Long Island 2025 student award winners

A sampling of Long Island high school seniors who won competitions, scholarships and other honors during the 2024-25 academic year. Compiled by

 Michael R. Ebert

THE GATES SCHOLARSHIP

Adinsson Goris, Academy Charter School, Hempstead

Jesus Barrios, Amityville Memorial High School

REGENERON SCIENCE TALENT SEARCH

Sixth Place Winner ($80,000)

Melody Heeju Hong, General Douglas MacArthur HS, Levittown

Finalists ($25,000)

Jolene Cao, Smithtown HS East

Ishana Chadha, Commack HS

Melody Heeju Hong, General Douglas MacArthur HS, Levittown

Sandeep Sawhney, Herricks HS, New Hyde Park

Emma Lee Wen, Great Neck North HS

Amy Xiao, Garden City HS

Semifinalists ($2,000)

Johnathan Ahdout, Great Neck North HS

Aafia Ahmed, Elmont Memorial HS

Fatimah Badoolah, Mineola HS

Daanish Bassi, Smithtown HS East

Jolene Cao, Smithtown HS East

Emma Amalia Carotenuto, Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead

Ishana Chadha, Commack HS

Richard Chai, Smithtown HS East

Jun Chen, Jericho HS

Serena Chen, Herricks HS, New Hyde Park

Dean Chen, Paul D. Schreiber HS, Port Washington

Katie Duong, Ward Melville HS, East Setauket

Gabriella Elliott, John F. Kennedy HS, Bellmore

Nica Katurah Fairweather, Brentwood HS

Dora Fields, Northport HS

Anant Gupta, Great Neck South HS

Lauren Hedges, Kings Park HS

Kaitlin Ho, Northport HS

Melody Heeju Hong, General Douglas MacArthur HS, Levittown

Shannon Hong, Herricks HS, New Hyde Park

Caitlin Avery Lee, Herricks HS, New Hyde Park

Chloe Yerin Lee, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK HS

Daniel Dali Liang, Ward Melville HS, East Setauket

Tiffany Liu, Great Neck South HS

Milan Lustig, Cold Spring Harbor HS

Natalie Osorio, H. Frank Carey HS, Franklin Square

Alaina Brooke Pinto, The Wheatley School, Old Westbury

Sadelle Poulsen, Paul D. Schreiber HS, Port Washington

Mark Prainito, John F. Kennedy HS, Bellmore

Eric Reilly, Lynbrook HS

Michael Ren, Syosset HS

Erica Revill, Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead

Sandeep Sawhney, Herricks HS, New Hyde Park

Julian Sethna, Manhasset HS

Joleen Shau, John F. Kennedy HS, Bellmore

Jayden Simon, John F. Kennedy HS, Bellmore

Sean Matthew Skinner, Ward Melville HS, East Setauket

Emily Smukler, George W. Hewlett HS

Ibrahim Suleman, Sachem High School East, Farmingville

Sarah Sun, Great Neck South HS

Keita Takahashi, Jericho HS

Natalie Tehrani, Jericho HS

Mason Tso, John F. Kennedy HS, Bellmore

Armaan Manish Vaswani, Herricks HS, New Hyde Park

Emma Lee Wen, Great Neck North HS

Eli Weseley-Jones, North Shore HS, Glen Head

Amy Xiao, Garden City HS

Emily Zhao, Manhasset HS

Winston Zhou, Syosset HS

COCA-COLA SCHOLARS FOUNDATION

Scholars ($20,000)

Derek Chen, Syosset HS

Grace Ham, John F. Kennedy HS, Bellmore

David Solano, Huntington, Regis HS (Manhattan)

Semifinalists

Amira Abdallah, Smithtown HS East

Leah Aboueid, Kellenberg Memorial HS, Uniondale

Johnathan Ahdout, Great Neck North HS

Jake Albert, Lindenhurst HS

Farah Alzafarani, Brentwood HS

Grace Andino, Kellenberg Memorial HS, Uniondale

Sara Bashker, Bethpage HS

Dylan Bazelnov, John F. Kennedy HS, Bellmore

Derek Chen, Syosset HS

Jason Chen, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK HS

Landon D’Agate, Half Hollow Hills HS East, Dix Hills

Madgia Dubois, St. Anthony’s HS, Huntington Station

Luke Ferraiolo, Farmingdale HS

Asha Gajraj, Valley Stream South HS

Sophie Glass, Roslyn HS

Jimena Gonzalez, Patchogue-Medford HS

Katy Gottlieb, Lynbrook HS

Matteo Gravinese, Rocky Point HS

Benjamin Halimi, George W. Hewlett HS

Grace Ham, John F. Kennedy HS, Bellmore

Sabrina Johnson, Plainedge HS

Ian Klimov, Sanford H. Calhoun HS, Merrick

Sophia Long, Great Neck South HS

Michael Lubniewsk, Sachem HS East, Farmingville

Selin Mutlu, Malverne HS

Natalie Osorio, H. Frank Carey HS, Franklin Square

Grace Punzalan, Manhasset HS

Solomon Ruff, Baldwin HS

Parshwa Shah, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK HS

Jayden Simon, John F. Kennedy HS, Bellmore

David Solano, Huntington, Regis HS (Manhattan)

Ismalay Tejada Santos, Bay Shore HS

Michael Shaye, St. Anthony’s HS, Huntington Station

U.S. PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM

Semifinalists

Johnathan Ahdout, Great Neck North HS

Vishrut Goyal, Jericho HS

Milan Lustig, Cold Spring Harbor HS

Agastya Mittal, Jericho HS

Grace N. Punzalan, Manhasset HS

Jeremy B. Ratner, Portledge School, Locust Valley

Téa Shouldice, Half Hollow Hills HS East, Dix Hills

Jayden T. Simon, John F. Kennedy HS, Bellmore

Sarah H. Sun, Great Neck South HS

Erin Wong, Great Neck South HS

Yujin Wu-Great Neck South HS

Candidates

Johnathan Ahdout, Great Neck North HS

Adais M. Arora, Cold Spring Harbor HS

Christina Bai, Great Neck South HS

Victoria Basharina, William Floyd HS, Mastic

Ethan C. Berkowitz, Roslyn HS

Jolene Cao, Smithtown HS East

Ishana Chadha, Commack HS

Meerab Chaudhry, H. Frank Carey HS, Franklin Square

Danielle A. Chen, Roslyn HS

Jonathan L. Chen, Manhasset HS

Julie Chen, Manhasset HS

Rachel Chen, George W. Hewlett HS

Alexander J. Devita, Connetquot HS, Bohemia

Vishrut Goyal, Jericho HS

Misha Gujja, Jericho HS

Anagh Gupta, Smithtown HS East

Anant Gupta, Great Neck South HS

Aoife Hogan, Earl L. Vandermeulen HS, Port Jefferson

Melody H. Hong, General Douglas MacArthur HS, Levittown

Sophia Hwang, Great Neck, The Spence School (Manhattan)

Edwin Ji, Commack HS

Michael W. Jiao, Jericho HS

Connor S. Jin, Syosset HS

Jacob Levine, Great Neck North HS

Katherine Li, Syosset HS

Chelsea Lim, Manhasset HS

Thomas X. Lin, The Stony Brook School

Tom Liu, St. James, Miami Arts Charter School (Florida)

Alex Lu, Manhasset HS

Stephen Lu, Manhasset HS

Milan Lustig, Cold Spring Harbor HS

Ryder R. Miranda, Islip HS

Agastya Mittal, Jericho HS

Diego Monroy, Westbury HS

Simone Oustatcher, Garden City HS

Pratham D. Patel, Herricks HS, New Hyde Park

Grace N. Punzalan, Manhasset HS

Angela Qin, Old Westbury, The Peddie School (NJ)

Jeremy B. Ratner, Portledge School, Locust Valley

Julian J. Santana, H. Frank Carey HS, Franklin Square

Kate A. Santoli, Lynbrook HS

Sandeep Sawhney, Herricks HS, New Hyde Park

Ayaan Shah, Hauppauge HS

Téa S. Shouldice, Half Hollow Hills HS East, Dix Hills

Jayden T. Simon, John F. Kennedy HS, Bellmore

Makiko Stravato, Half Hollow Hills HS East, Dix Hills

Sarah H. Sun, Great Neck South HS

Sophia Syritsyna, Ward Melville HS, East Setauket

Alena Tsai, Manhasset HS

Samuel Wang, Syosset HS

Ziyan Wang, Herricks HS, New Hyde Park

Emma Wen, Great Neck North HS

Erin S. Wong, Great Neck South HS

Oliver F. Wu, Ward Melville HS, East Setauket

Yujin Wu, Great Neck South HS

Amy Xiao, Garden City Senior HS

Zheyuan Xing, Ross School, East Hampton

Ivan Xu, Great Neck South HS

Richard L. Xu, Great Neck South HS

Jixuan Zhang, Great Neck South HS

Yixi Zou, Woodbury, The Hotchkiss School (Connecticut)

NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP

Corporate-sponsored scholarship winners ($1,000-$10,000)

Ilana Greenberg, North Shore Hebrew Academy HS, Great Neck

Zachary Harel, Half Hollow Hills HS West, Dix Hills

Sean Harris, Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway, Cedarhurst

Natallie E. Marshall, Smithtown HS West

Aadi Mehta, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK HS

Meghan Frances Pomroy, Westhampton Beach HS

Michael Ren, Syosset HS

Aimee Y. Yang, Ward Melville HS, East Setauket

$2,500 scholarship winners

Johnathan Ahdout, Great Neck North HS

Cristina Elena Baron, Southampton, St. Paul’s School (Concord, NH)

Noah R. Berlin, Half Hollow Hills HS East, Dix Hills

Jolene Cao, Smithtown HS East

Lucy Chang, Miller Place HS

Derek Chen, Syosset HS

Jonathan Liu Chen, Manhasset HS

Jayden Doshi, Paul D. Schreiber HS, Port Washington

Katie Duong, Ward Melville HS, East Setauket

Robert W. Ely, Mineola HS

Sarah Fernbach, Roslyn HS

Dora Fields, Northport HS

Colin Hairabedian, Manhasset HS

Loic Hairabedian, Manhasset HS

Andy Huang, Valley Stream South HS

Mannat Vikramaditya Jain, Garden City HS

Jonas Kim, Manhasset HS

Julian Kimball, Paul D. Schreiber HS, Port Washington

Jeffrey Li, Garden City HS

Michelle Jessica Liu, Jericho HS

Ruiqi Liu, Great Neck South HS

Hunter Maguire, Garden City HS

Sean Pepe, Miller Place HS

Adriana Marie Petrizzo, The Wheatley School, Old Westbury

Kaitlyn Rams, Herricks HS

Krishiv K. Shah, Syosset HS

Madeline Shek, Jericho HS

Téa Shouldice, Half Hollow Hills HS East, Dix Hills

Jayden T. Simon, John F. Kennedy HS, Bellmore

Sean M. Skinner, Ward Melville HS, East Setauket

Tamas Smulovics, Great Neck North HS

Sarah H. Sun, Great Neck South HS

Anika Tolat, Roslyn HS

Alena Tsai, Manhasset HS

Erin Wong, Great Neck South HS

Amy Hong Xiao, Garden City HS

Dian Yang, The Wheatley School, Old Westbury

Heng Ye, Smithtown HS West

Jillian M. Zhang, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK HS

Laura Zhang, Great Neck South HS

Emily Zhao, Manhasset HS

NYS SCHOOL MUSIC ASSOCIATION

ALL-STATE NASSAU

Instrumental Jazz

James Tsekouras, Manhasset HS

Mixed Chorus

Lia Addeo, W. Tresper Clarke HS, Westbury

Joshua Amy, East Meadow HS

Maya Andrews, Valley Stream Central HS

Jack Ceglie, Lynbrook HS

Kysia Chan, W. Tresper Clarke HS, Westbury

Isabella Corigliano, Massapequa HS

Matteo Cosenza, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK HS

Tamara Compass Crawford, Freeport HS

Daniella Falco, Nassau BOCES Long Island HS for the Arts, Syosset

Chris Fukuda, Great Neck South HS

Axel Glatt, North Shore HS, Glen Head

Zoe Johnson, General Douglas MacArthur HS, Levittown

Daniel Karp, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK HS

Gianna Longo, Lynbrook HS

Christina Mink, Portledge School, Locust Valley

Addison Moller, Farmingdale HS

Alexander Petrosini, Farmingdale HS

Jeffry Ramirez, Glen Cove HS

Ashley Retzlaff, Freeport HS

Ginger Sanborn, North Shore HS, Glen Head

Will Sellerberg, The Wheatley School, Old Westbury

Morgan Shishko, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK HS

Shawn Tipiere, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK HS

Summer Torres, Valley Stream South HS

Kaiden Ulysse, Malverne HS

Viktor Vasic, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK HS

Brandon Velasquez, Freeport HS

Nate White, Long Beach HS

String Orchestra

Tyler Benedict, Massapequa HS

Emerson Cornell, South Side HS, Rockville Centre

Wirunpat Hattakitkosol, Bethpage HS

Noelle Kay, Valley Stream Central HS

Annie Li, Paul D. Schreiber HS, Port Washington

Ian Loo, Great Neck North HS

Vincent Oppedisano, Farmingdale HS

Julia Rhee, Syosset HS

Yimeng Sun, Long Island Lutheran HS, Brookville

Erin Wong, Great Neck South HS

Amy Xiao, Garden City HS

Albert Zhang, Syosset HS

Symphonic Band

Dave Alavanza, East Meadow HS

Bradley Armand, Westbury HS

Elliot Bryant, North Shore HS, Glen Head

Hannah Chang, Manhasset HS

Katelyn Choi, Jericho HS

Madison Cohen, Portledge School, Locust Valley

Lydia Hong, Syosset HS

Seamus Hughes, North Shore HS, Glen Head

Saad Khan, W. Tresper Clarke HS, Westbury

Ayan Khazanchi, Syosset HS

Euan Kim, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK HS

Kloie Liao, Herricks HS

Aaron Liu, Syosset HS

Mehmet Mercan, Syosset HS

Jesse Namkoong, Syosset HS

Daniel Persaud, East Meadow HS

Sarah Sun, Great Neck South HS

Emily Tang, Syosset HS

Ivory Tseng, Syosset HS

Jaylyn Umana, Farmingdale HS

Sharath Venkatesan, Herricks HS

Anderson Wang, Herricks HS

Julia Wang, Garden City HS

Oscar Wang, Syosset HS

Symphony Orchestra

Bernard Chan, Manhasset HS

Samuel Chan, Garden City HS

Victor Chan, Roslyn HS

John Ryan Chaplin, Hicksville HS

Constantine Cheung, Herricks HS

Lucas Giordano, George W. Hewlett HS

Shea Hiotidis, Farmingdale HS

Azelle Kim, The Wheatley School, Old Westbury

Brian Kim, Syosset HS

Krista Lee, George W. Hewlett HS

Ava Pallone, Plainedge HS

Sebastian Park, North Shore HS, Glen Head

Eric Reilly, Lynbrook HS

Andrew Simons, Herricks HS

Veyd Trivedi, Syosset HS

Clayton Yu, New Hyde Park Memorial HS

Treble Chorus

Isabella Digena, Island Trees HS, Levittown

Emily Gregori, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK HS

Julianne Joseph, Valley Stream Central HS

Grace Love, Division Avenue HS, Levittown

Ava Mirabelli, Bethpage HS

Alana Muniz, Wellington C. Mepham HS, Bellmore

Cheryl Oberlender, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK HS

Emily Ogurick, Massapequa HS

Stephania Robinson, Long Beach HS

Ria Savan, East Meadow HS

Elena Surber, Syosset HS

Margaret Zhang, Syosset HS

Vocal Jazz

Lourdes Saunders-Blake, Freeport HS

Robert Silverstein, Farmingdale HS

Wind Ensemble

Austin Benedict, Massapequa HS

Ryan Borruso, South Side HS, Rockville Centre

Ian Charde, Syosset HS

Nolan Farrelly, Mineola HS

Ruiqi Liu, Great Neck South HS

Lilith Mangal, Garden City HS

Ryan Si, Syosset HS

Ellie Yu, Jericho HS

ALL-STATE SUFFOLK

Instrumental Jazz

(Ethan Benstock, Smithtown HS West

John Schroeder, Eastport-South Manor HS

Mixed Chorus

Erin Ackerman, East Islip HS

Derek Bergmann, Rocky Point HS

Thomas Betz, William Floyd HS, Mastic Beach

Abigail Caravella, Patchogue-Medford HS

Royce Conlon, Longwood HS, Middle Island

Angelina DeRosa, Rocky Point HS

Brookelynn Flanagan, Half Hollow Hills HS East, Dix Hills

Amelia Freiberger, Harborfields HS,
Greenlawn

Emma Gallagher, Eastport-South Manor HS

Jax Gutierrez, Brentwood HS

Tyler Hilms, East Islip HS

Jarod Hirsch, Smithtown HS West

Lorenzo Jackson, Brentwood HS

Jacob Karp, Northport HS

Mackenzie Kling, Mount Sinai HS

Alexa Oliveto, Hauppauge HS

Mia Pazera, Westhampton Beach HS

Victoria Pierre-Louis, Amityville HS

Téa Shouldice, Half Hollow Hills HS East, Dix Hills

Alexa Walsh, Commack HS

String Orchestra

Lucy Chang, Miller Place HS

Julia Chu, Lindenhurst HS

Julia Glazebnik, Half Hollow Hills HS East, Dix Hills

Yiya Hu, Shoreham-Wading River HS

Daniel Kelly, Ward Melville HS, East
Setauket

Erika Lo, Mount Sinai HS

Lohit Madisetty, Half Hollow Hills HS East, Dix Hills

Banghua Pan, Half Hollow Hills HS East, Dix Hills

Grace Rossi, West Babylon HS

Imran Shah, North Babylon HS

Alexander Song, Ward Melville HS, East Setauket

Abigail Tannacore, Sachem HS North, Lake Ronkonkoma

Symphonic Band

Gennady Borisov, Hauppauge HS

Elliot Brockman, Ward Melville HS, East Setauket

Lilah Caputo, Westhampton Beach HS

Kevin Castellano, Smithtown HS West

Joshua Crespo, William Floyd HS, Mastic Beach

Lily Eagen, Northport HS

Shawn Edbert, Centereach HS

Ryan Flad, East Islip HS

Lily Forman, Bayport-Blue Point HS

Aaron Isaacson, Eastport-South Manor HS

Sean Koerner, West Islip HS

Thomas Lasher, Newfield HS, Selden

Rose Link, Smithtown HS West

Lianna McCormack, Bayport-Blue Point HS

Brandon Rivas, Sachem HS East,
Farmingville

Alanna Siegel, Harborfields HS, Greenlawn

Lorelai Silverstein, Deer Park HS

Zayan Zahoori, Half Hollow Hills HS East, Dix Hills

Symphony Orchestra

Joanna Huang, Ward Melville HS, East Setauket

Elliot Jaklitsch, Comsewogue HS, Port Jefferson Station

Nolan Jin, Ward Melville HS, East Setauket

Isabel Lin, Kings Park HS

William MacIntosh, St. John the Baptist Diocesan HS, West Islip

Naliah Rahman, Miller Place HS

Alec Robayo, Sayville HS

Jesse Roth, Patchogue-Medford HS

Jaden Rudnicki, Sachem HS East,
Farmingville

Jayson Saravia, Brentwood HS

Mackenzie Sweeney, Center Moriches HS

Jayden Tran, North Babylon HS

Oliver Wu, Ward Melville HS, East
Setauket

Treble Chorus

Maya Alexander, Rocky Point HS

Aisha Barrie, William Floyd HS, Mastic Beach

Liva Camarata, Huntington HS

Emma Hall, Half Hollow Hills HS East, Dix Hills

Laurie Kratochvil, Smithtown HS East

Teagan McGuire, West Islip HS

Emily McIntee, East Islip HS

Melina Neofitos, Elwood-John H. Glenn HS

Emma Samghabadi, Comsewogue HS, Port Jefferson Station

Vocal Jazz

Robert Boswell, Ward Melville HS, East Setauket

Carmine Franzese, Patchogue-Medford HS

Wind Ensemble

Kai Basseches, Pierson HS, Sag Harbor

Jolene Cao, Smithtown HS East

Ella Tantillo, East Islip HS

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.