachusetts Institute of Technology Middlebury College New York University Northeastern University Northwestern University Occidental College Pace University Pennsylvania State University Pepperdine University
Princeton University Purdue University Queen's University Kingston Quinnipiac University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Saint Michael's College Southern Methodist University Syracuse University The George Washington University The University of Texas at Austin Trinity College Trinity College Dublin Tufts University Tulane University Universiteit Maastricht University of California-Los Angeles University of Chicago University of Connecticut University of Edinburgh University of Florida University of Illinois University of Maryland
Sunday, June 1, 2025 University of Massachusetts-Amherst University of Miami University of Michigan University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Georgia University of Notre Dame University of Pennsylvania University of Richmond University of South Carolina University of Southern California University of St Andrews University of Toronto University of Virginia University of Wisconsin Vanderbilt University Wagner College Washington University in St Louis Wellesley College Wesleyan University William & Mary Williams College Yale University
* Matriculations reflect information as of May 19, 2025.
Class of 2025 Cum Laude Keonha Bae Emma Catherine Bowles Chelsea Synclaire Branch Jane McCormick Breviu Zixin Cao Jaeik Aidan Cha Seokhyun Chin Stanley Cho Katherine Sierra Chong Jayden Shijie Dai
Quinn Avery Farmer Rio Bella Federman Sarina Davi Fernandez-Grinshpun Fiona Shinran Fu Lila Rose Gizzie Ty James Holloway Nicholas Linfield Huber Andrew Ju Zein Kabbani Caroline Mina Kim
Arissa Chloe Lee Kay Yeon Lee Simeon Joseph Levesque Peisong Li Xiu Lim Joyce Liu Kiran Gabriel Makam Syna Mathod Farrah McQueen Kai Shing Ernie Mok
Changil Moon Maya Alexandra Novakovich Moorthy Teniola Allison Obayomi Favour Oluwabusola Olagunju Arjun Shiv Pathy Daneel Nicholas Polakoff Linda Elizabeth Porter Shaoming Qin Celeste Martha Shattuck
The Choate News
Ann Song Eva Gabrielle Swanson Dana Kai Li Tan Sundari Elizabeth Katharina von Wentzel Alexander Catalan Wang Lola Anna Elisabeth Wennmachers Xiyin Yang Paxton Augustus Zerega Jingyuan Zhang
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School News Eliana Li ’26 Bella Welch ’26 Local News Rachel Fan ’27 Maia Shah ’27 Opinions Zaki Shamsi ’26 Steven Kee ’27
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