Prosecutor Lauds 37 Students Honored For Outstanding Contributions

Thirty-seven students from around Ocean County were honored Wednesday evening for being standouts in their schools in a celebration sponsored by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ocean County Association of School Administrators.

“An award represents recognition for something very special that you and you alone were able to accomplish,” Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato said in addressing the students. ”We should never underestimate the importance of recognizing someone even for the smallest achievement or accomplishment.”

The students were chosen by their schools for a variety of reasons, from academic achievement to community involvement to displaying outstanding character, officials said.

The prosecutor’s office sponsored the event, held at Frog Pond Elementary School in Little Egg Harbor, with a $2,500 grant from drug forfeiture proceeds, spokesman Al Della Fave said. The grant paid for the refreshments and also supplied each student with a gift card to Barnes & Noble, he said. Each student also received a commendation certificate. Vincent Smith, superintendent of the Point Pleasant Borough School district and president of the Ocean County Association of School Administrators, and Todd C. Flora, Ocean County Executive Superintendent of Schools, also were on hand for the event.

“Always remember, life is what you make it -- and as the recipients of these awards you have already shown us that whatever you put your mind to you can accomplish. It’s not always the monumental accomplishments that make people notice us, sometimes it is the tiny little things that make you shine and be recognized,” Coronato said.

“I quote Ralph Waldo Emerson: To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment,” he said.

The 2015 award recipients:

• Emma Ruark - Barnegat High School
• Lily Ongaro - Bay Head Elementary School
• Alyssa Tromm - Beach Haven Elementary School
• Chanastazia A. Riley - Berkeley Township Elementary School
• Travis Patrick - Brick Memorial High School
• Jaclyn Melissa Person - Brick Township High School
• Ana Lilia Carrillo Palafox - Central Regional High School
• Ian Mays - Eagleswood Township Elementary School
• Kimberlee Nealon - Frederic A. Priff Elementary School
• Paul Eugene Fiorenzo - Frog Pond Elementary School
• HollieAnna D’Ercole - George J. Mitchell Elementary School
• Marquis Fontaine - Hugh J. Boyd Jr. Elementary School
• Gretchen Werner - Island Heights Grade School
• Antonio Segui - Jackson Liberty High School
• Nicholas Hetzler - Jackson Memorial High School
• Douglas W. Batzel - Lacey Township High School
• Shauna Chertowsky - Lakehurst Elementary School
• Emmanuel Sanchez Flores - Lakewood High School
• Jonathan Alvarado - Long Beach Island Grade School
• Blake Krehely - Manchester Township High School
• Faith Conover - New Egypt High School
• Kristen A. Mccurdy - O.C. V. T.S. - Brick Center
• Joshua Todd - O.C. V. T.S. - Jackson Center
• Griffin Holland - O.C. V. T.S. - Lakehurst Center
• Brooke R. Minotti - O.C.V.T.S. - MATES
• Robert Loftus - O.C. V. T.S. - Toms River Center
• Orlando Pomeroy - O.C.V.T.S. - Waretown Center
• Kasandra Boggiano - Ocean Gate Elementary School
• Nicole Holmberg - Pinelands Regional High School
• Brianna LaGuardia - Point Pleasant Beach High School
• Nicole Jenoriki - Point Pleasant Borough High School
• Nunzio D’ Amelio - Stafford Intermediate School
• Caleb Thompson - Toms River High School East
• Saralee Daponte & Allison Faber - Toms River High School North
• Paige Franklin - Toms River High School South
• Tahj Tyler- Tuckerton Elementary School