Chris Grover & Sophia Kaloudis Garner Congressional Awards

Huntington seniors Christopher Grover and Sophia Kaloudis were presented with Congressional Merit Recognition Awards by district Humanities Chairman Joseph Leavy at the high school’s senior departmental awards and scholarships ceremony.

The awards were provided by United States Representative Thomas R. Suozzi. Mr. Grover will be attending West Virginia University while Ms. Kaloudis is headed to Oregon State University.

Both teenagers have been recognized as Distinguished Seniors after compiling academic grade averages in excess of 90 during every semester of high school.

Mr. Grover said the key to his success has been taking pride in everything he does, both in and out of school. Holding himself accountable for his actions has also contributed to his record of achievement. The senior has raced at Riverhead Raceway and earned a Pride Award in Italian. He intends to pursue an academic major in sports management at West Virginia.

Ms. Kaloudis has been recruited to compete on Oregon State’s NCAA Division I gymnastics team. She said she owes her success to the continued support of her family and friends along with learning how to balance schoolwork with her extracurricular interests. She has especially enjoyed creating lasting and meaningful relationships. She said she has “benefitted from taking challenging courses and learning from excellent teachers.”

The teenager has won a long list of state and national gymnastics honors and is thrilled to have realized her dream of capturing an NCAA Division I athletic scholarship.