Class of 2025 Receives Nearly $150,000 in Local Scholarships, Awards

The evening of Tuesday, May 6th was a lucrative  one for Heights High’s graduating seniors. More than 100 members of the Class of 2025 walked away from the Senior Recognition Awards Program with a combined total of $147,000.

The annual event, hosted jointly by the high school guidance department’s College Readiness Coordinator Tiesha McEwen and the Heights Schools Foundation, recognizes students for their academic, athletic, artistic and personal achievements with scholarships and awards.

The first students honored were National Merit Scholarship Winner Remy Bourbeau, Finalist Gus Szpak, and Commended Student William Larkin, all recognized for earning among the highest scores on the PSAT in the state of Ohio. They were followed by 18 Advanced Placement Scholars, who earned a score of 3 or more on at least three AP exams; seven Advanced Placement Scholars with Honor, who earned a score of 3 or higher on every AP exam they’d taken; and eight AP Scholars with Distinction, for earning an average score of 3.5 or higher. Those 33 AP Scholars represent an impressive increase over last year’s total of 30 and the previous year’s 19.

Superintendent Elizabeth Kirby was on hand to recognize ten seniors who earned the President’s Award for Educational Achievement for “outstanding educational growth, improvement, commitment or intellectual development in their academic subjects,” and the 23 earned the President’s Award for Educational Excellence, which honors those who’ve performed at the highest levels academically throughout their high school careers. 

Another fifteen seniors were honored with the Pre-Apprenticeship Distinction in Workforce Readiness, an official recognition from the State of Ohio for students enrolled in Career & Technical Education programs who have earned at least 130 work-based learning hours. 

Next came the Community Scholarships, coordinated by Mrs. McEwen, most of which ranged from $275 to $3,000, totaling $58,750 in gifts. 

One highlight of the evening was the announcement of The Jon Lewis $15,000 Award, the only recipient whose name is not printed in the program ahead of time. Marley Lewis told the assembled guests about her uncle Jon, who died mere weeks before starting his freshman year at Cornell University in a 1952 car crash. The award, which was designed to “help students realize their full potential” was given to Antonia Casucci, whose “ambition, grit and self-awareness impressed” the Lewis family. 

Antonia is headed to Carnegie Mellon University in the fall to study studio art, a talent that Heights High art teacher Sarah Cooper helped her hone. “She is such an amazing mentor and pushed me to try new things,” said Antonia. Receiving The Jon Lewis Award was “so shocking. I was completely not expecting to be chosen. I feel so honored to receive an award that provides so many incredible opportunities to its recipients.” She plans to use the gift to supplement her education and especially to help purchase expensive art supplies.

Other students were recognized for their kindness, persistence, and talent across multiple arenas, from athletics to writing to academics to musical accomplishments. Many scholarships were named in memory of students or alumni who had lost their lives, including Jayvon Pryor of the class of 2023 and Calvin M. Singleton III of the Class of 2003, with friends and family members describing how significant the Heights High experience had been for their loved ones. 

The second half of the evening was organized by the Heights Schools Foundation who gave away a total of $88,250’s worth of scholarships. Foundation Board President Dr. Susan Carver, of the class of 1978, facilitated the distribution of awards to students who she said would soon “join the ranks of a very elite group: the alumni of Cleveland Heights High School.”

A particularly touching moment came when high school history teacher Patrick Fisher presented The Juantez “T.J.” Anderson Memorial Scholarship to three young people who, like T.J., are known for their acts of kindness and selflessness. He went on to say that “while this scholarship honors T.J. 's memory, it also serves as a reminder that we really have amazing kids at this school,” like the three winners, Cailah Cofield, Jasmine Gamble and Brookelynn Peacock.

The most exciting moment of the night, however, was the very last award – The Mills Award, established and presented by David and Michael Mills, who had attended Coventry and Roxboro Middle Schools before moving away, in memory of their parents, Elisabeth and Richard Mills. This first-year scholarship was unique not only because it was a whopping $20,000, “the largest award we’ve ever given” according to Heights Schools Foundation Executive Director Laura Loebel, but also because the winner was not selected from among the submitted applicants but was chosen directly by teachers and administrators. 

As 12th grade principal Taylor Smith explained, the winner is “a student who exemplifies the core values of Cleveland Heights High School: kindness, empathy, and a genuine commitment to making our school a more inclusive and compassionate community.” A very surprised Carter Armstrong, who moments before was lured to the auditorium from the gym where he was assisting the boys’ volleyball team, was recognized for always “lifting others up with his warmth, respect and quiet leadership in the classroom, court, field and building.”

Carter, who will be attending Kent State University in the fall to study business and finance, described the entire evening as “a shock. No one told me anything until I was on the stage.” He plans to put the money towards his education and is especially proud to have been honored for something beyond academics. “This is just how I carry myself,” he said of his reputation for kindness.

In addition to dollars that will help all these graduating seniors as they take their next steps in the world, they also walked away with some valuable lessons about generosity, philanthropy and remembering where you came from. As Lamont Fields, founder of The Eye of the Tiger Award, said, “I want to leave you all with these words. Once you get in a position to give back, you have an obligation to do so. I want you all to keep that torch going.”