For more than 30 years, Orange County Community College has sponsored the Sojourner Truth Awards Program. The program, named for Sojourner Truth, recognizes deserving Minority students and encourages consideration of college attendance as an option for students from groups which are under-represented in the college population.
Ms. Truth lived in the mid-Hudson Valley region after escaping from slavery, and is hailed as one of the most distinguished and highly-regarded women of the 19th century.
At this year’s Sojourner Truth Awards Program, 15 M-W High School students were recognized for their accomplishments. This awards program recognizes the achievements of deserving Orange County youth who meet the following criteria:
- Athletics - Possessing natural and trained aptitude for excellence in competitive sports, while exhibiting sportsmanship, team spirit, and grace in victory and defeat and/or demonstrate achievements in physical education classes and extra curricular activities.
- Citizenship - Exhibiting continuous courtesy, thoughtfulness, and service to others, obvious both in and out of the school environment.
- Creative Arts - Talent and obvious achievement in drama, speech, dance, theatre production, music, painting, sculpture, design, graphics, visual arts and extra curricular programs.
- Diversity - Demonstrates acceptance and respect of individual differences and cultural traditions.
- English Language Arts - Skilled in reading, writing, reading comprehension, poetry, creative writing, school newspaper, exceptional written and spoken vocabulary.
- Foreign Languages - Achievement in a language other than English for communication that exhibits cross-cultural skills and understanding.
- Mathematics - High achievement in logical thinking, mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry processes and concepts, numbers-their forms, arrangements, sets, relationships, and properties.
- Perseverance/Effort - Demonstrating achievement by overcoming obstacles. Showing a willingness to extend high levels of effort and resolve in the face of adversity.
- Sciences - Exceptional ability in the observation, identification, description, and investigation of natural phenomena. Success in methodical experimentation, recording, and explanation.
- Technology - Achievements in computer and technology classes and extracurricular programs.
Congratulations to the following students on this amazing recognition:
- Victoria Banker, Grade 12, ELA
- Azure Bolling, Grade 12, ELA
- Emma Deleon, Grade 12, ELA
- Angelise Durand, Grade 12, Perseverance/Effort
- Kyle German, Grade 10, Perseverance/Effort
- May Holguin, Grade 12, Perseverance/Effort
- Leah James, Grade 12, Perseverance/Effort
- Samantha Koranteng, Grade 9, Science
- Daniela Ordonez, Grade 12, ELA
- Elias Ortiz, Grade 10, Perseverance/Effort
- Danielle Padilla, Grade 12, ELA
- Alan Pena, Grade 12, Perseverance/Effort
- Angel Salas Garza, Grade 11, ELA
- Cameron Spears, Grade 12, Diversity
- Karen Urena, Grade 12, ELA