Harold Levy and Audra McDonald Featured Speakers for Top Achievers

New York, June 13, 2000 -- The New York Public Library celebrated the achievements of New York City's public high school valedictorians at the 18th annual Minerva Awards for Excellence in Scholarship ceremony held today at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. The 120 graduates were welcomed by New York Public Library President, Dr. Paul LeClerc, New York City Board of Education Chancellor Harold Levy, and three-time Tony Award-winning singer and actress Audra McDonald.

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.

Many of the valedictorians are not American-born. Their birthplaces include: Albania, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Ecuador, China, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Japan, Moldova, Nigeria, Russia, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Thailand, Trinidad, Ukraine, Vietnam, and Yemen.

Class of 2000 valedictorians will attend college in the Fall at Universities including: Arizona State University, Brandeis, Columbia, Cooper Union, Cornell, Dartmouth College, Duke, Fordham, Grinnell College, Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Middlebury, New York University, Northeastern, Polytechnic University, Princeton, Queens College, Rochester Institute of Technology, St. John's University, Smith College, Stanford, Syracuse University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, and Yale.

In addition to achieving academic excellence, many Class of 2000 valedictorians have hobbies and interests that range from playing ping-pong, to surfing the Net, to ballroom dancing. These students have worked at libraries, hospitals, concert halls, supermarkets, department stores, and family businesses around the City. Many have given back to their communities by participating  in peer tutoring and literacy programs, translating for non-English speaking patients in doctor's offices, visiting the elderly in nursing homes, or volunteering in their city council member's offices.
 
"We give out these Minerva Awards not just to recognize what the valedictorians have already done, but to encourage them to do even more as they leave high school," 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 and communities, I can see that they want to share their joy of learning."

Mr. Levy 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. I 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."

Ms. McDonald said, "I am pleased to join The New York Public Library in congratulating these exceptional students for their academic achievement. I firmly believe that success in school  --and elsewhere -- comes from self-motivation. The New York Public Library was 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."

In addition to receiving certificates of merit, students were presented with two tickets each to the New York Mets baseball game on Friday, June 23; backpacks donated by Nike; and a collection of books donated by four publishers: Movin': Teen Poets Take Voice, edited by Dave Johnson (Orchard Books), Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (Book-of-the-Month Club Inc.), Goode's World Atlas, 20th Edition (Rand McNally & Company), and Around the World in Twenty Days: The Story of Our History-Making Balloon Flight, by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). The 2000 New York Public Library Minerva Awards for Excellence in Scholarship were underwritten by Simon & Schuster.

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

JBertrand, COyama: pro: 06-13-00

TH: pro: 06-15-00