CV Student Volunteer Wins $1,500 Falcon Award

senior Connor Lock received this year’s coveted Falcon Award at an all-school assembly on Friday; he was awarded $1,500 and a certificate of acheievement.

“I was so surprised,” said Lock. “I almost fell over!”

The Falcon Award of Excellence is the result of school-wide nominations followed by hours of consideration by a student committee. This is an especially meaningful award for Lock because he was chosen by his classmates.

“We send out nomination forms to every club, organization, sports team and homeroom and asked students to nominate one senior based on the following criteria: leadership, scholarship, commitment, character and service to the sommunity,” said Amy Besoli, math teacher and Falcon Award advisor. In total, 34 seniors were nominated this year.

The seniors were then asked to write their own resumés. Afterward, a committee of student volunteers from all grade levels rated the applications (though the applicant names were hidden). From those, six finalists and six semi-finalists were chosen.

Finally, face-to-face interviews took place. Applicants were asked questions like "What does character mean to you?" and "What’s your favorite quote?" The committee members discussed and voted, then discussed and voted again until the winner was chosen.

Lock impressed his fellow students for a number of reasons. His scholarly accomplishments are formidable: He received the highest score (a 5) on five Advanced Placement tests, and very high scores on his ACT and SAT tests. He’s in jazz and marching band, and recently became trumpet section leader. He’s been the German Club president and went on an exchange trip to Germany after sophomore year. He’s participated in the Scholastic Bowl and the Speech and Debate Club. He’s a counselor at the YMCA, is in and still finds time to feed the homeless at a soup kitchen in a nearby community.

Besoli believes that Lock won “because committee members were impressed by how personable and enthusiastic Connor is and how he genuinely wants to help others.”

Lock already knows what he’ll do with his prize money.

“Goes straight towards college tuition,” he said. “I’ll be going to Georgetown University in the fall to study International Relations. I’d like to get involved with border and economic disputes. I’m pro-military, but I’d much rather try to talk things out before going to war.”

The five other Falcon Award finalists were Kyle Gustafson, Camille Johnson, Erin LeVoir, Brian Roxas and Grace Woo, who also have stellar credentials. They were awarded $250 each.

The six semi-finalists were Helene Cook, Paige Farestveit, Miji Kim, Arami Matevosyan, Stephanie Patton and Lara Hovsepian. They received $100 each. 

Donations are being accepted for next year’s Falcon Award. If you would like to support the cause, contact Besoli at abesoli@gusd.net