Our 2010 Award Recipients
This year Port Richmond High School Awards Assembly was held on Tuesday, June 8th. I had the pleasure of presenting our awards this year. We had received information about five student athletes, kids that definitely fit the criteria that we had put in place. The coaches keep a watchful eye and ear all year long, getting to know their team members quite well, well enough to know if they would be a candidate for Nick’s award.
Nick’s sister and brothers and myself reviewed all the information and unanimously decided that the 2010 awards would go to Guiliana Spinelli and Tony Curtis. The amount of the award to go to each of the recipients was $5,000.00 this year. Our involvement with the ING NYC Marathon as a Charity Partner since 2006 has given us the ability to afford to do this. We are hoping for an exemplary fundraiser this year in preparation for the 10th Anniversary of 9/11.
On Wednesday, June 16th I met with Guiliana and Tony. It has been a practice for a while now to meet with the recipients after the Awards Assembly. The kids know that they are receiving an award because they are invited to the assembly, however, they do not know which one. My meeting with them before then would spoil the element of surprise. Therefore, it is a necessity to wait.
It was such a pleasure meeting with them. They shared a bit with me, Guiliana more than Tony, he seemed a little shy. I would like to share a bit about each of this year’s recipients with you:
Guiliana Spinelli: While in Port Richmond, Guiliana was a member of the Volleyball Team. She took courses such as AP Physics, AP Calculus, and AP American Government. When asked, “What course in particular did you enjoy the most and why?” she answered, “I enjoyed my mathematics and physics classes the most because they helped me to discover my career path.” She aspires to be a Secondary Education Mathematics Teacher and High School Volleyball Coach. She plans on attending the University of Connecticut in the Fall of 2010, however while attending Port Richmond she received such accolades as Executive Chairperson of the National Honor Society, Student of the Month, Raider of the Month, Attendance Award, “Be a Champion Essay Winner” and Port Richmond Alumni Scholarship Award.
Tony Curtis: Tony was a member of the Football Team while attending Port Richmond. As stated above, Tony seemed quiet, reserved and a little shy. Tony took courses such as AP Physics, Math, English, and Social Studies. He did claim that he enjoyed Economics the most because he actually got to understand the value of money and was fascinated by all the different ways one could make money aside from what could be made from a chosen career. A little vague at this point about a chosen career path, he claims that he hopes for success in the career he does come to choose. He knows for sure though that he wants to be a good role model for teenagers like himself who had to grow up without a father. He will be attending St. Johns University on Staten Island in the fall. The curriculum he will be taking is Liberal Arts and Criminal Justice. While at Port Richmond he earned accolades such as City Council Citation 2008, PSAL Championships, Deborah Ciacciarelli Memorial Scholarship, and The S.I. Fuggazzi Football Award