Crossroads News

Crossroads Students Recognized for Outstanding Artistic and Academic Achievements

Over 60 Middle and Upper School students received awards from outside organizations. 
This year, over two dozen outside organizations—including arts foundations, publications and international competitions—recognized Crossroads students for their talent and achievement in visual arts, music, creative writing, language, community service and more. Students also achieved recognition for their academic endeavors outside of the classroom.

WRITING:

  • Eleventh grader Olivia Coletti was awarded a Silver Key for writing in the Scholastic Arts & Writing Competition.

  • Eleventh grader Avery Greenburg was honored with a Silver Key and Honorable Mentions for her writing in the Scholastic Arts & Writing Competition. Her writing was also selected for inclusion at Archer School’s Annual Literary Conference.

  • Ninth grader Anna Rosenblatt received a Silver Key in the personal essay and memoir category of the Scholastic Arts & Writing Competition for her memoir “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.”

DANCE:

  • Tenth grader Nadia Hofer was awarded a merit scholarship to dance and train at San Francisco Ballet this summer. She will reside at The Bowes Center, home of The San Francisco Conservatory of Music and San Francisco Ballet dance students.

VISUAL ARTS:

  • Ninth grader Zack Cheuk received a Gold Key in the Comic Art category in the Scholastic Arts & Writing Competition. He also received Honorable Mentions in the Digital Art, Painting and Drawing & Illustration categories. Zack was selected to attend the California State Summer School for the Arts and was also invited to participate in the prestigious year-long Ryman Arts program.

  • Eleventh grader Alex Golubchik received an Honorable Mention from the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers for his photograph “Freedom’s Flight.”

  • Eleventh grader Cary Slatkin received an Honorable Mention from the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers for his photograph “Long Nights.”

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math):

  • Seventh graders Aurelius Beard, King Johnson, Krishna Mitchell and Jordan Johnson were awarded second place in Flagway’s international math competition. Yemaya Chappell and Cayden Mathews, also in seventh grade, though unable to attend the competition, were also part of the team.

CLASSICAL MUSIC: 

  • Senior pianist Tyler Hernandez was accepted into the Oxana Yablonskaya Piano Institute-Los Angeles, where he had performed in fall of 2023.

  • Eighth grader Vivienne Shiao won first place at the Palisades Symphony Concerto Competition.

  • Tenth grader Elizabeth Hayden received second place in the American String Teachers Association Bowed Strings competition and advanced to the state championship.
     
  • Eighth grader Prince Wang received an Honorable Mention in the American String Teachers Association Bowed Strings competition.

  • Eighth grader Dominic An performed as a soloist with MUSE/IQUE at the Skirball Center and was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “The Last Repair Shop.”

  • Ninth grader Knox Reid received High Distinction honors for his Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Grade 7 practical. He also performed in the first round of the Bach Festival.
  • Tenth grader Lena Kim placed first in the Musical Arts Competition of Orange County. She also placed first in the MTAC Dozen Charitable Trust Fund Scholarship competition.

  • Tenth grader Lola Goetz advanced to round two of the Music Center’s Spotlight Awards. She received a Regional Honors Award at the 2024 Bach Festival and won the Westside Committee of the 2023 LA Philharmonic Scholarship Competition. In addition, Lola was selected to participate in the Sunset Chamberfest Young Composers Workshop; Juilliard's Summer Composition Program; the LA Philharmonic Young Composers Program; and Stanford’s Summer Jazz Workshop. 

MUSIC: 

  • Eleventh grader Brett Yokomoto was one of five nation-wide winners of the American Songwriters contest with School of Rock. He passed the MTAC test and achieved Certificate of Merit Level 6 for piano. In addition, he was invited to attend NYU’s Tisch Summer High School Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.

  • Eleventh grade guitarist Zachary Zwelling was a semifinalist in the American Songwriter Song contest. He won a Maestro Award and the Ovation Award at the Worldstrides Music Festival in New York City and was honored by Downbeat Magazine for Outstanding High School Performance in the pop/rock/blues category. Additionally, he received second-round placement in the 2024 Spotlight Jazz Awards. This summer, Zachary will be attending Stanford’s Jazz Workshop.

  • Eleventh grade saxophonist Nathan Petros was honored with the Maestro Award in the 2024 Worldstrides Music Festival in New York City. He was invited to attend UCLA’s Global Jazz Week and Stanford’s Summer Jazz Workshop, for which he also won a scholarship.

  • Tenth grader Ally Kozicki and eleventh grader Ben Shaheen were both named to the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Honor Jazz Bands by the Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association. Ally was also invited to participate in Stanford’s Jazz Workshop, which she will attend this summer.

  • Eleventh grader Jaq Adelman was offered a spot in the Grammy Museum’s Songwriter’s Workshop. He also received a 2024 Downbeat Magazine Award for Outstanding High School Performance in the pop/rock/blues category for his original compositions.

  • Tenth grader Austin Washington, 11th grader Oliver Raimi and ninth graders Kesh Puri, Leo Rao and Beckett Smith were invited to attend Berklee College of Music’s five-week Aspire Music Performance Intensive. Kesh was awarded a Merit Scholarship to attend the program.

  • Eighth grader Landon Hollman was named to the California All-State Honor Jazz Band. He was also named to the California Association of Independent Schools Honor Band alongside ninth graders Melese Light-Orr, Shiv Munjal, Rhys Grandy, Will Gershwin and eleventh grader Brij Munjal. Brij also was honored with second round placement in the 2024 Spotlight Jazz Awards alongside Lola Goetz. In addition, trumpeter Melese Light-Orr performed at UCLA’s Global Jazz Week.

  • After four rounds of auditions, 11th grader Sam Pinder was offered a spot in the All-Star School of Rock Nation Touring band. He will perform in Fort Worth, Austin and Houston in July.

  • Eleventh grade pianist Sebastián Olsa participated in this year’s Crescendo International Music Competition and was subsequently invited to perform at Carnegie Hall.

  • Drummers Beckett Smith (ninth grade) and Oliver Orosco (eighth grade) and vocalist Vivian Vig (11th grade) received Musicianship Awards at this year’s Forum Music Festival.

LANGUAGES:

  • Upper School students participated in this year’s National Latin Exam, receiving Summa Cum Laude, Maxima Cum Laude and Magna Cum Laude distinctions in addition to gold and silver medals. The Roadrunners also brought home awards from the 2024 National Medusa Exam and the 2024 California National Junior Classical League Convention. To see a full list of Latin awards, click here

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:

Ninth grader Nathan Ravitz received a commendation from the City of Los Angeles for his work with Hoodies for the Homeless, a nonprofit organization that collects and distributes hoodies to those in need. Nathan is the LA representative for the organization, which was founded on the East Coast by his cousin Zach.
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