Book Awards for High School Juniors

Since 1989, the Cornell Club of Washington awarded books to D.C.-area high school students of high academic achievement who demonstrated leadership in the area of community service. The book award program, while really wonderful in certain areas of the country/world, was not very equitable to all of Cornell’s perspective and admitted students overall.  Thus, the difficult decision was made by Cornell University to discontinue the program. We appreciate your understanding.

We thank all of our volunteers who participated in the program over the years!

In the book award program, schools were invited to participate by nominating a member of the current junior class who demonstrated the attributes of the award. 

High schools participating in recent years included:

·         District of Columbia: Benjamin Banneker, St. Albans, and Woodrow Wilson Senior

·         Maryland: Bethesda-Chevy Chase, The Holton-Arms, Walter Johnson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Laurel, Winston Churchill, Richard Montgomery, Thomas S. Wooten, and Montgomery Blair

·         Virginia: T. C. Williams, Lake Braddock, Centreville, W. T. Woodson, Langley, McLean, Osbourn Park, and West Springfield.

The book awarded to each student was The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr., and E. B. White, fourth edition.  A certificate was  presented,  suitable for framing,  and a bookplate was given. CAAAN members presented the awards at the schools’ award celebrations, typically in the spring.

More than 240 books were awarded in the 15 years of the program. William Newell, ALS ’68, served as Chair for 14 years.