September 3, 2010, Portsmouth, NH – Attorney David Wolowitz of the McLane Law Firm recently presented six outstanding area high school students with the annual Harvard Prize Book Award on behalf of the Harvard-Radcliffe Club of New Hampshire.
The Prize Book is awarded to students in the junior class who combine excellence in scholarship, high character, and achievement in other fields. Students are nominated by their school’s administration.
This year’s winners are upcoming seniors Sage Makimi of Newmarket High School; Lauren Nevin of Portsmouth High School; Poornima Aggarwal of Oyster River High School; Megan Walcek of Dover High School; Ryan McGovern of Exeter High School; and Sarah Davidson of Nute High School. Each of the students received a copy of the book entitled, Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds.
About the Students:
Sage Mikami of Newmarket High School is the President of the National Honor Society, as well as the Vice President of the Student Council. She is a member of the school’s Math Team and French Club, and she participates in her local Youth Group. Sage received the University of Rochester’s George Eastman Young Leaders Award, was selected as Best All-Around Junior Girl, and was recognized for excellence in Advanced Placement chemistry, calculus and U.S. history. Sage trains year round for competitive gymnastics at the New Hampshire Academy of Artistic Gymnastics in North Hampton. This summer Sage also attended Granite Girls State.
Lauren Nevin of Portsmouth High School is an active member in her community. She is a year-round Varsity athlete in soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. She has also been on the Student Council for each high school year and was on the Executive Board last year. Lauren is a member of the National Honor Society and the Students for Students Mentoring Program that assists incoming freshmen and transfer students. Last summer, she enjoyed volunteering as a coach for the D.A.R.E. Girls Basketball League in Portsmouth and she also referees 5th grade basketball every winter. This summer, she attended the Advanced Studies Program at St. Paul’s School where she studied in The Quest.
Poornima Aggarwal of Oyster River High School is a member of the Spanish National Honor Society, her class senate, Varsity Math Team, Team Captain for Relay for Life, and President of the National Honor Society. She swims on the school Swim team as well as the local club team. She teaches Spanish to a class of Elementary School children as part of the World Language Club. She recently participated in an Entrepreneur competition and her team placed 3rd for their business idea and presentation, winning $2,000. She has been playing the piano for 9 years and enjoys reading and sailing. Poornima is currently spending her summer at an Internship at the UNH-IOL technology lab in Durham.
Megan Walcek of Dover High School has served as Class President her sophomore through upcoming senior year. She is a three-sport athlete at Dover, participating in Varsity volleyball, basketball and tennis. Last summer she was chosen as one of six New Hampshire students to represent the state at the National Federation of State High School’s Athletic Leadership Conference in Indianapolis, IN. Since then, Megan has been working closely with the group and the NHIAA planning events such as a state-wide sportsmanship video contest and “Sportsmanship Week” last February. She is taking what she learned from the conference and piloting Dover High School’s first Athletic Leadership Council for the 2010-2011 school year. She is a member of the National Honors Society, Spanish & Latin Honor Societies and Student Council. Megan received the “Overall Excellence” award in Honors English 11 this year as well as the “Excellence in AP Calculus” award. She participated in UNH’s Project SEARCH as a junior and served as treasurer of Student Council. She attended the St. Paul’s Advanced Studies Program in Concord this summer, studying Molecular Biology where she received Superior merit in the Writer’s Workshop supplement class.
Ryan MocGovern will return to of Exeter High School this fall as President of the National Honors Society for the Class of 2011. In the fall, Ryan runs Varsity Cross Country and he is a member of the tennis team in the spring. This summer Ryan attended Boys’ State at Rivier College and received a merit scholarship from the American Legion. In June he traveled to West Point for the Summer Leaders Seminar program. Ryan is a member of the YMCA Youth in Government program and he participates in Model UN. He enjoys hiking, camping, and boating.
Sarah Davidson of Nute High School is vice president of her class, a member of National Honor Society, and the secondary student representative to the school board. She is in the yearbook club, Friends of Rachel group, and interns for the High School Options committee. Last year she participated in UNH’s project search and this summer she spent her time at St. Paul’s School in the Advanced Studies Program as a studio arts student. For the past two summers she has volunteered at Camp Three Ponds, continuing this summer after ASP, and she also volunteers at the Cocheco Valley Humane Society on weekends. She enjoys volleyball and photography, and wants to go to school for political science. One day she hopes to join the Peace Corps and then work within the UN.
About the Award
The national Harvard Prize Book Award program encourages Harvard alumni to conduct outreach to their local schools, to give students who may consider applying to Harvard a local contact and role model.
David Wolowitz, a Director at the McLane Law Firm’s Portsmouth Office, was the first to introduce the program to Seacoast schools, where he has been honoring students for more than twenty years. More than 60 New Hampshire schools have had students honored with the award.
“This award recognizes students not just for their academic accomplishments, but for their acts of responsible citizenship and positive contributions to their communities,” comments David Wolowitz.
Rolf Goodwin, a fellow Director at McLane’s Manchester office and Harvard alumnus added, “Through this program we are interested in encouraging New Hampshire students to apply to Harvard. Many students are not aware of Harvard’s generous financial aid programs.”
Comprehensive information about Harvard admissions and financial aid may be found at http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu. The College website may be found at http://www.college.harvard.edu
About the McLane Law Firm
Founded in 1919, McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, Professional Association is the largest full-service law firm in the state of New Hampshire, with offices in Manchester, Concord and Portsmouth, as well as Woburn, Massachusetts. Driven by the firm’s depth of sophisticated legal expertise and an unwavering commitment to client service, McLane has built collaborative and lasting relationships with a broad spectrum of domestic and international clients. www.mclane.com