55 Rhode Island Students Awarded Pell Medal for Excellence in U.S. History
NEWPORT, R.I. — Fifty-five students from across Rhode Island have earned the Herbert and Claiborne Pell Medal for U.S. History this year. Originally presented by Senator Claiborne Pell and his wife Nuala Pell, the award recognizes college and high school students in the state who have excelled in U.S. History.
Established by the Pell family, the Pell Medal is named for Representative Herbert C. Pell and his son, Senator Claiborne Pell. Herbert Pell served as a member of Congress and American Minister to Portugal and Hungary, while Claiborne Pell, who is responsible for the creation of the Pell Grants and the National Endowment for the Humanities, served in the Senate for 36 years and worked to strengthen American foreign policy. The medal, which features a pelican on the left side and an anchor on the right, symbolizes the Pell family and the state of Rhode Island. The Pell Center at Salve Regina University is proud to honor outstanding students of American history in Rhode Island.
The recipients of the 2023 Herbert and Claiborne Pell Medal for excellence in the study of U.S. History are:
Barrington
Justus Anderson, St. Andrew’s School
Sonya Pareek, Barrington High School
Bristol
Edda Petrillo, Mt. Hope High School
Central Falls
Jayden Lynch, Central Falls High School
Coventry
Dylan Langton, Coventry High School
Cranston
Andy Wu, Cranston High School East
East Greenwich
Alicia Chen, East Greenwich High School
East Providence
Gayatri Buchta, East Providence High School
Kate DiPardo, Providence Country Day School
Harrisville
Olivia Fullam, Burrillville High School
Johnston
Charles Curci, Johnston Senior High School
Kingston
Clare Tyler, University of Rhode Island
Lincoln
Kamil Naqvi, Lincoln High School
Taina Marginy, William M. Davies Jr. Career and Technical High School
Middletown
Kelsey Welby, Middletown High School
Scituate
Rachel Kelman, Ponaganset High School
Narragansett
Veronica Sabatino, Narragansett High School
Newport
Delaney Gouveia, Rogers High School
Lindsey Smith, Salve Regina University
North Kingstown
Sydney Howell, North Kingstown High School
North Providence
Nicolas Upegui, North Providence High School
North Scituate
Ethan Lightfoot, Scituate High School
North Smithfield
Monica Budzyna, North Smithfield High School
Pawtucket
Mary Adeniyi, Blackstone Academy Charter School
Adam Budnick, William E. Tolman High School
Zachary Pinto, Shea High School
Portsmouth
Joseph Murphy, Portsmouth High School
Providence
Jessica Perkins, Rhode Island School of Design
Zoe Zimmermann, Brown University
Fernando Vargas, Central High School
Natasha Connolly, Classical High School
Dario DiMascio, La Salle Academy
Francesca Selvaggio, Lincoln School
Darius Lenus, Paul Cuffee Upper School
Megan White, Providence College
Brianna Hutchins, Rhode Island College
Naomi Awad, School One
Ella Kulper, The Wheeler School
Riverside
Ciara Mercado-Alvarez, St. Mary Academy Bay View
South Kingstown
William Gates, South Kingstown High School
Smithfield
Reed Bryant, Bryant University
Dylan Campanini, Smithfield High School
Tiverton
Jacqueline Delcourt, Tiverton High School
Wakefield
Meredith Wanta, The Prout School
Warwick
Daniel D’Alessio, Bishop Hendricken High School
Margaret Quillin, Community College of Rhode Island
Hannah Smith, Pilgrim High School
Cameron Wirtz, Toll Gate High School
West Greenwich
Brielle Bamberry, Exeter-West Greenwich Regional High School
West Warwick
Sebastian Rosa, West Warwick High School
Westerly
Dominic Lombard, Westerly High School
Wood River Junction
Erin von Housen, Chariho High School
Woonsocket
Ezra Cisse, Beacon Charter High School for the Arts
Matthew Zinno, Mount Saint Charles Academy
Claire Richard, Woonsocket High School