Woodstock District 200 school board announces 2022 PRIDE winners

The Woodstock School District 200 school board recognized 18 seniors from Woodstock and Woodstock North high schools this year, designating them recipients of the 2022 PRIDE Awards.

The board created the PRIDE Awards in 1990 to honor exceptional graduating seniors, the school district said in a news release. PRIDE is an acronym that stands for “Positive Recognition in District 200 Education”.

Woodstock North High School PRIDE Award winners: (L to R) Katelynn Ward, Braden Luschei, Nathan Speciale, Jessica Forester, Jordyn Lichthardt, Kailey Hogaboom, Marko Ortiz, Sherry Yang. — Woodstock North High School PRIDE Award winners were, left to right, Katelynn Ward, Braden Luschei, Nathan Speciale, Jessica Forester, Jordyn Lichthardt, Kailey Hogaboom, Marko Ortiz and Sherry Yang. (Provided by Woodstock School District 200)

The awards are presented in seven different categories, which recognize the qualities the board thinks the community values in its graduates – scholarship, personal achievement, vocational excellence, different aspects of fine arts, community service, school service and athletics.

This year’s recipients at Woodstock High School were Ireland Dunnett and Timothy Maidment for athletics, Nicole VandeWalker for community service, Breanne Walker for music, Larissa Beckman for theater, Sidney Green for visual arts, Christina Runkel for personal achievement, Kaia Sweet for scholarship, Cian Gross for school service, and Lauren Hinderliter for vocational.

At Woodstock North High School, the recipients were Katelynn Ward and Braden Luschei for athletics, Nathan Speciale for community service, Jessica Forester for music, Jordyn Lichthardt for visual arts, Kailey Hogaboom for personal achievement, Marko Ortiz for scholarship, Sherry Yang for school service and vocational.

The 2022 PRIDE Award winners were announced at the annual Senior Awards assemblies. Winners received a special medallion to wear at graduation.