By Jessica SHUMATE, intern

t’s that time of the year when spring flowers are in full bloom and the majority of the students at Crescenta Valley High School have started the process of wrapping up the school year. One of the most respected traditions on the CV campus is the presentation of the Falcon Awards, which takes place in the middle of the school’s second semester. This recognition was created over 15 years ago to honor selected seniors who excelled in and outside of class. The seniors are chosen by their peers in the student body and go through an intense interviewing process to ensure those who selected are truly deserving of the award.

Some of the requirements the recipient must meet are a GPA of 3.0, community service participation, and a demonstration of leadership qualities. This year’s semi-finalists were Samantha Ableson, Talia Housik, John Lee, Leo Mandani, Jacob Matthews and Melody Nazarbegian. Each was awarded $200.

The five finalists included Grace McAuley, Savannah Baum, Susanne Carpenter and Seo Jin Lee who each were awarded $300. This year the Falcon Award, which includes a $2,000 scholarship, was given to Cameron Tenner.

Tenner is known for going above and beyond expectations. He is co-captain of the speech and debate team and the vice president of both the Academy of Science and Tree People. He is also parliamentarian of the campus National Honor Society and the statewide district attorney of Youth and Government. Even with all of these extracurricular activities he still managed to find time to maintain an impressive GPA.

As part of his introduction, his two friends Tyra Sondergaard and Mary Simonyan shared a speech written to their middle school selves with step-by-step instructions on how to be friends with Tenner. The instructions included how not to become upset when he was too busy to go out because he would always be there when needed most.

“When they announced his name I was very excited but I wasn’t surprised,” said Sondergaard. “The other finalists are very hardworking but Cameron puts so much time in. We knew that he deserved this.”

Tenner, on the other hand, was caught off guard.

“I wasn’t expecting to win because everyone was so impressive. When they called my name I just sat there and then stumbled up to the stage,” he said. “It was amazing and awkward standing on stage facing a dark room so I started making weird facial expressions!”

Tenner’s appreciation was evident, though, and it was apparent by the audience’s applause that his selection of Falcon Award recipient was a good choice.

  Jessica Shumate