DCDS honors 30 senior students at prestigious Scholar-Athlete Dinner

Detroit Country Day School (DCDS) recognized 30 students from the Class of 2016 for their outstanding achievements in both academics and athletics during the annual Scholar-Athlete Award Dinner held at The Reserve in Birmingham, Mich. DCDS Headmaster Glen Shilling made the announcement.

This year’s event featured special guest speaker Katrina Adams, former champion tennis player and current president of the US Tennis Association. Adams won seven of her 20 Women’s Tennis Association doubles titles between 1987 and 1996 partnering with Zina Garrison, and she reached the fourth round of the Grand Slam singles at the1988 Wimbledon Championships. WDIV-TV reporter Mara McDonald emceed the event.

“Academics, athletics, and the arts represent the three pillars of Detroit Country Day School’s educational foundation,” said Shilling. “This award represents notable accomplishments in two of the pillars, academics and athletics. Each student has worked hard to balance their academic rigors while engaging on one or more of the school’s competitive athletic teams. Our mission is to help students grow into well-rounded individuals and the entire DCDS community is very proud to recognize this year’s class of scholar-athletes.”

The Scholar-Athlete Award Dinner is sponsored by the DCDS Blue & Gold Club, a volunteer organization that supports the athletic and physical education activities of DCDS students, and is dedicated to improving and developing student opportunities and programs in physical education and competitive athletics.

Each senior student who earned the Scholar-Athlete Award submitted a resume highlighting academic and athletic honors, a personal essay and a recommendation letter from a coach, teacher or mentor. The students also must have at least two varsity letters in one or more sports and a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0. The 2015 scholar-athletes were selected through a panel review of each candidate’s credentials. This year’s Scholar-Athlete Award recipients include:

· Alexia Arthur, Detroit

· Cameron Barr, Bloomfield Hills

· Cooper Belanger, Bloomfield Village

· Jonathan Boos, Bloomfield Village

· Simran Brar, Bloomfield Hills

· Brendan Gatward, Bloomfield Hills

· Hannah Hansen, Bloomfield Hills

· Eden Harrison, Northville

· Katherine Holman, Bloomfield Hills

· Mark Hudson, Bloomfield Hills

· Zainab Imami, Northville

· Anaya Johnson, Detroit

· James Kenney, Beverly Hills

· Katherine Kim, Novi

· Isabella Lipkin, West Bloomfield

· Michael MacLean, Bloomfield Hills

· Haley Mullins, Farmington Hills

· Jonathan Ni, Northville

· Sonja Niederhofer, West Bloomfield

· Sharmila Prabhu, West Bloomfield

· Fred “Griffie” Prime, Lathrup Village

· Eric Ren, Bloomfield Hills

· Damian Runkle, West Bloomfield

· Owen Sappington, Birmingham

· Cher Sha, West Bloomfield

· Anthony Shui, Farmington Hills

· Matthew Song, Canton

· Carol Wu, Troy

· Tiffany Yoo, Bloomfield Hills

· Zhao “Joe” Zhang, Windsor, Ontario

Detroit Country Day School offers students from preschool through high school an exemplary education rooted in academic rigor and a commitment to the full development of each student’s potential. The school is an independent, coeducational, non-denominational, college preparatory school nationally recognized for excellence in academics, athletics and the fine and performing arts. Founded in 1914 by F. Alden Shaw, Detroit Country Day School today enrolls more than 1,500 students on four campuses located in Beverly Hills and Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. For additional information, please visit www.dcds.edu.