Every year at Friends, awards are given to certain students who go above and beyond. The Eden Wales Freedman ’99 English, the Jordan Wales ’97 History, and the Upper School Foreign Language are awards that recognize passionate students’ achievements in English History, and Foreign Language.

This year, the Eden Wales Freedman English Award goes to both Jodi Lessner and Chloe Hudson. Chloe and Jodi were exemplary students who showed a strong interest of literature. Jake Rashkind, English 9 and 12 teacher and Head of the English Department, comments, “The award honors someone who really shows a deep appreciation and understanding of literature who pursues their writing with a passion and a hard work ethic, someone who is a strong contributor to making discussions richer. They both have a lot of qualities they bring to the class, and it was hard to pick, so we decided that they were both ultimately very deserving.” 

Katy Kenney, English 11 teacher, elaborates, “Both of them are really committed literature students. They are interested and engaged in literary work outside of the classroom, and they always brought enthusiasm and thoughtfulness to their discussions in class.” The work and effort that Chloe and Jodi put forth was impressive and admirable. Mr. Rashkind adds, “I think the whole department just feels very excited to give them this award because they are two students who go above and beyond in terms of expectations.” Congratulations to Jodi and Chloe!

Jodi Lessner has also been presented with the  the Jordan Wales History Award. The History award is presented to a student who is interested in learning about history, but also shows skills in the fields of debating, analyzing, interpretation, and leadership. Scott Clothier, Head of the Upper School History department, says: “Jodi has excelled across 4-years in the area of research analysis interpretation and understanding content. She brings a wisdom beyond her years to the process of history.” Jodi has made a name for herself around the school academically,  and the school wishes her luck as she moves on to Barnard College. 

The Upper School Foreign Language Award recognizes a junior who excels in the subject of foreign language by not only expanding one’s own knowledge of other languages and cultures, but by also spreading this knowledge with others. This year, the award goes to Gustavo Silveira, who takes Chinese. Xiaohong Xu, Upper School Chinese teacher, proudly comments, “This award is given to recognize foreign language students who learn the language well and also help others learn the language. Gustavo is a devoted and talented student.” Gustavo is currently in Chinese 4, but he has done more work outside of the classroom. Ms. Xu adds, “For two summers, he either did tutoring or he taught himself so that he could take the Chinese test and skip a level of Chinese.” He also helps his native Chinese speaking peers speak English. Gustavo also made a contribution to the Chinese New Year Celebration by serving as a coordinator and host, and he also made a bilingual script in both Chinese and English so that the entire community could understand. Gustavo’s academic abilities in terms of learning languages and embracing cultures has made him a great choice for the award, and the school can not wait to see what he does in the future.