The Rotary Club of Fox Chapel Area honored 10 Shady Side Academy seniors at a ceremony on Wednesday, May 24.
Smrithi Shyam received the $2,000 Service Above Self Scholarship, given for excellence in community service. Shyam has been a dedicated volunteer and service leader during her four years at SSA, working with organizations such as Bethlehem Haven, SisterFriend and Her Best Foot Forward. She plans to attend UCLA in the fall.
Nine other seniors were recognized with $200 awards for academic achievement in each of the academic disciplines:
- Performing Arts/Theater: Zach Kamenov
- Music: Krishna Lakkimsetty
- Visual Arts: Zoey Miller
- Computer Science: Garrett Recker
- English: Wesley Dillon
- History: Meredith Kelly
- Math: Michael McCoy
- Science: Walter Scheri
- World Languages: Thea Conomikes
Former SSA faculty member and Fox Chapel Rotarian Bill McConnel introduced the awards, and Senior School history teacher Rachel McCool shared comments from SSA department chairs about the award winners. The students spoke about their love of the subject for which they received an award and thanked the Rotarians. During a Q&A panel at the end, students did a great job answering questions from Rotary members and talked about the SSA faculty members who had a major impact on them.
In addition to McCool, Senior School Head Trixie Sabundayo and SSA President Bart Griffith '93 also accompanied the students to the ceremony.
Congratulations to all 10 students!