Freehold AAUW honors high school achievers

Freehold AAUW honors
high school achievers


AAUW scholarship co-chairwoman Denise Cole (l) joins scholarship winners (l-r) Elena Hassan, Lauren Siciliano, Rebecca Silberberg, Marion Protano, Van Vo and Sonia Tewani.AAUW scholarship co-chairwoman Denise Cole (l) joins scholarship winners (l-r) Elena Hassan, Lauren Siciliano, Rebecca Silberberg, Marion Protano, Van Vo and Sonia Tewani.

The Freehold Area Branch of the American Association of University Women finds much to admire in the senior girls they honor each year who have the highest averages in their high school class in the six Freehold Regional High School District schools. Framed certificates and monetary awards were given at a recent branch meeting. Denise Cole, scholarship co-chairwoman, and Joan Carroll, branch president, made the presentations. In addition to their impressive academic records, the girls were active in service programs in their schools and the community.

Marion Protano of Colts Neck High School was president of the National Honor Society this year. Captain of her softball and field hockey teams, she received a variety of athletic awards. In 2000 she won the Monmouth-Ocean Mathematics Achievement Award. Principal violist for three years in the Freehold Regional High School District Orchestra, she received the Shakespeare Competition Drama Award. She will attend Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., with a double major in biology and English.

Elena Hassan was in the Humanities Learning Center program at Howell High School. She served as editor-in-chief of the literary magazine, The Laureate. Elena was a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society. She was inducted into her school’s 800 Club for a perfect score on the SAT II writing exam. She served as vice president of the Manalapan chapter of B’nai B’rith Youth Organization and tutored children in an after-school program in Freehold. She looks forward to attending the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Lauren Siciliano was enrolled in the International Studies Learning Center at Freehold Township High School. A member of the varsity tennis team for four years, she played first singles from 1998-2000 and served as this year’s co-captain. Vice president of the forensics team, she was the New Jersey Forensics League domestic extemporaneous speaking state champion in 1999 and 2001 and took second place in the nation at the recent National Forensics League championships in Oklahoma City. She was selected to attend the Governor’s School on the Environment and twice was the recipient of the Governor’s Award in Arts Education. She will attend Princeton University.

Rebecca Silberberg brought her athletic interests to Manalapan High School. She was captain of her soccer and track teams. Other extracurricular school activities were SAVE, an environmental club; Israeli Club; Health Career Club; and ADAPT. She anticipates attending Columbia University, New York.

Sonia Tewani was in the Medical Sciences Learning Center at Freehold Borough High School. There she captained the science, math and computer teams. She participated in Junior States of America and was co-captain of the varsity tennis team. She was selected to attend the Governor’s School in the Sciences. A member of the National Honor Society, she also received awards from the State Science League, American Computer Science League, and American Chemical Society. She is enrolled in a medical program at Boston University and hopes someday to volunteer with Doctors Without Borders.

Van Vo, the award recipient from Marlboro High School, came to the United States from Vietnam in 1992. She has mentored and tutored students in English as a second language. She also tutors in math and has worked with the disabled and the elderly. She has won awards in Spanish and was a member of the National Honor Society and Key Club International. She will study computer science at Rutgers University or the University of Texas-Austin.

The funds for this year’s senior girls were made possible by a donation from Rose Fishkin, a longtime member of AAUW. Rose Fishkin was active in the Freehold Area Branch in recent years until her death in 2000. She left money in her will to the branch, and from her donation came the funds for this year’s senior girls in her memory.

Membership in AAUW is open to graduates of four-year colleges and is not limited by geography. For information about branch activities, call Barbara Skerry, (732) 462-6308, or Maizie Frenkiel, (732) 446-7992.