Book Awards for High School Juniors

Since 1989, the Cornell Club of Washington has awarded books to D.C.-area high school student of high academic achievement who has demonstrated leadership in the area of community service.

Schools are invited to participate by nominating a member of the current junior class who has demonstrated the attributes of the award. The faculty of each school determines the recipient for their school. Several different criteria are used to select which high schools are invited. The award is used where Cornell has a strong presence and wants to foster that relationship. Alternatively, it is used where a drop in interest has occurred and the Club wants to rebuild its identity at the school. The book award has been used at new high schools to help establish a Cornell presence.

High schools participating in recent years include

• District of Columbia: Benjamin Banneker, St. Albans, and Woodrow Wilson Senior
  
• Maryland: Bethesda-Chevy Chase, The Holton-Arms, Walter Johnson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Laurel, Winston Churchill, Richard Montgomery, Thomas S. Wooten, and Montgomery Blair
• Virginia: T. C. Williams, Lake Braddock, Centreville, W. T. Woodson, Langley, McLean, Osbourn Park, and West Springfield.

The book awarded to each student is The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr., and E. B. White, fourth edition. A certificate is presented, suitable for framing, and a bookplate is given. CAAAN members are encouraged to present the awards at the schools’ award celebrations, typically in the spring.

More than 240 books have been awarded in the 15 years the program has been active. William Newell, ALS ’68, has served as Chair for the past 14 years. If you wish to recommend additional schools or are interested in participating in presenting the awards, please contact William Newell at wfn2@cornell.edu.