March 20 marked the Outstanding Senior Leader Awards for six individuals with incredible ambition and a desire to make a difference in the course of their high school career. On this special night, these six winners were presented with a token of appreciation from PPCHS to honor the work they have relentlessly gifted to their school and community. These outstanding seniors were Anaya Andre, Amogh Baranwal, Gavin Poore, Valerie Questell, Shivraj Singh, and Kara Warren.
As formally dressed families and teachers arrived at the cafeteria, they were offered a selection of foods and refreshments to eat and enjoy before the start of the event. Inside the senior square, six fancily decorated tables were placed for each winner’s family and sponsor to sit in.
In front of the room, a TV screen began playing videos dedicated to each winner from their sponsor and their fellow peers. The videos were filled with reminiscent memories of the winners throughout high school and the inspiring impact they had.
SGA advisor, Ms. Alongi, went up to the podium to welcome the families and teachers who gathered to celebrate their graduates. She then played one more special video by Principal Bayer, who was ill and couldn’t make it to the ceremony. Mr. Bayer shared the background of his honorary creation known as the Senior Leader Awards. His goal was to create a more significant tradition for the PPCHS seniors who excelled in leadership and ambition to better their school.
This was the first time in Senior Leader history that a teacher delivered a speech to more than one student and the first time that six seniors were chosen instead of five. The winners had the opportunity to choose the sponsor that they wanted to be presented by in the event. Each sponsor shared a special speech about their student that was filled with reminiscent memories of the years they spent working together.
Chuckles filled the room as anecdotes were shared of the experiences that they had collected over the years. Accomplishments were listed to reveal the incredible successes that each student had achieved in the organizations they worked in. Cheers and applause bounced off the walls of the small room as each teacher walked off the podium having shared their heartfelt messages about the exceptional student they nominated for this award.
Winners, alongside their families and respective teachers, gathered in front of the balloon arch that stretched across the entrance of the red-lit room to capture pictures of the prestigious moment. Taking in all the glory of the night, these six seniors were delighted by the night planned by SGA.
Sophomore and co-committee head, Giana Marte, enthusiastically expresses, “I can’t feel more grateful about planning this event because there’s no one more deserving than the senior class this year. They’ve exceeded all expectations and all boundaries that have come their way and are more than deserving of this award.”
Final gratitudes from the winning seniors:
Anaya Andre presented by Mr. Jablonka
“I feel so excited to be here tonight! I remember when I was in SGA in sophomore year and I was a part of this committee. Planning this event and being here for the past two years is nothing compared to actually being a recipient of the award. It means so much that all of the hard work and dedication that not only I, but the rest of the winners have put into this, are finally recognized. I’m proud to be able to be standing next to the other recipients tonight, and I’m so grateful for everything that Charter has done for me. It truly means the world that I was able to get this award.”
Amough Baranwal presented by Ms. Ramos
“It’s an honor. It’s more of a privilege to be standing among my peers who are doing amazing, amazing things. I think when they were talking about how there were six leaders chosen this year it’s such a good testament to our class. Truly because my friends, who are the people that I’m standing up here with, are doing phenomenal things that are not only impacting our student body but the youth and community. We’re accepting this award on behalf of the teachers, the administration, and the city officials who are constantly guiding us, helping us, and making sure that we have all the resources that we need to have an impact.”
Gavin Poore presented by Ms. Schwab
“I feel very honored. I’ve had a lot of fun and I’ve worked very hard at Charter being here since kindergarten and being a Charter Starter. I’ve worked hard and I have had a lot of fun and made a lot of memories along the way. I’m really just happy to be here with some of my closest friends and my favorite teachers to appreciate this moment.”
Valerie Questell presented by Mr. Fagen
“I feel honored. I feel blessed. I feel just honestly amazing. I know the value that this award retains to PPCHS, so I’m really, truly honored to receive this award. And, of course, my presenter Mr. Fagen, and the best newspaper advisor in the history of advisors presented such an amazing speech for me. I’m so glad to be here.”
Shivraj Singh presented by Ms. Phelps
“I’m very thankful and very honored. I feel like all the teachers that are here and so much of the faculty are the reasons why I was able to achieve this award. It means a lot to me because I put in a lot of hard work. But this would also not have been possible without all the help that I got from all the other Senior Leaders, all the teachers who gave speeches, and the faculty. Another reason it feels so prestigious and nice is because of how much of a great job SGA did with setting it all up.”
Kara Warren presented by Ms. Alongi
“Anaya and I, being in SGA for 3 years now, have been organizing this event for the past two years and every single year we’ve been like, ‘That’s going be us!,’ ‘That’s gonna be us next year and next next year!’ And now it’s us and it’s like a full circle moment. I can’t even begin to express in words how much it means to finally be recognized like this.”
Humble conclusion
SGA Sponsor Ms. Alongi
“Honestly, Coralie and Giana get the majority of the credit for the event. Most of the vision was there, Mr. Bayer and I gave ideas and guided a little bit, but they followed through with everything with the rest of the class. It was a real honor for me that I taught all six of the winners this year. I got to know them really well, and it doesn’t surprise me even a little bit that any of them won this award. I was in awe of them already as juniors, so as seniors, they’ve just exceeded all of those accomplishments that I saw last year. So it’s fun to get to see it from the SGA advisor perspective, but also to then get to introduce a couple of them as well.”
These six seniors have left a long-lasting legacy at Pembroke Pines Charter High School. As they go on their separate journeys, they will continue to hold the title of being a Senior Leader and be remembered for representing a 24K class.
