Randolph-Macon Academy’s Class of 2015 might have been small, but their accomplishments were great. Comprised of 59 seniors and two postgraduates, the Class of 2015 earned 228 college acceptances to 140 different colleges and universities, and received nearly $6.7 million in college scholarship offers. In addition, the five Falcon Scholars who attended the school this year each earned an appointment to the Air Force Academy.
Amidst the events held May 28-30, 2015, was an atmosphere of celebration and friendship that past R-MA graduating classes will remember well. The Class of 2015 shed tears as they recalled shared memories and prepared to say their final farewells.
Here are a few of the highlights of the weekend:
Athletic Banquet
The seniors received plaques and the award winners in each sport received their honors as well. Amy Gray ’15, Tyler Vaughan ’15, and Austin Lee ’15 each spoke at the event.
Class Night
For Jacob Dodson ‘15, Class Night on May 28th was certainly the highlight of the week as he addressed his fellow students as salutatorian and was named Best All-Around Cadet. Class President Natalie Pendie also spoke to her classmates.
Congratulations to the Class Night Award winners:
Private Pilot Licenses: Michael Grieg, James Christoph, Teunis Verhuel, Jeff Wilson, Tommy Yu
Naval Academy Foundation Appointment: Ixel Ochoa
Army ROTC Scholarship: Erik Koontz
United States Air Force Academy Appointments: Michael Grieg, Anthony Vaccaro, Vito Valenzuela, David Warfel, Jeffrey Wilson
Scholastic Excellence Award: Sandi James
Distinguished Athlete Award: Austin Lee
The Semper Fidelis Award: Mazrukh Khan
Pat Spears Awards: Junior Mile, Daniel Scarzello; Senior Mile, Erik Koontz
Pat Spears Most Improved Award: Jeffery Collins
The Football Sportsmanship Award: Tyler Vaughan
The Outstanding Sportsman Award: Amy Gray
C. Lyle McFall Coach of the Year: Josh Ilnicki
Randolph-Macon Academy Scholar/Athlete Awards: Amy Gray and Tyler Vaughan
Athletes of the Year: Ixel Ochoa, Tyler Vaughan
Salutatorian: Jacob Dodson
“Cadet in the Arena” – Leadership Award: Natalie Pendie and John Camarella
AFA AFJROTC Award: Jonathan Pederson
James M. Mills Award: Douglas Brennand
Commandant’s Award: Gordon Anderson
Herbert Gray Wyatt Medal: Jacob Dodson
The Outstanding Instrumental Musician Medals: Alexandra Mabry, Evan Kelly, Will Long, Ben Schoonover
John Philip Sousa Band Award: Jacob Dodson
The Outstanding Choral Musician Medals: Khanh Pham, Haoran Zhang, Changkun Zhou
Yearbook Editor Award: Minhua Ma
National Honor Society Certificates: President – Maz Khan, Vice President – Jacob Dodson, Community Service Officer – Xin Ma, Parliamentarian – Ixel Ochoa, Treasurer – Amy Gray
German Medal: Meghan Melberg
Spanish Medal: Eva Bogdewic
Drama Medal: Erik Koontz
Art Medal: Xin Ma
English as a Second Language Medal: Mingyang Chen
English Medal: Amy Gray
Journalism Medal: Meghan Melberg
Math Medal: Tyler Vaughan
Science Medal: Eva Bogdewic
Social Studies Medal: Jonathan Pederson
Kemper History Medal: Tyler Vaughan
Jesse K. Brennan Medal: Lucas Costa
Boyd M Guttery ’45 Humanity Medal: Jacob Dodson
Class President: Natalie Pendie
Sewanee Award for Excellence: Eva Bogdewic
The Daughters of the American Colonists Award: Meghan Melberg
Shenandoah Valley Chapter United States Daughters of 1812: Emma Bunker
Stephen C. Harriman ’82 Outstanding Character Scholarship Award: Ben Hester
The Most Genteel Female Award: Bette Kebede and Chloe Pham
The Most Genteel Male Award: Gordon Anderson
The Athena Award: Xin Ma
The Lincoln Award: Mazrukh Khan
The George M. Wines Most Unselfish Service Award: Amy Gray
The Best All-Around Cadet: Jacob Dodson