Warburg honors courageous children
Stony Brook partner presents 44 awards for ‘courage’ essays
From left, Mark Putnam, Northeastern’s senior vice president
for administrative affairs, Mayor Thomas Menino, and program
trustees Stephanie Warburg and Penelope Savitz present medals
to the winning essayists. Photo by CRAIG BAILEY
The Max Warburg Courage Curriculum, a founding partner in Northeastern’s Stony Brook Initiative for community engagement, has presented 44 local children with awards as the culmination of its annual essay contest.
The winners, all sixth-graders, were named after they completed a yearlong language-arts program based on the value of courage, and submitted essays to be judged by a panel of community readers.
The Warburg organization, named for an 11-year-old Boston boy who died of leukemia in 1991, has for 17 years promoted character development and literacy skills among middle-schoolers. It began in the Boston public schools but has expanded to include pupils at several religious, charter and even suburban schools in the region.
After moving to Northeastern in 2006, the Warburg Courage Curriculum began a ninth-grade reading and writing program, in partnership with Northeastern’s School of Education.
“The key to the partnership is that we’re linking across educational levels,” said Mark Putnam, Northeastern’s senior vice president for executive affairs. “We’re also doing the kind of work that universities do very well — convening people to leverage resources and to help sustain great programs.”
This year’s essay-contest winners were honored at an awards banquet yesterday in Boston, hosted by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and School Superintendent Carol Johnson. Television journalist Carmen Fields, who had interviewed Max Warburg during his campaign for bone-marrow donors, emceed the luncheon at Boston’s Park Plaza.
Putnam joined Menino and Warburg trustees Stephanie Warburg and Penelope Savitz in presenting medals to the winners.
In addition, Northeastern has published a volume of the winners’ essays and photos.
This year’s winners are:
James Padula, Mary Lyon School; Roland Masse, Solomon Lewenberg Middle School; Richard Fu, Thomas Edison Middle School; Monique Rans, John McCormack Middle School; Tristin Mullen, Richard J. Murphy K-8 School; Alexandra Chertov, Patrick Lyndon Pilot School;
Shaquell Stevenson, Young Achievers Mathematics and Science Pilot School; Marco Tavares, William Barton Rogers Middle School; Taylah Paige, Patrick F. Gavin Middle School; Weigang Liang, Jackson Mann School; Shamyan Cutler, Henry Dearborn Middle School; Lilian Pineda, Mario Umana Middle School Academy;
Brianna Kase, St. Agnes School; Jacalyn Buchanan, William Barton Rogers Middle School; Anthony Brimage, McKinley South End Academy; Lucy Sergeant, Warren Prescott School; Rodney Perez, Maurice J. Tobin Middle School; Deanna Pettway, James P. Timilty Middle School; Caitlin Gallagher, St. Brendan School;
Slater Bode Ward, Rafael Hernandez School; Kaleigh Burns, Boston Collegiate Charter School; Ciboney Cope, George A. Lewis Middle School; Yusuf Abdelkader, Alhuda Academy; Kevin Zhu, Thomas Edison Middle School; Heather Siewert, James P. Timilty Middle School; Rasheed Walters, The Harbor School;
Michael Bobadilla, Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School; Evelyn Miller, Joyce Kilmer K-8; Troy Williams, Josiah Quincy Upper School; Luis Gonzales, Sarah Greenwood School; Christina Wong, Josiah Quincy Upper School; Trynace Guity, Young Achievers Mathematics and Science Pilot School;
Kelly Watson, St. Peter School; Andre Conway, Sarah Greenwood School; Della Cherry, Boston Renaissance Charter School; Melissa Bien-Aime, St. Columbkille School; Jalil Ahmad, Mildred Avenue Middle School; Isabel Espinosa, St. John School;
Fatma Berikaa, Al-Noor Academy; Brittany Milsap, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School; Corey Deltufo, Richard J. Murphy K-8 School; Isabel Alexander, Patrick Lyndon Pilot School; C.J. Burgess, Patrick F. Gavin Middle School; Sean Moynihan, St. Patrick School.