The 2023 Senior Awards were held on May 2, 2023, in the new auxiliary gymnasium at Firelands High School.
Ms. Keener (FHS Principal) welcomed everyone in attendance and stated, “This is one of my favorite events of the school year as we recognize the seniors who have made great accomplishments over the course of their high school career. Students, I congratulate each and every one of you who are receiving an award today.” Principal Keener then had the honor of distributing the following academic excellence awards.
Recognition for Academic Excellence
Cum Laude (3.5-3.749 GPA) Black Stoles
Magna Cum Laude (3.75-3.999 GPA) Silver Stoles
Summa Cum Laude (4.0+ GPA) Gold Stoles
Cum Laude
Zachary Crawford, Isobel Pruitt, Adrianna Buchanan, Conner Rogers, Zoe Gifford, Silas Skvor, Samuel Herchler, Mayce Stanley, John Kovach, Macey Taddeo, Austin Latham, and Lauren Valerius
Magna Cum Laude
Colin Adams, Thomas Ives, Lee Barnett, Richard Jandrew, Ethan Boggs, Lesia Leskovska, Chancellor Chenoweth, Paige McCully, Graham Deshuk, Benjamin McKee, Ty Griebe, Lauren Soltis, Olivia Hammond, and Hailey Toledo
Summa Cum Laude
Sylvia Cogar, Olivia McGrath, Lydia Dougan, Amber Orlandi, Joseph Formholz, Cohen Overstreet, Zadie Grude, Isabella Simmons, Cassidy Gunter, Cooper Smith, Ashley Johnson, Gabbrialla Smith, Kalei Houston, Kate Thompson, Savannah Leverknight, and James Yorko
Senior Awards
The following awards were distributed next:
| Scholarship | Recipient |
| *LCCC Trustee & Presidential | 31 Trustee and 13 Presidential |
| Amherst Rotary | Kalei Houston |
| FEA Memorial | Sylvia Cogar |
| Franklin B. Walter | Isabella Simmons |
| Brownhelm Historical Scholarship | Joel Polen |
| **Ryan Walker Memorial, Forever Falcon | Ethan Boggs, Joel Polen, and Isabella Simmons |
| Michelle Brand Memorial | Sylvia Cogar |
| Firelands Athletic Booster | Ty Griebe |
*LCCC Trustee and Presidential Scholarship Winners:
Presidential Scholarship: Adrianna Buchanan, Zachary Crawford, Zoe Gifford, Samuel Herchler, Austin Latham, Angelleah Pena, Isobel Pruitt, Conner Rogers, Olivia Selent, Silas Skvor, Mayce Stanley, Macey Taddeo, and Lauren Valerius
Trustee Scholarship: Colin Adams, Lee Barnett, Ethan Boggs, Chancellor Chenoweth, Sylvia Cogar, Graham Deshuk, Lydia Dougan, Joseph Formholtz, Ty Griebe, Zadie Grude, Cassidy Gunter, Olivia Hammond, Kalei Houston, Thomas Ives, Richard Jandrew, Ashley Johnson, Austin Latham, Lesia Leskovska, Savannah Leverknight, Paige McCully, Olivia McGrath, Benjamin McKee, Amber Orlandi, Cohen Overstreet, Isabella Simmons, Cooper Smith, Gabbrialla Smith, Lauren Soltis, Kate Thompson, Hailey Toledo and James Yorko
Endowment and Memorial Scholarships
The Firelands Endowment Fund is supported by the Community Foundation of Lorain County. The local endowment trustees are able to award as much as 5.5% of the market value of each account, annually. To learn more about our endowment and how you can contribute, click here.
| Scholarship | Recipient |
| Bechtel Family | Mary Dempsey |
| Susan Beecheler | Ty Griebe |
| Debbie Cook Fine Arts | Lesia Leskovska |
| Jim Solomon | Conner Rogers |
| Cameron Greene | Isabella Simmons |
| John & Ethel Lupe Memorial | Sylvia Cogar |
| South Amherst Rotary | Ethan Boggs |
| Marilyn Immler Memorial Scholarship | Macey Taddeo |
| John W. Hostetler | Olivia Hammond |
| Ortner Family FFA Scholarship | Matthew Schnell |
| H.A. Born Scholarship | Olivia McGrath |
| Firelands Community | Lydia Dougan, Holden Harker, Lauren Soltis, & Amber Orlandi |
| Milad & Fanny Abraham | Olivia McGrath, Joel Polen, Isabella Simmons, Zoe Gifford & Cohen Overstreet |
| Traci Johnston Lighthouse Scholarship | Austin Latham |
| Mr. Muth Memorial Scholarship | Isabella Simmons |
To date, The Firelands Endowment Trustees distributed 450 grants totaling over $500,000 and 325 scholarships totaling over $360,000!
**This was the first year for the DRW Ryan Walker Forever Falcon Scholarship. Channel 5 covered the Walker Family Scholarship~a scholarship named after Ryan Walker, a FHS Class of 2020 graduate. Ryan’s life was tragically taken by a drunk driver in September of last year.
Ryan’s family organized fundraisers in order to provide 3 seniors with Forever Falcon scholarships. They said, “we’re proud to be honoring students for their dedication to success and for allowing Ryan’s legacy to be part of your road to success.”
Congratulations to the following Forever Falcon scholarship recipients: Joel Polen, Isabella Simmons, and Ethan Boggs.
You can watch the segment from Channel 5 here: https://www.news5cleveland.com/…/scholarship-honors…
Donations are being accepted to further enhance the DRW Forever Falcon Scholarships. If you are interested in donating, please contact Belinda Walker at BVWALKER003@gmail.com or Eduardo Santos at EddieSantos2324@gmail.com.
Mrs. Horton, FHS Counselor, was in charge of the Senior Awards Ceremony. She stated, “this was an exciting night for me as this is my first graduating class in my time here at Firelands. This evening is always a momentous occasion for the graduating seniors who have worked tirelessly throughout their high school career to achieve excellence. To see the family’s celebration and pride as their students were honored for their outstanding achievements makes us equally as proud because we are all truly a family here at Firelands.
The Senior Awards Night is a significant event for our high school seniors, as it provides an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the hard work, dedication, and commitment of the graduating seniors. The awards and scholarships that were presented on this night are a testament to the students’ academic success and demonstrate the importance of hard work and perseverance. The Senior Awards Night is a fitting tribute to the achievements of our seniors and will undoubtedly inspire future generations of students to shoot for the stars and achieve their goals!”
Thank you to these additional scholarship presenters: Ms. Jordan Armstrong, Mr. Michael Von Gunten, Mrs. Kellsey Horton, Mr. Eddie Santos and Ms. Rebekah Savage, Mrs. Becky Kovach, Dr. Diane Zimmer, Mrs. Kristi Palmer, Mr. Dan Pycraft, Mrs. Debbie Van Cooney, and Mr. Nate Hartsel.
Further awards are expected to be presented at the Senior Breakfast in May. We once again extend our gratitude to the individuals and organizations that have chosen to support our students through the funding of these scholarships. Your time and financial contributions are greatly appreciated.
Firelands Local Schools Blog 
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