SUNY Orange honors middle and high schoolers
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – SUNY Orange has announced that a total of 639 students in grades 6-12 attending Orange County middle and high schools have received the 2021 Sojourner Truth Awards.
The program honors students who have been nominated by school guidance counselors and principals for having demonstrated excellence in areas such as athletics, citizenship, creative arts, diversity, English language arts, foreign languages, perseverance/effort, sciences, and technology.
From the Cornwall Central and Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School Districts:
Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School District
Highland Falls Intermediate School: Aymee Almonte, perseverance/effort; Adalys Arias, perseverance/effort; Nath-anaelle (Maya) Bernadel, perseverance/effort; Fiona Bran, English language arts; Madeline Clark, sciences; Kimaria Jarrett, perseverance/effort; Ava Lopez, citizenship; Karlalilian Mejia, citizenship; Colin Monaghan, diversity; Valeria Polanco, citizenship; Yasmin Morocho, English language arts; Chastelin Pacho, mathematics
O’Neill High School: Coleen Aketch, sciences; Margaret Barnes, athletics; Rael Beachard, creative arts; Adelaide Crow, citizenship; Yolanda Fuentes-Moreno, foreign languages; Patricia Gibby, English language arts; Angie Grunert, sciences; Maxwell Jaffett, citizenship; Tomas Jimenez-Pena, citizenship; Alysia Peters, foreign languages; Blaize Quick, perseverance/effort; Isabela Rojas, citizenship; Antonella Rufasto, foreign languages; Christian Taylor, citizenship; Athena Terio, diversity; Arianna Tiaguaro, perseverance/effort; Savannah Watkins, sciences; Davis Yoshitani, technology
Cornwall Central School District
Cornwall Middle School: Caylee Castro, English language arts; Joselyn Dixon, foreign languages; Hamza Rajpura, sciences; Estrella Rosario Carrasco, citizenship; Gabriel Yeboah, foreign languages
Cornwall High School: Aidan Hurley-Kalici, citizenship; Logan Marquez, sciences; Taniyah Montgomery, foreign languages; Jade Talle, perseverance/effort; Moses Usen, English language arts
Typically SUNY Orange holds an in-person recognition ceremony but will not do so this year because of the COVID pandemic and existing restrictions on large indoor gatherings. The students will receive their award certificates via regular mail.
Sojourner Truth, for whom the program is named, lived in the mid-Hudson Valley after escaping from slavery. She is hailed as one of the most distinguished and highly regarded women of the 19th Century. Born Isabella Bomefree (later spelled Baumfree) in about 1797 in Hurley, NY, Isabella was sold four times before she and her daughter were given their freedom in 1828. She spoke low Dutch until she was about 10 years old and never learned to read or write. In 1843 she changed her name to Sojourner Truth to reflect her chosen mission of traveling to show people their sins and telling them what is true. She is often cited as one of the most effective and powerful speech-makers of her time.
