Senior National Merit Scholars stand together after being recognised at the awards assembly on Friday. Beforehand, seniors rode through the busy streets towards Xavier on bikes, a unique senior tradition.
On Friday, April 28, senior Annie Dawson alongside other seniors were recognized during the schoolwide awards assembly for their outstanding roles in their respective academics and sports.
Seniors Annie Dawson, Isabella Leonard, Summer McCann, Sienna Cherwinski, and Sophie Stamatis were celebrated for their individual achievements and dedications to Xavier varsity sports.
Outside of athletics, the awards assembly also celebrated Xavier’s seniors and their involvement at Xavier by presenting a slideshow highlighting each individual. A few accomplishments on Dawson’s slideshow included being a National Merit Commended Scholar, an AP scholar with a Great Books diploma, and receiving the Magis and women’s golf scholarship at Creighton University.
Dawson, a multifaceted student-athlete, plans on attending Creighton University in the fall to play on the women’s golf team. “I am first a student and then an athlete,” said Dawson.
“I am confident that because of Xavier I will have success in my future collegiate endeavors,” says Dawson. “Xavier has helped me go above and beyond in preparing for my college golf career.”
Seniors with bikes is called the Tour de Xavier and it precedes the awards ceremony. Guided by Phoenix Police Department officers, seniors ride their bikes down Central Avenue onto Camelback Road, where they are then greeted at Xavier by faculty and staff. Although the event is an optional event, a majority of the senior class participated.
“Everyone came together to commemorate the seniors in their final high school days through one of the most iconic Xavier traditions,” commented senior and Executive Board historian Holland Carey.
Carey was awarded the Emily Ell Student Council Award for her devotion to the Executive Board. The award is dedicated to Emily Ell who was killed by a drunk driver after her senior prom in 1999.
Carey noted the “authentic support of each other in our school community and celebrating the student body as a whole.”
