SUNY Orange announces Sojourner Truth Award winners

SUNY Orange recently announced that 661 students in grades six through 12 from Orange County middle and high schools won 2025 Sojourner Truth awards.

The Sojourner Truth awards recognize students nominated by school guidance counselors and principals for excellence in areas such as athletics, citizenship, creative arts, diversity, English language arts, foreign languages, perseverance, science, and technology. The program aims to promote education positively and inspire students to view college as a realistic and attainable goal.

For the past 35 years, Orange County Community College has honored the legacy of Sojourner Truth by celebrating the achievements of Orange County youth. This year’s awards ceremony took place on Friday, March 7 at 6 p.m. in the Physical Education Center on the Middletown campus.

Below is a list of local students and what they were recognized for.

Florida Union Free School District

S.S. Seward Institute: Carlos (CJ) Davila, Citizenship; Myles Dawydko, Citizenship; Kenneth DeLarm, Citizenship; Winter Garcia, Creative Arts; Isabella Ignaszewski, Perseverance/Effort; Ricardo Irineo Reyes, Perseverance/Effort; Lynnflor Lopez, Perseverance/Effort; Hannah Perez, Citizenship; Ernie Perlmutter, Citizenship; Sandra Sanchez Rojas, Diversity; Xiomara Taylor, Sciences; Vaneza Torres Valiente, Perseverance/Effort; Anali Vega, Foreign Languages; Lupita Velazquez Trinidad, Perseverance/Effort; Saniya Walker, English Language Arts; Chloe Williams, Mathematics; Wayne Williams, Technology; Jazmine Zapata, Citizenship.

Greenwood Lake Union Free School District

Greenwood Lake Middle School: Anastasia Barbadze, Athletics; Vaida Oathout, Perseverance/Effort.

Warwick Valley Central School District

Warwick Valley High School: Dania Barillas, Creative Arts; Brianna Bingham, Perseverance/Effort; Kayli Decker, Creative Arts; Holly Frischknecht, Foreign Languages; Bianca Grzesik, Creative Arts; Angel Gualan, Citizenship; Genesis Martinez, Creative Arts; Kadence Redner, Foreign Languages; Helena Stone, Creative Arts; Jaylen White, Creative Arts.

Warwick Valley Middle School: Bay Orr, Foreign Languages; Leo Pang, Foreign Languages.