It began in 1980 as a simple presentation to honor the top students of Weehawken High School, to recognize the members of the school’s National Honor Society. “At first, it was just coffee and cake,” said Carol Malsch, a long-time English teacher at the school and the advisor for the National Honor Society, last week. “It was just a little thing to honor the students. Nothing fancy or elaborate.” Twenty years later, the Weehawken High School Academic Awards night, held on Friday night at Schuetzen Park in North Bergen, has become an event that many people anticipate for months – and obviously, many people attend. Hundreds come each year to see the proud array of students receive their awards for their respective classroom achievements and their extra-curricular activities. “We really have a very talented group of students in the school, and they work hard, so they deserve their day in the sun,” Malsch said. “This is our chance to recognize their academic achievements. They demonstrate what it takes to get good grades.” John Grossi, the president of the school’s National Honor Society, agrees. “It’s nice that we have this way to finish off the year, sort of reaping what we sow,” Grossi said. “It’s nice to be recognized, not just for work in the classroom, but the many different activities and clubs.” For example, Grossi and student Jennifer Canoura were slated to win drama awards for their work in the school plays. “You work hard for four years and there are some people who don’t realize what it is you do until you receive an award,” said senior Melissa Ortiz, who was the recipient of the computer technology award. “You take extra classes and get involved after school for a reason. It really feels good to receive recognition.” Robyn Kitto likes the camaraderie that comes from an awards presentation. “Everyone gets together to honor students who do well in academics,” Kitto said. “It’s not all about sports. There are pep rallies and awards functions for the sports teams. This is for the students.” Also, as part of the festivities, the school honored its latest inductee to the Weehawken High School Hall of Fame. This year’s honoree is Dr. Joseph Pasquale, Class of 1976, who is a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of California-San Diego. Pasquale has been on the faculty of UC-San Diego since 1987, after receiving his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his doctorate from the University of California-Berkeley. Pasquale’s area of expertise lies within the Internet. He does research and teaches courses on network and operating system software design. He has published more than 60 articles on this field and has served on several technical program committees. He recently received the prestigious Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation. He also serves as an Internet advisor for governmental agencies and private industry. Pasquale becomes the 17th inductee into the school’s Hall of Fame. The others are John Diebold (Class of ’43) in 1984; beer distributing baron Leo Van Munching (Class of ’44) in 1985; Larry McClure (Class of ’63) in 1986; Howard Wolf (Class of ’39) in 1987; Judge Theodore Botter (Class of ’41) in 1988; former Weehawken Mayor Stanley Iacono (Class of ’51) and Francis Pizzuta (Class of ’57) in 1989. Also: Bernard Baggs (Class of ’36) in 1990; famed author Cathy Cash Spellman (Class of ’59) in 1991; Barbara Murphy (Class of ’40) in 1992; Robert Leonard (Class of ’64) in 1993; David Dworkin (Class of ’51) in 1994; Janet Pray (Class of ’57) in 1995; Edward Feigenbaum (Class of ’53) in 1996; Nola Safro (Class of ’60) in 1997; Mehran Goulian (Class of ’47) in 1998; and Steven Massarsky (Class of ’66) in 1999. “We’re always happy to have an honoree for the Hall of Fame,” Malsch said. “But it’s special for me, because Joe was always one of my favorite students. We had a special relationship and it’s great to have him back. And I knew back then that he would be successful, because he was truly special. I used to go to all his tennis matches when he was in school. He tells me a story that he remembers, that he was late once and needed a ride to get to a match. And I was the one who drove him. But I don’t remember that.” Needless to say, both the Hall of Fame honoree – and the Academic Awards Night Dinner – have come a long way since their humble beginnings. q Academic Awards Night Winners Art – Jennifer Canoura Brown Book Award – Aurora Piacentino Business – Christopher Gohde Chess – Jack Yu Computer Technology – Melissa Ortiz Drafting – Katiria Gonzalez Drama – Jennifer Canoura and John Grossi English as a Second Language – Candy Melgar Future Homemakers of America – Barbara Casella Foreign Language – Gabriel Garcia and Marilyn Sori (French), Claudio Fernandez (Spanish), Martha Bialkowski (Latin) Home Economics – Carla Naya Industrial Arts – Alex Echanique Journalism – Martha Bialkowski, Melissa Ortiz Math League – Julissa Rodriguez (grades 9-12), Jorge Janampa (8th grade), Byron Sanchez (7th grade) Music – Dana Cipoletto, Caleb Ventura, Melissa Ortiz Resource Program – Sophie Solano (9-12), Pamela Mohamed (7-8) Science – Claudio Fernandez, Kelvin Caraballo, Angeli Leal, Aurora Piacentino and Rose Pereyra Social Science – Lydia Bazikian Video Editing – Percy Chang Senior Academic Award – Lydia Bazikian Eighth Grade – Jorge Janampa and Roseanne Facchini Seventh Grade – Leticia Cortes and Martha Frazier
Academic awards aplenty; Weehawken honors top students, inducts Pasquale into Hall of Fame
