Students from Western Suffolk BOCES programs were honored by the Board of Education at its annual Recognition of Outstanding Students event, which was held in conjunction with the May board meeting.
Students were selected for recognition by their teachers and administrators, who took turns at the podium to talk about the honorees’ accomplishments.
The honored students were:
- John Cronin of Huntington, who received the Wilson Tech Huntington Outstanding Student Award for his performance in the Retail/Customer Service class and has an online retail business with his dad, through which he combines his education with his passion for socks and his social consciousness;
- Matthew D’Angelo of Northport, who attends Brennan High School and received the David Kidane Jr. Memorial Scholarship award for his academics and compassion for others;
- Matthew Garcett of Smithtown, who is a first-year student in Wilson Tech’s Culinary Arts program and earned a First Place finish in the Restaurant Service competition at the New York State SkillsUSA contest;
- Alex Giglio of Half Hollow Hills who attends the Marine and Motor Sports program at Manor Plains High School and received the Association of Long Island Vocational Educators (ALIVE) Award for achievement;
- Zoe Klein of Kings Park, who was presented with the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence at Brennan Middle School for maintaining a grade point average above 90 and going out of her way to help others;
- Alex Obert-Thorn, who received the Wilson Tech Republic Outstanding Achievement Award and recently completed the Certified Personal Trainer program at the Republic Campus, passed the National Council on Strength and Fitness certification exam and is currently working in the field;
- Joseph Pasqualone of Smithtown, a second-year HVAC student at Wilson Tech, who finished first in Hydronic Heating at the State SkillsUSA competition and is a role model in the program, thanks to his professionalism and commitment;
- Anthony Sabino of Lindenhurst, a second-year student in the Digital Film and Video Production, who won First Place in the St. John the Baptist Film Festival for his music video and First Place for Music Video at the Locust Valley Film Festival, where his team also took Third Place in the Commercial and Movie Trailer categories;
- Joshua Shoulton of Commack who was presented with the Paul Loiacono Memorial Award for citizenship at James E. Allen Junior/Senior High School, where he has had a starring role in the annual musical productions for years and is known for being compassionate, hard-working and willing to help his fellow classmates;
- Jack Vaccaro, who is a first-year student in Wilson Tech’s Culinary Arts program and earned a First Place finish in the Food Preparation Assistant competition at the New York State SkillsUSA contest;
- Victoria Valenti, a Commack junior attending the Alternative Learning Center Program at West Babylon High School, who was honored for earning the SEPTA Council Executive Director Award in recognition of her honor roll average and peer respect.
