Top Students Honored for Their Scholarly Achievements

New York, June 9, 1999 -- The New York Public Library celebrated the achievements of New York City’s public high school valedictorians at the 17th annual Minerva Awards for Excellence in Scholarship ceremony held today at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. The 156 graduates were welcomed by New York Public Library President, Dr. Paul LeClerc, Mets Hall of Fame Pitcher Tom Seaver, and City Council Speaker Peter Vallone.

The awards, named for the Roman goddess of wisdom, recognize the superior academic accomplishments of students representing the five boroughs of New York City. This year’s collection of success stories includes students from diverse ethnic, economic, and racial backgrounds, each with unique interests both inside and outside of the classroom.

In addition to Tom Seaver and Peter Vallone, Howard Dodson, Director, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and Karen Proctor, Director of Community Relations, Scholastic Inc. were the invited guest speakers at the ceremony. Corporate sponsorship for the Minerva Awards was provided by Scholastic Inc., a leading children’s publisher and distributor of magazines, books, and other educational materials.

"We give out these Minerva Awards not just to recognize what the valedictorians have already done, but to encourage them to do more," said Paul LeClerc. "We want to assure them that academic accomplishment is recognized and valued. Judging by the number of valedictorians who have helped their fellow students as tutors or mentors, I can see that they want to share their joy of learning."

Mr. Dodson said, "It’s not easy to do what these students have done, especially considering that many of them have had to overcome language and cultural difficulties to succeed. But I firmly believe that success in school--and elsewhere--comes from self-motivation. The New York Public Library was itself created more than 100 years ago to help people educate themselves. It has flourished because most of us recognize how important and how satisfying education is."

Ms. Proctor said, "Scholastic is once again really pleased to join The New York Public Library in congratulating these exceptional students for their academic achievement, a goal which Scholastic enthusiastically supports. We would also like to recognize New York City’s public schools because behind every great student is a great team of teachers, parents, and school administrators."

In addition to receiving certificates of merit, students were presented with two tickets each to the Mets baseball game on June 9, executive tote bags donated by Scholastic, Inc., a collection of reference books donated by four publishers: Book-of-the-Month Club, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., Rand McNally & Company, and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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A color photo of the valedictorians on the steps of the Library and photos of the students grouped by borough are available. Please call Public Relations at (212) 221-7676 to request prints for publication.

Scholastic Inc., is a leading children’s publisher and distributor of magazines, books, and other quality educational materials for students, teachers, and families. Scholastic also publishes educational software and its Scholastic Entertainment division produces children’s and family-oriented television, film, and video programming.

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