#b#Teacher Award#/b#
Consuelo Bonillas was named Outstanding Teacher in Higher Education by the New Jersey Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. She was honored at a banquet on February 24.
Bonillas, a West Windsor resident, was an adjunct professor at Montclair State when she returned to school for her doctorate. She joined the Kean faculty in 2003, earned tenure in 2008, and was promoted to associate professor last year.
Last year she wrote “Sexual Health In A Diverse World” and has received grants that address nutrition issues for Latino women and sexual health among teens.
Bonillas is in the second year of the five-year state “Reducing the Risk” program grant. Data collected from surveys completed by hundreds of 10th graders from a Jersey City high school will yield results about attitudes and opinions about reducing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV.
Through the other grant, Bonillas and her team are working with more than 100 women in conjunction with Proceed, a nonprofit in Elizabeth, to gauge women’s nutritional habits and physical activity.
Bonillas is working to decrease the risk of gestational and type 2 diabetes in Hispanic pregnant and postpartum women. “Working with pregnant women is a population — beside adolescents — that I feel I know more about,” said Bonillas, a married mother of two.
#b#Presidential Scholars#/b#
Seventeen students from West Windsor-Plainsboro have been selected as candidates for the Presidential Scholars program, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students. Students are selected on the basis of their accomplishments in academics and arts, leadership, and involvement in school and the community.
Students from High School North include Kinh Hoang, Frederick Huang, Robin Li, Rishabh Pipada, Keshav Prasad, Naveen Raghuraman, Christopher Wei, Sarah R. Yue, Benjamin Zhang, and Michael Zhang.
Students from High School South include Neil Chitrao, Stephanie Huang, Belinda T. Ji, Dana S. Kong, Sophia Liu, Ruby Shao, and Abhijith Sundararaman.
#b#Honors at Hun#/b#
Akash Mukkavilli of West Windsor, a sophomore at the Hun School of Princeton, achieved high honors for the fall semester. He has received high honors consistently since his freshman year.
He founded the school’s investment club in school, which already has more than 20 members, and plays junior varsity basketball.
#b#In College#/b#
Rutgers University: Ambiah Akbar of West Windsor is on the dean’s list and was nominated to the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She graduated from High School South in 2012 and is majoring in accounting.
