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Upper School Awards Ceremony Celebrates Leadership & Resilience

Upper School Awards Ceremony Celebrates Leadership & Resilience

On Thursday, May 19, the Country Day Class of 2022 gathered with the rest of the Upper School in Keeler Theater for the last time for the Upper School awards ceremony.  

"Some of the best parts of high school aren't about the classes…it's about the people. Look around. These people have played a part in making you who you are. Your classmates, your teachers, your parents," said the head of upper school, Jenn Weinheimer, at the beginning of the ceremony. "No one will remember who won the fill-in-the-blank award in even a couple of months, but you will remember the kid who sat with you when you were new; the teacher who helped you get it, the sophomore who thanked you for helping. That's what matters. Keep turning your virtue into action. Congratulations on all the growth you've experienced this year. Let's celebrate a few remarkable performances to appreciate that our community is made up of many kinds of talents and gifts."

The list of winners are: 

  • Joseph F. Hofmeister Scroll Award: Margaret Sprigg-Dudley '22 

  • Archive Awards: Krithika Dama '22, Charlize Rust '24, Irene Wang '22 

  • Patterson Prize for Poetry: Margaret Sprigg-Dudley '22 

  • Patterson Prize for Prose: Jade Abu Bakr '22 

  • Thomas D. Gettler '76 Creative Writing Award: Austin Vaughan '22 

  • Outstanding Female Underclassmen Athletic Award: Megan Zimmerman '24 

  • Outstanding Male Underclassmen Athletic Award: Ryan Coyle '25 

  • James A. Wright Sportsmanship Award: Hayden Bortz '22 and Daisy McClean '22 

  • Letterman Leadership Award: Sarah Coyle '22 and Sam Nitzberg '22 

  • Shirley Heinichen Outstanding Female Athlete Award: Sarah Zimmerman '22 

  • J. David McDaniel Outstanding Male Athlete Award: Ashton Snell '22 

  • Tony Strauss Service-Learning Award: Margaret Sprigg-Dudley '22 

  • Fred Carey Memorial Service and Community Award: Jade Abu Bakr 

  • Fine Arts Award in Drama: Margaret Sprigg-Dudley '22 

  • Fine Arts Award in Technical Theatre: Austin Vaughan '22 

  • Fine Arts Award in Vocal Music: Kourtni Hamilton '22 

  • Fine Arts Award in Instrumental Music: Christian Fitzpatrick '22 

  • Visual Arts Photography Award: Krithika Dama '22, Irene Wang '22  

  • Visual Arts Studio Award: Shane Jones '22 

  • Messer Award for Individual Initiative and Excellence in Photography: Caroline Van Landuyt '23 

  • William H. Chatfield Award: Bijin Basu ‘22 

  • David E. Laird Computer Science Award: Terre Virzi '22 

  • Robinson-Bye English Award: Christian Fitzpatrick '22 

  • Indian Hill Historical Society Outstanding Achievement in American History Award: Nick Watts '23 

  • Lee S. Pattison History Award: Victor Nica '22 

  • Ash Mathematics Award: Christian Fitzpatrick '22 

  • Martha W. Burton Award in French: Cole Harten '22 

  • Spanish Language Award: Emil Hettich '23 

  • Chinese Language Award: Terre Virzi '22 

  • Jeremy Eller Class of 2019 World Language Award: Jade Abu Bakr '22 

  • Bausch & Lomb Science Award: Weison Huang '23 

  • Gordon R. Wright Science Award: Christian Fitzpatrick '22 and Daniel Hong '22 

  • Peter Levinson Memorial Award: Annalyse Deming '23 and Emil Hettich '23 

  • Country Day Award: Margaret Sprigg-Dudley ‘22 

Rob and Margaret

In addition, the Cum Laude Society inducteesNational Merit Scholars, and scholarship winners were honored.  

Head of School Rob Zimmerman '98 presented the Country Day Award to Margaret Sprigg-Dudley. The Country Day Award is the school's highest honor. It recognizes the student who, in the opinion of Upper School faculty and staff, best represents those qualities for which we want Cincinnati Country Day to be known.  

"To have Margaret around is to have another adult in the room, someone with uncommon maturity, keen intellect, and steady competence," said Zimmerman. "She is an incredibly gifted young woman, and she wears her achievements lightly, humbly, and almost unassumingly.” 

Congratulations to all the students who received awards this year and to the Class of 2022.