By Srishti Sawant

Last Thursday, April 16, Innovation Academy (IA) hosted its Annual Evening of Excellence (EoE) to recognize student achievement across academics, leadership, and extracurricular involvement. Students, families, and faculty filled the venue to celebrate a year of hard work and dedication. The program honored a wide range of accomplishments, from academic recognitions to scholarship awards, highlighting the impact students have made both inside and outside the classroom.

Recipient of the Harvard Book Award, Rebanto Nath [11] says,

“It felt refreshing to see what I could achieve after trying my best with my academics and extracurriculars for the past year. It was also nice to see a lot of my peers getting recognized for their efforts in their classes.” – Rebanto Nath [11]

His reflection captures the sense of pride and recognition many students experienced throughout the evening.

Georgia Certificate of Merit recipient Vaishnavi Telakapalli [11] adds on,

“The evening of excellence felt like a wonderful experience where I could could up on stage along with my friends and peers.” – Vaishnavi Telakapalli [11]

Her words highlight how the event brought students together and made the recognition more meaningful by sharing it with friends.

Last years Phi Beta Kappa Book Award recipient and current salutatorian Siddarth Suresh [12] reflects on his experience at the Evening of Excellence over the past few years,

“I really felt honored getting those awards at the evening of excellence, and I am so grateful for my time at IA.” – Siddarth Suresh [12]

His perspective reflects the gratitude many seniors feel as they look back on their time at IA and the milestones they reached along the way.

The Night of Excellence continues to serve as an important tradition at IA. The event not only celebrates achievement but also motivates students to keep striving for success in the future.

EoE Awards and Awardees List

Senior Awards

• Valedictorian: Audrey Sun
• Salutatorian: Siddarth Suresh
• Senior Spotlight: Gavin Kennedy
• Reach Scholar: Hannah Nguyen
• STAR Student: Siddarth Suresh
• STAR Teacher: Scott Robinson

Odyssey Awards

The Odyssey Award is one of Innovation Academy’s highest student honors, recognizing individuals in each grade level who best embody the IA Traits—Inquisitive, Collaborative, Creative, Analytical, Well-rounded, Empathetic, Flexible, and Driven. Nominated by their peers and selected by staff, these students represent the spirit and values of the IA community.

• 9th Grade: Alice Key / Dylan Patel
• 10th Grade: Aaron Beach
• 11th Grade: Safietou Dieye
• 12th Grade: Gavin Kennedy

PTSO Scholarship Awards

• Community Service: Colby Gallow
• Health Sciences: Anish Kelam
• Engineering: Lilian Vang
• Information Technology: Hannah Glaison

Outstanding Student Awards

The Outstanding Student Award recognizes one student from each department who exemplifies the heart and spirit of that academic area. These students embody Innovation Academy’s core values—Respect, Integrity, Self-motivation, and Empathy—through their passion, leadership, and consistent dedication to their learning community.

• Information Technology: Ian Russell
• Engineering: Alexey Pyekh
• Health Science: Kendal Bagley
• Social Studies: Eniola Famakinwa
• ELA: Sophia Barandiaran
• Math: Rohan Bangal
• Science: Brian Nguyen
• Research: Srishti Sawant

Engineering Scholar Awards

• GT Block (Engineering): Reagan Cochran
• Engineering Concepts: Arlene Sosa Almanzar
• Engineering Applications: Ethan Hemphill
• RDAPM: Sage McGill
• Mechatronics: MacKenzie Fourie

Health Science Scholar Awards

• GT Block (Health Science): Vanshika Agarwal
• Biotech Essentials: Bellamy Barr
• Essentials of HC: Emily Saurino
• EMR: Alex Feraghut
• Patient Care: Dhruvi Solanki
• Surg Tech: Sakina Chougle
• Biotech Applications: Sarah Zia
• Allied Health: Varsha Veerappan
• Biotech Research: Pratyusha Soni
• Pharmacy Operations and Fundamentals: Samriddhi Gusain
• Dual Enrollment A & P: Arpan Saha

IT Scholar Awards

• GT Block (IT): Brody Chilton-Hogston
• AP Comp. Sci. Principles: Aaryan Mali
• Foundations of AI: Ethan Wuerslin
• AP Comp. Sci. A: Brian Nguyen
• Game Design: Isabella Tuohy
• Intro to Cybersecurity: Matias Mendez Silva
• Advanced Cybersecurity: Daniel Manetin
• Embedded Computing: Sriya Karnik
• PGAS: Caroline Green

ELA Scholar Awards

• Literature & Composition 1 H: Barbara Kelly
• Literature & Composition 1: Dylan Patel
• Literature & Composition 2 H: Emily Saurino
• Literature & Composition 2: William Poyau
• 11th Literature: Alex Feraghat
• AP Language: Ishan Prabhu
• World Literature: Elise Novinski
• AP Literature: Tristan Nelms
• Dramatic Writing: Zayden Orenstein
• AP Seminar: Aparna Kapri
• Element 6: Anushka Sankaramaddi

Social Studies Scholar Awards

• AP Gov: Kearthi Ravikumar
• AP Human Geo: Angelina J. Soroka
• AP World History: Andrew Wu
• Economics: Dylan Patel
• Government: Allison Marie-Turner
• US History: Maximilian Peuss
• World History: William Poyau
• AP US History: Shaun Iyer
• AP Microeconomics: Medhya Sivaganesh
• AP Macroeconomics: Rebanto Nath
• AP Psychology: Mira (Kris) Bhatikar
• AP Art History: Ian Droessler Wilson

Math Scholar Awards

• Algebra C&C: Ashvika Mishra
• Geometry C&C: MacKenzie Fourie
• Geometry C&C: Honors Sidhanth Manivannan
• Advanced Algebra: Isabella Tuohy
• Advanced Algebra Honors: Rylan Oglesbee
• Advanced Mathematical Decision Making: Claire Parry
• Enhanced Advanced Algebra & AP Precalculus: Juann Abraham
• Precalculus: Gavin Wersland
• AP PreCalculus: Viraj Das
• Calculus: Nicolas Borjas
• AP Calculus AB: Manuel Soares
• AP Calculus BC: Ishan Prabhu
• AP Statistics: Tara Bagheri

Science Scholar Awards

• Biology: Chase Jenkins
• Honors Biology: Alexander Blake
• AP Biology: Melody Red
• Super-Biology: Shloka Nagappan
• Super-Chemistry: Varun Gadi
• Forensics: Sriya Karnik
• Honors Chemistry: Riannon Olson
• AP Chemistry: Aarnav Padigala
• Earth Systems: Maximilian Rittmueller
• AP Environmental Science: Zayden Orenstein
• AP Physics 1: Rebanto Nath
• Super-Physics: Brian Nguyen
• Physics: Charlotte Chon
• Organic Chemistry: Manashyu Gadia
• Astronomy: Sophie Mann
• AP Physics C: Hunter Cloutier

Pinnacle Project Scholar Awards

• AP Research: Ameera Quershi
• Honors Research: Kirill McQuillin
• Research: Terrell (Jackson) Hall

Electives Scholar Awards

• Beginning of Music Tech: Lauren Thomas
• Intermediate Music Tech: Tyler Nguyen
• AVTF: Lena Akber
• Journalism 1: Ian Russell
• Journalism 2: Jayden Hall
• Peer Facilitations: William Gibson
• Beacon Staff: Siddarth Suresh
• Yearbook: Noelle Yoseph
• Intro Art: Gracie Baldock
• Visual Composition: Prashantika Chand

GHP Finalists

• Tafadzwa Motsi: Mathematics
• Arshia Rampuria: Mathematics
• Ishan Prabhu: Mathematics
• Viraat Chauhan: Computer Science
• Varun Gadi: Mathematics
• Sophia Barandiaran: Communicative Arts
• Timothy Ang: Mathematics
• Matthew Kingsly: Engineering
• Mary Allison Aylsworth: Communicative Arts
• Kavya Rajan: Science
• Rohan Bangal: Mathematics
• Rebanto Nath Computer Science

Book Awards

• Brandeis Book Award: Alexey Pyekh
  • The Brandeis Book Award should be given to an outstanding high school junior in the top 15 percent of the class who demonstrates a commitment to civic engagement, community service, political activism, social justice or volunteer work
• Brown Book Award: Eniola Famakinwa
  • The Brown Book Award honors the junior who best combines academic excellence with clarity in written and spoken expression. Language is the highest expression of our humanity; it defines what we ae and what we aspire to be.
• U Chicago Book Award: Aarnav Padigala
  • The award will represent the University of Chicago’s unique model for undergraduate education: Our undergraduate program is known for its emphasis on critical thinking and broad interdisciplinary exposure to the full range of intellectual discovery.
• Georgia Tech Book Award: Aarushi Dhawan
  • This honor is bestowed on a student with academic scholarship and leadership in congruence with Tech’s motto, “Progress and Service.”
• Harvard Book Award: Rebanto Nath
  • The recipient should be the most outstanding member of the junior class as measured by scholarship, character and achievement in other fields.
• Johns Hopkins Book Award: Shaun Iyer
  • The recipient of this award should have the following qualities: A demonstrated desire for intellectual and moral growth; an uncommon interest in, and capacity for, independent and original scholarship; the strength of character necessary to employ the results of their scholarship for the betterment of society
• Ohio State Book Award: Arjun Nair
  • Student who has excelled in advanced level science and mathematics courses. The winner should also exhibit positive character in and out of the classroom recognizable to peers, faculty, and the community.
• Phi Beta Kappa Book Award: Medhya Sivaganesh
  • The recipient should exemplify the highest level of academic, ethical, and social commitment.
• Smith College Book Award: Kavya Rajan
  • An outstanding young woman, currently in her junior year from your school who exemplifies the academic achievement, leadership qualities, and concern for others
• University of Virginia Jefferson Book Award: Sunwoo Jung
  • A student to best represent the Jeffersonian ideals of scholarship, leadership and citizenship Yale Brian Nguyen A student who demonstrates exceptional intellectual ability, academic motivation and accomplishments, and strong leadership skills outside of the classroom
• Yale Book Award: Brian Nguyen
  • Recognizes a student who demonstrates exceptional intellectual ability, academic drive, and leadership beyond the classroom. This award honors curiosity, resilience, and service.
• University of Rochester – Bausch and Lomb Book Award: Adithi Challa
  • High achievement and rigor in science and math classes and positive contributions to their school and within the larger community
• University of Rochester – Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award: Selina Meghji
  • “Demonstrated commitment to understanding and addressing difficult social issues; Leadership and dedication to community action; Strong grades and rigorous courses taken in the humanities and social sciences”
• University of Rochester – George Eastman Young Leaders Award: Leah Simmons
  • Strong leadership experience at school and in the community High grades and challenging courses Extensive involvement in extracurricular activities
• University of Rochester – Xerox Award for Innovation and Information Technology: Dhruvi Solanki
  • Strong interest in innovation and/or information technology and a high level of achievement in this area; Exposure to new technologies outside of school, such as pursuing serious work opportunities in local laboratories or industry; Leading other students to new approaches to old problems (e.g., business plans for fundraising, innovative community service, after-school activities, and best uses of internal communications tools such as chat and blogs)

UGA Certificate of Merit Awards

The UGA Certificate of Merit is awarded by the University of Georgia to high school juniors (Class of 2027) who rank in the top 10% of their class and have demonstrated strong academic achievement throughout high school. For the past 50 years, this prestigious recognition has honored students for their dedication to academic excellence and their potential for continued success in higher education.

Mary Aylsworth	Ryan Muro
Franco Borjas	Arjun Nair
Jaya Chacko	Rebanto Nath
Adithi Challa	Brian Nguyen
Mary Copple-Goodman	Aarnav Padigala
Aarushi Dhawan	Mary Piper
Sreya Donthineni	Kavya Rajan
Iddan Dor	Srithan Rudrangi
Eniola Famakinwa	Sreyas Sabbani
Varun Gadi	Suryansh Sahitya
Syon Goel	Srishti Sawant
Shaun Iyer	Medhya Sivaganesh
Amaan Jabrani	Vihaan Srivastava
Sunwoo Jung	Netra Suraj-Meena
Madi Liu	Ahmed Syed
Selina Meghji	Vaishnavi Telakapalli
Sourish Yeturi