June 2, 2023 -- Tuesday, May 23 was a lucrative night for Heights High’s graduating class. Seniors and their families gathered in the high school auditorium for a Senior Recognition Awards Program, where they were gifted $132,800 in scholarships from the community.

Scholastic recognition was first on the agenda, with six students being honored as National Merit Scholars, including Maxwell Frey who was the sole national finalist. Eleven students were recognized as AP Scholars for earning a score of 3 or higher on at least three Advanced Placement exams. Six students earned the AP Scholar with Honors distinction for scoring a 3 or higher on all AP exams taken, while two students – Derek Korane and Elle Mueller – received the AP Scholar with Distinction award for earning an average score of 3.5 or higher.

Thirty-four seniors earned the President’s Award for Educational Achievement for “outstanding educational growth, improvement, commitment or intellectual development in their academic subjects,” while 18 students earned the President’s Award for Educational Excellence, which honors those who’ve performed at the highest levels academically. Guidance counselor Charlene Searcy read remarks from President Joe Biden in which he said, “I know the future of our nation is bright … young people like you will be leading it.”

Then came the moment that all were waiting for, when representatives of community scholarships handed out their financial awards. Twenty-nine separate scholarships were awarded to 63 deserving seniors, many winning more than one. These awards ran the gamut from the PTSA Scholarship to the Samuel Appleton Career Tech Scholarship to the Heights Alliance of Black School Educators Scholarship. Many were named in memory of Heights High alumni who lives were cut short.

A highlight of the night came when the Jon Lewis $15,000 Award was announced, the only scholarship whose recipient’s name wasn’t already printed in the program and by far the biggest award of the night. In a pre-taped video, a representative from Mr. Lewis’ family described his untimely death at the age of 17 just as he was about to begin his college years at Cornell University. But a technical glitch flashed the name of the winner, Jervon Cole, just as the video began. Despite gasps from the crowd, Jervon said it was probably a good thing because “I had time to calm down before I walked across the stage.”

As he sat in the audience absorbing the news, he kept whispering to his mother over and over, “I won, I won.” The young man, who was recognized by Jon Lewis’ family for his integrity, industry and talent, is headed to the University of Rochester to study psychology this fall. With a twin sister and an older sister, he knows this gift will make a huge difference to his single mother’s ability to put three children through college at the same time. “The story behind how this scholarship came to be without a doubt makes it more meaningful,” he said. He honored his classmates as well, saying, “There are so many people in my graduating class who have exceeded expectations. This is $15,000 … I will put in $15,000 worth of work.”  

The evening closed with representatives from the Heights Schools Foundation handing out an additional 16 scholarships totaling $61,250 to 57 students. Many of these recognized specific skills and traits including the Geneva Family Memorial Scholarship for a varsity athlete and the Marian Katz Magid Memorial Scholarship for Creative Writing for which students had to submit an original poem, story or essay.

The HSF Retired Teachers Legacy award for Top Academic Performance was given to Devyn Etling. The Heights Schools Foundation Tiger Fund was awarded to 19 seniors while the HSF Tiger Fund in Memory of Sergio Abramof ’75 was awarded to an additional 13. Senior Taylor Evans was the most decorated student of the night, being called to the stage a total of thirteen times, including as the National GEAR UP Student of the Year for 2021, chosen from more than 500,000 high schoolers across the country.

The $132,800 awarded that night is on top of millions of dollars in scholarships that students were awarded from their colleges and universities. As these newly minted Heights High alumni head off into the world of college, work, technical school or the military, they do it with the support of the Heights community behind them.