Local Alumni Recognize Outstanding Students

The Harvard Club of Northern Nevada and the Sierra recently hosted a reception recognizing the accomplishments of three outstanding high school juniors and welcoming four new admits to Harvard College.

Harvard alumni held the annual Prize Book ceremony at Montreux Golf and Country Club on April 15, 2014.  The Harvard Prize Book award was first issued in 1910, to inform talented young people of the educational opportunities in Cambridge, MA.  Over time, alumni groups worldwide began recognizing extraordinary students in the next-to-graduating class.  Award winners display:

  • Excellence in scholarship
  • High character, and
  • Accomplishment in other areas

Invitations were sent to more than 20 schools throughout northern Nevada and the Sierra, encouraging faculty to nominate their best students.  The Prize Book committee reviewed all applications received and selected three individuals to receive the award.

2014 Harvard Prize Book winners

Grace Hong—The Davidson Academy
Shreeya Joshee—Robert McQueen High School
Stephen Osborne, II—Bishop Manogue Catholic High School

“Last year Jake Hummer, a new admit to Harvard College, had not considered applying to Harvard until he won the Prize Book award in his junior year,” observed Jacqueline Leppla, president of the Harvard Club of Northern Nevada and the Sierra.  “Again this year, one of Harvard’s new admits (Rebecca Bauer) was a Prize Book winner last year.”

At the Prize Book ceremony, Leppla introduced the winners to the local Harvard community, highlighted their accomplishments, read excerpts from their faculty recommendations and essays, and awarded each student a book.  This year’s volume was The Harvard Book, by William Bentinck-Smith, featuring passages and quotes about Harvard.

In addition to celebrating this year’s Prize Book winners, local Harvard alumni welcomed four new admits to Harvard College’s class of 2018.  Mary Burnham, chair of Northern Nevada’s Schools Committee, introduced each student and shared a summary of their background and achievements.

New Harvard admits

Rebecca Bauer—The Davidson Academy
Christopher Huh—The Davidson Academy
Pieter Weemas—Sugar Bowl Academy
Hadley Weiss—The Davidson Academy

Burnham presented each new admit with a book entitled, Harvard A-Z, by John Bethell, et al., containing essays about Harvard University.

Ray Sidney, Harvard College class of 1991, was the evening’s featured speaker.  Sidney, one of Google’s first software engineers, shared recollections of his experience as a Harvard undergraduate and the impact Harvard had on his career.
This event was possible, in part, because of the generous support of local Harvard alumni and the club’s donors:

  • City National Bank
  • David Leppla, MD,  of Sierra Neurosurgery Group
  • Muckel Anderson CPAs
  • Guild, Russell, Gallagher and Fuller

Alumni met with students after the formal presentations to answer questions about Harvard.