Nantucket High School Academic Excellence Awards

Nantucket High School on Thursday distributed its annual academic excellence and achievement awards to many students, as well as awards for student leadership, community service, and more.

Math teacher Darren Lucas-Hayes said that the awards were given “not just for grades, but also for character.”

Awards were given out by every department, including wellness and vocational tech.

“Many of our students excel in hands-on classes,” said principal Mandy Vasil, “and we are happy to be able to reward them as well.”

Colleges such as Brown, Dartmouth and Harvard gave book awards to juniors who were particularly academically impressive, and Vasil recognized several students for their role in the school community with the Freshman of the Year and Principal’s Awards. These awards, she said, were given to students who went “above and beyond” in helping others. The Freshman of the Year award went to Cecilia Wendelken and the Principal’s Awards went to Rocky Monto and Brandon Falconer.

The recipients of the book awards are listed below:

• Brown University: Sarah Swenson
• Dartmouth College: Lana Bresette
• Harvard College: Misho Minveski and Ellie Kinsella
• MIT Club of Cape Cod: Aiden Sullivan
• Notre Dame Club: Rex Dixon
• Rensselaer Pylytechnic Institute: Scott Wheldon
• St. Michael’s College: Wes Thornewill and Kalina Natcheva
• Smith College: Eliza Brown
• Wellesley College: Maggie O’Keefe
• Worcester Polytechnic: Julia Marks
• Yale University: Julia Swietlik