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Home Page > News Events > SIA In The News : Recent News Story Details
NEWS & EVENTS: SIA IN THE NEWS STORY DETAILS
Staten Island Academy June 3, 2004 – The Staten Island Academy Class of 2004 will graduate during the school’s 116th Commencement exercises on Friday June 11, at 10:00 AM on the school’s Todt Hill campus. Head of School Diane J. Hulse will officiate at the ceremony. Commencement Weissman is a distinguished member of the Academy community. He currently serves as the Director of Choral and Theatrical Activities and has been at the Academy since the fall of 1990. Weissman earned his BA in Music and Theatre at Muhlenberg College, and his MM at Illinois State University. Weissman will also be directing the musical selections at the ceremony. He was recently chosen by Head of School Hulse to receive a summer professional development grant. He will travel to London, England to study Shakespearean staging, in July. The Class of 2004 chose four classmates— Allyson Abrams, Vikram Rao, Stephen Andrew Richter, and Bharath Sithian —to present speeches during the ceremony. Swami Shantananda of the Chinmaya Mission in Cranberry, New Jersey will give the Invocation. To fully represent the myriad faiths and ethnicities within the Academy community, each year the school chooses a prominent religious leader from a different faith to deliver the Invocation. Head of School Hulse and the President of the Academy’s Board of Trustees, John J. Fafian ’83, will present the school’s diplomas to the members of the graduating class. “The Class of 2004 represents the spirit and the diversity of the cademy. They are excellent athletes, impressive artists, accomplished student scholars and a particularly spirited class. It is an honor to watch them graduate,” said Head of School Hulse. The Staten Island Academy Middle & Upper School Orchestras and the Sweet Harmony singing ensemble will provide musical interludes during the ceremony. The Upper School singing ensemble, Something Musical, will sing the National Anthem, led by keynote speaker Mark Weissman. Major Staten Island Academy Awards A special award—the Richard S. Wolter Award—will also be awarded during the commencement to the Academy faculty member who “embodies the highest qualities of sensitivity, compassion and supportof students while exhibiting an infectious sense of humor.” The award is given annually by vote of the Academy faculty. Class of 2004 The atypical Class of 2004 includes only ten female students, compared to 27 males. The Academy ladies have distinguished themselves as exceptional students, athletes, performers and leaders. Four are members of the National Honor Society. Allyson Abrams serves as Senior Class President. An astounding 43% of the graduating class are Staten Island Academy “lifers.” This group of sixteen graduating seniors has been with the Academy since the first grade. This year’s senior class excelled in academics, athletics, the arts and community service. The Class of 2004 leaves the Academy having set a remarkable academic standard for future classes. An extraordinary 38% of the graduates are members of the National Honor Society. In late May, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) named graduating senior Tse-Hwei Jonathan Choo, a National Merit Finalist. Nearly one-third of the graduating class has maintained a four-year cumulative grade point average (GPA) of “A.” The Academy traditionally graduates less than a quarter of its seniors with such exceptional academic standing. In addition, graduating senior Matthew Sawh has taken a total of eight Advanced Placement examinations, half of which he took independent of his already rigorous academic schedule. The list of colleges and universities that accepted members of the Academy Class of 2004 is impressive, including such premiere institutions as Brown, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Yale, and the University of Chicago. [A complete list of college acceptances is attached.] A contingent of Staten Island Academy seniors traveled to the University of Pennsylvania during the winter to participate in the four-day Model United Nations program, where they represented the nations of Indonesia, Romania and Tunisia. Sixteen seniors attended the conference, leading a delegation of 35 Academy students. The Academy values the importance of giving back and helping those in need. The Class of 2004 led the school in helping others through the Student Organization for Service (SOS). Seniors organized the Academy’s annual Thanksgiving Food Drive, collecting enough dried and canned food to produce over ten holiday baskets, each including a full turkey dinner, given to needy Staten Island families under the guidance of the Visiting Nurses Association and Project Hospitality. In November, SOS co-sponsored the “hair-raising,” and now annual, Locks of Love event with Avanti Salon to gather hair to make wigs for children with hair loss. In addition, SOS organized the Letters to Santa program, Soup Kitchen Service program, Baby Goods Drive, and Home Alone Program with the American Red Cross. In total, the 37 member graduating class logged over 135 community service hours during the year, and hundreds more as each graduating senior completed a two-week senior service internship in May and June. Senior Gracierose DiBiasi will be honored with the South Shore Rotary Club Service Award this month. The Class of 2004 served as role models for the entire Academy community. Under the leadership of Student Advisory Council (SAC) President Bharath Sithian and Senior Class President Allyson Abrams, the senior class organized school spirit events including the annual SAC Day, which included games, karaoke and a movie viewing for the Upper School, and led Upper School assemblies. Seniors presided over various school committees that addressed issues such as dress code, honor and character in the school community, and planned a Senior Barbeque. Class officers for 2003-2004 include Sithian, Abrams, as well as Student Advisory Council Vice-President Vikram Rao, and Senior Class Representatives Shaan Saeed Khawaja, and Alben Lajka. The hard-working seniors also held leadership positions on the staffs of the Academy’s school newspaper, The Quill, the school’s yearbook, Academia 2004, and the school’s literary magazine, Images. The Class of 2004 continued the school’s extraordinary athletic legacy. The Boys Tennis Team won its ninth straight championship in the Staten Island High School’s League, now tied with Farrell High School for the island record. In addition, senior Garrett William Carpenter shot a 72 (par 71) to win the low medalist award at the New York State Association of Independent Schools Athletic League’s annual championship held at the International Course of the Concord Hotel in Monticello, NY on Sunday, May 23, 2004. Graduating senior and star pitcher Stephen Andrew Richter was recently named Most Valuable Player in the Alliance League, and will represent Staten Island Academy as the starting pitcher in the league’s senior game. Richter broke the school’s long-held strike-out record this year, with 224 strike-outs against 60 walks. The record has been held since 1964 by Academy graduate and faculty member, M. Peter Rapp. An impressive 16% of the graduating class will go on to play Division I, II, and III athletics in college. These six extraordinary student-athletes were actively recruited by colleges and universities this year, and all plan on continuing their athletic careers in college. Stephen Andrew Richter will play Division I baseball for Princeton University. Garrett William Carpenter will play Division I golf for Rutgers University. Anuj Malhotra will play Division I tennis for Villanova University. Christine Pamela Tsamados will play Division II lacrosse for St. Andrew’s Presbyterian College. Bharath Sithian will play Division III tennis for University of Chicago. Vikram Rao will play Division III tennis for Drew University. Over half of the Class of 2004 participated in the fine and performing arts programs during their time at the Academy. This year, they starred on the stage in featured roles and were the technical staff in “Into the Woods,” “An Evening of One Acts,” and the bold fall production of “The Laramie Project.” Many have been performing since Lower School. Seniors also shared their vocal and orchestral talents at the school’s fall and spring concerts. In addition, graduating senior Nancy Song recently played piano at a special presentation at Lincoln Center. Staten Island Academy educates students from age four through high school. It is located on a 12-acre campus composed of seven buildings, a gymnasium, two outdoor pools, athletic fields, computer facilities, and tennis courts. ##
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