Independence Middle School honored its eighth-grade class Tuesday morning during the annual Eighth Grade Awards ceremony, held June 2 at 8:30 a.m. at the school. Principal Mr. Jim Fodse presided over the event, which recognized student achievement across academics, the arts, athletics and character.
Christina Priore received the American Legion Award, one of the ceremony's most prestigious honors. Travis Boateng was named the recipient of the Sgt. Russell Kurtz Award, presented by Mr. Jeff Schilling.
The Principal's Award, presented by Fodse, was given to eight students: Achol Bak, Grace Arbogast, Taylor Waldrop, Giamaria Fonzi-Moscatiello, DJ Berg, Grant Dear, Jimmy Nix, and Brody Staley. The Counselor's Award, presented by counselors Mrs. Jordan Henderson and Mrs. Jenn Miklos, went to Noah Kountz and Autumn Chabala.
Three students — Addisyn Voytko, Brielle Schafer, and Juliette Hall — were recognized with the National Junior Honor Society Outstanding Achievement Award.
World Language honors were distributed across three disciplines. Brooke Mellinger, Max Catana, and Connor Graf received the Spanish award; Ashlyn Geis and Elliot Martin-Farmer earned the French award; and Christina Priore and Abhik Pradhan received the German award.
In the arts, Bria Lang and Matthew Lawton received the Nancy Gleason Gavola Award in Drama. The Fine Arts Award was presented to Lily Edwards, Ella Krajci, Emma McGinnis, Alex Miller, Kayla Paull, Christina Priore, Noel Thimons, Addisyn Voytko, and Rachel Weiss. Corey Gordon and Ava Deckard earned Outstanding Performance Recognition. Gordon also received the Suzanne Reid Music Award. Band, chorus, handbells, and orchestra students were recognized collectively.
Maksim Kim and Alec Graham received the Spirit of Independence award. The Stephen Chbosky Writing Award was presented in two categories: Ashley Mattes won for argumentative writing and Liliana Brucker for narrative writing.
In athletics, Faith Hartman and Nash Doman received the Marissa Boyan Scholar-Athlete Award, and the Girls Basketball Team was honored with the IMS Athletic Academic Award. The Stephanie Petit Award was presented to students from three teams: Quinn McCann and Elliot Martin-Farmer (Team Freedom), Caleb Erbrecht and Kylie Lang (Team Integrity), and Connor Graf and Rose Doman (Team Liberty).
Fodse delivered closing comments.
2026 Eighth-Grade Awards — Full List of Winners:
American Legion Award
- Christina Priore
Sgt. Russell Kurtz Award
- Travis Boateng
Principal's Award
- Grace Arbogast
- Achol Bak
- DJ Berg
- Grant Dear
- Giamaria Fonzi-Moscatiello
- Jimmy Nix
- Brody Staley
- Taylor Waldrop
Counselor's Award
- Autumn Chabala
- Noah Kountz
NJHS Outstanding Achievement Award
- Juliette Hall
- Brielle Schafer
- Addisyn Voytko
World Language Awards
Spanish:
- Max Catana
- Connor Graf
- Brooke Mellinger
French:
- Ashlyn Geis
- Elliot Martin-Farmer
German:
- Abhik Pradhan
- Christina Priore
Nancy Gleason Gavola Award in Drama
- Bria Lang
- Matthew Lawton
Fine Arts Award
- Lily Edwards
- Ella Krajci
- Emma McGinnis
- Alex Miller
- Kayla Paull
- Christina Priore
- Noel Thimons
- Addisyn Voytko
- Rachel Weiss
Outstanding Performance Recognition
- Ava Deckard
- Corey Gordon
Suzanne Reid Music Award
- Corey Gordon
Spirit of Independence
- Alec Graham
- Maksim Kim
Stephen Chbosky Writing Award
Argumentative:
- Ashley Mattes
Narrative:
- Liliana Brucker
Marissa Boyan Scholar-Athlete Award
- Nash Doman
- Faith Hartman
IMS Athletic Academic Award
- Girls Basketball Team
Stephanie Petit Award
Team Freedom:
- Elliot Martin-Farmer
- Quinn McCann
Team Integrity:
- Caleb Erbrecht
- Kylie Lang
Team Liberty:
- Rose Doman
- Connor Graf