High School South 2013 Hall of Honor reception will be held in Commons One on Saturday, November 2, at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $35.
“The Hall of Honor gives us an opportunity to recognize those individuals who have brought honor to the school through their achievements, accomplishments, and/or contributions to the community and/or school,” says Dennis Lepold, principal at South. “The Hall of Honor pays tribute to individuals in four categories including Alumni Achiever Award, Student Achiever Award, School Service Award, and Inspiration Award.”
This year the Inspiration Award is presented posthumously to Brian Welsh and Edna Lutton.
Welsh began teaching social studies to seventh grade students in 1980, worked his way up to teaching American studies to high school students, and eventually the AP government teacher. As the announcer for the football games, he became known as the “Voice of the Pirates.” Head soccer coach from 1981 to 2010, he was inducted into the New Jersey State Coaches Association Hall of Fame as well as Mercer County’s Soccer Hall of Fame in 2008.
Sister Edna Lutton taught language arts from 1975 to 1990. A member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary for 72 years, her early days of ministry in the field of education took her to New York City; Arlington, Virginia; Rome, Italy; and Bourgival, France. After retiring from WW-P, Lutton volunteered as a tutor at Mercer County Community College and Rider University.
The School Service Award will be presented to Thomas Stuart, a social studies teacher from 1978 to 2009. He taught American Studies and as the AP US history teacher he created AP US History Day, an end of the year student written and directed presentation. He received the Princeton University Award for Distinguished Secondary School Teaching in 1983.
As head varsity football coach from 1980 to 2002, his teams were CVC champions and state play-off contenders nine times. Stuart was one of the founders of the Mercer County 12th Man TD Club. His singing and acting talents were also seen on stage in many of the school’s spring musicals.
The Alumni Achiever Award is presented to someone who has brought honor to themselves, and thereby their alma mater. This year’s inductees are Jillian Ritchie Palmieri, Class of 1998; Kristin Cabral, Class of 1984; and Ginger Gold Schnitzer, Class of 1986.
As a student athlete, Jillian Ritchie Palmieri played soccer and softball for four years. She was president of the Interact Club, a member of National Honor Society, and an actress in the spring musicals. A graduate of Rutgers University with a bachelor’s degree in theater arts and Rutgers Graduate School of Education, she taught language arts in middle school for four years. In 2006, she created and founded Bystander: A Portrait in Apathy, a bully prevention assembly program aimed at educating and empowering the bystander population of middle and high school students. Through a self-written script and a self-created power point presentation, students from the participating school learn the power the bystander population has to make a more positive impact in their school community. The program also pays tribute to children throughout the world who have been victims of bullycide.
After a very involved high school career, Kristin Cabral went on to study political science at the University of Michigan and Harvard Law School. At Harvard, she was the co-chair for the Harvard Law School Democrats and editor of the Harvard Women’s Law Journal.
She served as a law clerk for the U. S. District Court for Eastern Michigan, consultant for the National Network to End Domestic Violence and The National Organization of Women Legal Defense and Education Fund, and an adjunct professor at George Washington Law School. Over the years, she has held several jobs with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Immigration Litigation. Currently, Cabral is a full-time volunteer attorney-activist on election law and voting rights for the Democratic Party. Last year, she ran and lost for Congress against a 32-year GOP incumbent in Virginia’s 10th district.
As a high school student, Ginger Gold Schnitzer was actively involved in the music program including marching band, orchestra, and jazz band. She graduated with a degree in political science from Rutgers University and Villanova University School of Law. She also received a master of government administration from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania bars.
Gold Schnitzer taught public administration and policy making as an adjunct professor in the political science department of Rutgers University. She was elected three times to the Plainsboro Township Committee. Currently the director of government relations for the New Jersey Education Association, she is responsible for promoting legislation and regulations, which advance public education and public employment.
The Student Achiever Award is presented to alumni who have made a contribution while a student in high school. This year’s inductees are Christopher Sullivan, Class of 1994 and William Royal, Class of 1986.
As a student athlete, Christopher Sullivan played soccer. He was captain of the team that captured the Central Jersey Group IV Championship, the most successful team in the school’s history under Coach Welsh. An enthusiastic and spirited Pirate, Chris founded the Irish-American Awareness Club and was named Homecoming King his senior year.
At La Salle University he majored in communications and played four years of Division I soccer. After graduation from college, Sullivan worked in the marketing and advertising fields for 15 years, with a brief hiatus to run a community center in San Diego for two years. In 2009, he started his own company, Wasabi 3D, which specializes in 3D street art, social media and event marketing. His company has represented the Philadelphia Phillies, Wyndham Hotels, Adidas Golf, Coke Zero, and Johnson & Johnson.
While a student at WW-P, William Royal, one of the greatest basketball players in the school’s history, scored 1,386 points — a record at the time. His activities included Boys State, Model United Nations, and working as an assistant for a Trenton Times sports writer and photographer. He graduated from the University of Rochester with a bachelor’s degree in political science and went on to get his teaching degree from Rider University. He taught in Germany, the Chapin School, and for 11 years taught social studies at the Dunn Middle School in Trenton. Royal recently moved to the Pittsburgh area and is currently teaching law and society and conflict and diplomacy at City Charter High School. As a teacher, he has participated in the James Madison Seminar at Princeton University, the Walt Whitman Liberty Fellowship, and the Woodrow Wilson Liberty Fellowship.
Hors d’oeuvres and desserts will be served at the reception on November 2. The cost is $35 per person. Send a check payable to cash to Lynn Grodnick at WWPHS South, 346 Clarksville Road, West Windsor 08550.
There is a Pirate Pride and Spirit benefit golf outing during the day. Proceeds will benefit the scholarship fund. E-mail Michelle Walsh at Michelle.walsh@ww-p.org for information about the four-person scramble at Princeton Country Club.
Hall of Honor, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, 346 Clarksville Road, West Windsor. Saturday, November 2, 5:30 p.m. Register. $35. www.ww-p.org.
