Oak Harbor High School academic achievers received honors for high grade point averages at the 15th annual Academic Letter Awards Ceremony Wednesday night.
“You’ve worked hard to get here and deserve a lot of thanks and appreciation,” said Lance Gibbon, assistant superintendent.
Students who earned a 3.5 GPA or higher for two consecutive semesters receive an academic letter for a letterman’s jacket. For each additional 3.5 GPA or higher, students receive a pin. Students who earned a 4.0 GPA receive a highest honor pin.
In his keynote address, Gibbon told the audience that this is the high school’s 100th anniversary. The school’s 30 students enjoyed state-of-the-art advances like indoor plumbing, a hot lunch program and typewriters, similar to students this year enjoying the newly remodeled high school.
With historical family names like Izett, Muzall, Zylstra and Frostad, those students made a lasting impact on Oak Harbor 100 years ago.
The students also made a difference for present-day students by starting the annual, the school newspaper, called The Breeze, and more. That means the actions of students today will impact students 100 years from now, too, Gibbon said.
“What really is most important is that you choose to make a difference where you are,” Gibbon said.
Senior Molly Van Dam was recognized for receiving a 3.5 GPA or higher for two consecutive semesters.
“It means that I worked really hard at school and I’m proud of that, for studying and for caring how well I do at school,” Van Dam said.
Next year, Van Dam will attend Western Washington University with the goal of becoming a high school teacher.
“We are so proud of Molly. She’s exceeded all of our expectations,” said her mom, Amy Van Dam.
“I think it’s really important for students to get academic recognition. A lot of kids get sports recognition and it’s nice for them to get academic recognition,” Amy Van Dam said.
Students honored:
Class of 2012
Joyce Abides, Elyse Anderson, Sara Anderson*, Keriann Ashley-Chase, Emily Bain*, Eric Berner, Sasha Bolander-Marvidikis, Hannah Bressler**, Jasmin Case-Smith, Jessica Cathey, Elizabeth Chase, Jason Churchill, Gabriel Clark, Heather Dale**, Solleanne-Lei Empinado, Krisanta Filoteo, Erika Flores, Peter Franssen*, Jennifer Fremd, Thomas Honeycutt, Corey Houck, Ciara Hu**, Emily Hunt, Dominique Jackson, Mitchell Jackson, Jacob Jepsen*, Kari Jerde, Angela Johnson, Kelsey Johnson, Jerimiah Konovaloff, Bryce Lockner*, Tucker Lundstrom**, Danielle Magdalera, Cody McGinnis, Chelsey McKenzie*, Maura McKole, Joshua McVey, Connor Meyer**, Ben Muyres*, Anthony Neubert, Christopher Opdyke, Chloe Peterschmidt, Kristen Sheils, Cheyenne Stolmeier*, Mai Takeyama, Jessica Taylor, Molly Van Dam*, Taylor Von Grey, Michael Washington**, Samantha Wells and Samantha Zimmerman.
Class of 2013
Elizabeth Adkins, Kylene Ayer, Michael Braun, Hayden Bunkley, Joseph Colston, London Cook*, Micaiah Davis, Athena-Mae Deleonguerrero, Cory Cameron, Keaton Dieter**, Megan Duhrkopf, Joem Evangelista**, Annie Frosolone*, Michael Farrell, Jolene George, Adeline Guina, Kiefer Hermann, Wyatt Homola**, Christina Houck, Matthew Jenson*, Joshua Jepsen, Jayden Johnston, John Kaltenbach*, Jackson Knoll*, David Kusnick Jr., Jennifer Landingin*, Katherine Limpin, Erdylle Macapinlac, Jennifer Madigan*, Melissa Malong, Katie McClimans, Ally McGuire**, Sharmaine Miranda, Madeline Mosolino**, Molly Murdock, Taylor Nienhuis**, Emilie Renninger, Brittany Rigby, Jasmine Rosario, Emily Saar*, Hannah Salmons, Madeline Sanchez, Shawna Steele*, Sadie Strain, Lauren Turnbow*, Samantha Usi, Christina Wicker**, Cierra Wiser*, Colton Wolcott* and Jaxon Wolfe*.
Class of 2014
Tiffany Andrukat**, Kayleen Araullo, Casiano Atienza*, Brandon Bailey, Brendan Bristow*, Jessica Busig, Staci Byers, William Churchill, Rachel Colston, Jordan Cutaia, Jose Mari Dimanulangan, Alyssa Epilepsia, Julian Faralan, Kimberly Forster**, Elizabeth Fry**, Noah Gibbon, Gabriel Groenig**, Celine Gross**, Fiona Hebb, Claire Hovde, Zena-Maria Husler, Alexander Krantz, Alexandra Laiblin*, David-Anthony Lazada, Samone Lewis, Leah-Esther Lukban**, Jasmyn Maier, Pristinavae Manning*, Rachel Margraf**, Kyler McConaghy*, Troy McCool, Ben McCornack, Stacy Meyer, Harrison Miller**, Stephen Miller, Megan Mitchell, Jacob Nelson, Amethyst Nichols, Ziwei Peng**, Caley Powers*, Caitlin Pugh*, Clayton Richardson, Breanna Roderos**, Brittany Rogers*, Samantha Saya, Hannah Schroeder**, Kevin Silveira, Joshua Smith, Nathan Wagner, Kristina Winfield*, Caitlin Woodward and Hannah Von Grey.
* indicates 4.0 GPA
** indicates 4.0 GPA for two semesters.
