2019-20 School Awards and Recognition
Senior Awards & Recognitions
Special Awards
John H. Bell Memorial Community Service Award
Landis Martin Thompson
Ronald V. Dolan Citizenship Award
Joshua Elisha Staggers
Lynchburg Rotary Club Youth Ethics Award
Jordan Taylor Anderson
Thomas McGee Cook
American Red Cross Scholarship Award
Landis Martin Thompson
James Ira Pritchett III ’30 Big Brother Award
Joshua Elisha Staggers
James Ira Pritchett III ’30 Big Sister Award
Lara Lee Wood
George Alfred Hotelling ’53 Memorial Award
Jordan Taylor Anderson
Chaplain’s Prize
Joshua Elisha Staggers
Headmaster’s Award
David William Cox
Harold I. Donnelly Valedictory Award
Dingru (Briony) Zhao
School Award
Ismael Adnan Noah Plet
AP Scholars
Scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams
Nathaniel Lee Baugher
David William Cox
Megan Kyle Foster
Zichen (Lawrence) Gao
Dylan Richard William James
Grace Alexandra Gresham Morales
Timur Piskiner
Alexander Philip Showalter
Average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams
Joshua Lee Buckley
Mary Blair Gordon McLean
Daniel Connor O’Brien
Julianna Erin Sigler
Pierson John Van Tright
Maxwell Grayson Wieboldt
Average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams
Jordan Taylor Anderson
Zeyu (William) Hu
Ruoshui (Chloe) Liu
Hannah Joy Morris
Bite (Peter) Qiu
Shiyao (Alida) Tang
Dingru (Briony) Zhao
Leadership Awards
Spencer and Reed Honor Committee Chair Award
Jordan Taylor Anderson
Members of the 2019-2020 Honor Committee
Hunter Douglas Bailey
Joshua Lee Buckley
Vassar Dean Camden
Elizabeth Emerson Gravely
Joshua Elisha Staggers
Head Counselor Award
Ismael Adnan Noah Plet
Members of the 2019-20 Counselor Body
Jordan Taylor Anderson
Hunter Douglas Bailey
Joshua Lee Buckley
Vassar Dean Camden
David William Cox
Megan Kyle Foster
Elizabeth Emerson Gravely
Dylan Richard William James
Marian Barkley Laing
Mary Blair Gordon McLean
Hannah Joy Morris
Nana Kofi Obeng-Mensah
Daniel Connor O’Brien
Cenyongyi (Sunny) Sang
Julianna Erin Sigler
Sarah Bennett Shelton Smith
Joshua Elisha Staggers
Shiyao (Alida) Tang
Landis Martin Thompson
Lara Lee Wood
Student Council President
David William Cox
Senior Student Council Members
Andrew Wright Tompkins
Anne Dixon Sprock
Fine & Performing Arts Awards
Glee Club Award
Abby Elizabeth Candler
Jazz Ensemble Award
Bite (Peter) Qiu
School Art Award
Julianna Erin Sigler
School Drama Award
Jordan Taylor Anderson
School Music Award
Julianna Erin Sigler
Academic Awards
Henry W. Mattfield, Jr. School English Award
Jordan Taylor Anderson
James W. Hopkins School Writing Award
Dingru (Briony) Zhao
Economics Award
Ismael Adnan Noah Plet
Psychology Award
Ebubechukwu Jonathan Mbulu
Government Award
Abby Elizabeth Candler
AP Government Award
Grace Alexandra Gresham Morales
John M. Ladd School History Award
Mary Blair Gordon McLean
John W. Gannaway School Mathematics Award
Hannah Joy Morris
William H.M. deRossett ’62 Memorial Science Award
Alida (Shiyao) Tang
School Science Award
Zeyu (William) Hu
School Chinese Award
Spencer Agard Miles
School French Award
Dingru (Briony) Zhao
School Spanish Award
Grace Alexandra Gresham Morales
Athletic Awards
Iron Bishop Awards
Joshua Lee Buckley
Janiera Denise Carr
Thomas McGee Cook
Marian Barkley Laing
Ebubechukwu Jonathan Mbulu
Mary Blair Gordon McLean
Nana Kofi Obeng-Mensah
Daniel Connor O’Brien
Neguens Ovincy
Sarah Bennett Shelton Smith
Margaret Murchison Sprunt
Andrew Wright Tompkins
Lara Lee Wood
Student-Athlete Signing Recognition
Janiera Denise Carr | Dickinson College: Lacrosse
Reilly Patrick Holleran | University of Tampa: Lacrosse
Neguens Ovincy | Colby College: Lacrosse
Spencer Agard Miles | Howard University: Swimming
Daniel Connor O’Brien | Princeton University: Running
Ismael Adnan Noah Plet | Oral Roberts University: Basketball
William Swan Formwalt ’32 Athletic Award
Margaret Murchison Sprunt
Lieutenant Colonel Hal Pope Costolo Memorial Athletic Award
Daniel Connor O’Brien
Thomas Moore Carruthers ’20 Memorial Athletic Awards
Joshua Lee Buckley
Mary Blair Gordon McLean
Frederick William Carrington ’41 Memorial Athletic Awards
Lara Lee Wood
Thomas McGee Cook
9th - 11th Grade Awards and Recognitions
AP Scholar Recognition
Alison Guo '21
Tina Hui '21
Johnny Zhou '21
National Merit Scholarship
Competition Recognition
Patrick Gray Hardison '21
Mike Sun '21
Johnny Zhou '21
Fine Arts Awards
AP Music Theory Award
Jasmine Richards '22
Ceramics Award
Daniel Cong '22
Studio Art Award
Georgia Mugisha '22
Video Productions Award
Rachel Xu '22
Vocal Ensemble
Katherine White '21
Chamber Ensemble Award
Nikitha Prabhu '23
History Awards
Global Cultures
Sierra Lewis '23
AP Modern World History
Daniel Cong '22
Walker Rose '22
US History
Taylor Norton '21
AP US History
Elizabeth Moorman '21
Math Awards
Algebra Award
Virginia Haga '22
Ryan Crawford '23
Analysis Award
Brian Kwon '23
AP AB Calculus Award
Rachel Xu '22
AP BC Calculus Award
Kevin Zhao '21
Geometry Award
Nikitha Prabhu '23
Statistics Award
Kevin Zhao '21
Religion Awards
New Testament Awards
David Basnight (Fall) '22
Alex Zhang (Spring) '22
World Religions Awards
Maggie Zhang (Fall) '22
Charlotte Niblett (Spring) '22
Science Awards
Freshman Science Award
Bill Chen '23
Sophomore Science Award
Virginia Haga '22
Junior Science Award
Tina Hui '21
World Languages Awards
French Award
Gustav Guenther '21
Spanish Award
Charlie Dodson '21
Junior Book Awards
Hollins University Book Award
Abigail Hanning '21
Sewanee Award for Excellence in Writing
Patrick Schools '21
Randolph College Book Award
Alison Guo '21
Washington and Lee Book Award
Mary Outland '21
William & Mary Leadership Award
Owen Julich '21
Wellesley College Book Award
Elizabeth Moorman '21
Jefferson Book Award
Harry Cook '21
John Elliot Stoughton ’50 Award
Johnny Zhou '21
Faculty/Staff Awards
Zimmer Award
Christopher Bright
Martha Terrell Burruss
The Zimmer Award is given by the Senior class to a member of the faculty/administration.
Established in 1997, the Zimmer Award is presented by the senior class to that faculty member or administrator who demonstrates the deepest love and concern for the School.
Paul Fulton Jr. Master Teacher Award
Jesi Thompson
The Paul Fulton Jr. Master Teacher Award is named for Paul Fulton, Jr., a member of the Class of 1953, and it honors those master teachers who have demonstrated:
- Mastery of his or her academic discipline;
- Superior classroom instructional and motivational skills;
- Evidence of stimulating further interest in the academic field beyond the classroom;
- An active interest in students outside the classroom; and
- Not received the award in the past five years
Smith Family Awards
Katie Markunas Messinger
Matt LaFreniere
This award is given annually in recognition of excellence in teaching, and the making of meaningful connections with young men and women. Acknowledging the many ways in which teaching can occur, the award is not restricted to those who demonstrate their excellence in the area of academics, but includes those demonstrating excellence in athletic, aesthetic, or spiritual areas as well.
Elinor Bass Hopkins Award
Michelle Hanning
The Elinor Bass Hopkins Memorial Award has been established through funds donated to VES by the Ellison Family Foundation in memory of Elinor Bass Hopkins, wife of Senior English Master Jim Hopkins. Elinor devoted her life to the betterment of her community. The recipient of the Award will be selected from the nominations of VES faculty and staff according to the following criteria:
- The Award is intended to recognize a faculty or staff member, or the spouse of a faculty/staff member who has made outstanding contributions to the School community through dedication to the School and its students.
- Any faculty, staff, or spouse of a faculty/staff member may be nominated regardless of the length of service, prior receipt of the award, or receipt in consecutive years.