The 54 graduating seniors at Brooklyn elementary, intermediate and high schools who were the recipients of Assemblywoman Janele Hyer-Spencer’s Higher Hopes Awards have one thing in common: All of them have demonstrated significant improvement in academic achievement throughout their school years, or succeeded in spite of adverse conditions.
The award was created as an enduring tribute to student scholars three years ago by the assemblywoman, who has repeatedly demonstrated a strong dedication to education, as a way of turning the spotlight on the real people behind the statistics, the educational success stories who reflect the ongoing commitment of educators, families and the students themselves.
The Brooklyn students who were honored by Assemblywoman Hyer-Spencer were Isaiah Nieves and Saira Chen, PS 69; Felipe Escamilla and Cristal Ruiz, PS 102; Hussein Fardous and Aziabil Arabian, PS 127; Junjie Zeng and Zhenyi Mai, PS 170; Francisco Lorenzo and Jordan Garzon, PS 185; Jiahua Huang and Siana Adorno, PS/IS 104; Aqeel Zahid and Ebtesam Nasser, IS 30; Salvatore Polizzi, Ashley Bittan, Ewelina Gadek, Kathy Wong, Ifrat Syeda and Matthew Hochberg,IS 187; Joshua Schwartz and Zheying Liang, IS 201; Zayro Sibri, Cesar Dominguez, Susana Tepox and Rami Garah, IS 259; Matthew Oszustowicz and Mariah B. Quinones, Adelphi Academy; Anthony DeLuca and Evelyn Obertnaya, Bay Ridge Preparatory School; Harry Atkinson and Jessica Dapelo, Bay Ridge Preparatory High School; Theodoros Vlagakos and Katherine Soevyn, DGK Parochial School; Stephanie Ayoub and Adrianna Grecco, Fontbonne Hall Academy; Mahbub Ahmed and Karen Guzman, Fort Hamilton High School; Dave Wallace and Melissa Davis, Gateway City Academy; Christopher Hemway and Jessica Batson, Genesis at Xaverian High School; Joseph Maynard and Katherine Pino, High School of Telecommunications Arts & Technology; Andrew D’Amico and Anthony D’Amico, Lutheran Elementary School; Michael Meyers and Michele Moran, Our Lady of Angels School; Ciaran O’Rourke and Liandra Fernandez, St. Anselm’s School; Jonathan Khabbaz and Sarah Carr, St. Patrick’s School; and, Christopher Rezk and Michael Walsh, Xaverian High School.
