Attorney General Letitia James is pleased to continue the Triple C Awards program to recognize the courage, character, and commitment of New York State’s outstanding students. While our state’s educational landscape has changed drastically over the past year, one thing that remains constant is the resiliency, creativity, and brilliance of our students, teachers, and school administrators. Since the beginning of the pandemic, they have persevered under difficult circumstances and risen to the challenge. The Attorney General is honored to have the opportunity to recognize New York’s students this year for their achievements, whether it be academic success, community service, peer leadership, or overcoming personal obstacles.

This year's winners of the Triple C award went to Sonya from Jennifer Dygert's room in the Tilton East program, and Isaiah of John Giordano's room. Another student who was nominated was former graduate Austin. Congratulations to all three students! Below are their nominations.

Sonya

Commitment - Sonya is one of the few students who continued to flourish during the pandemic. During any time of remote instruction, she completed all of her assignments and never missed a Google Meet.  She is the same in the classroom. She takes her time on her assignments, participates in lessons, and really tries her best to understand what she is learning. The past 2 school years have been challenging to say the least, but Sonya has made it look easy.

Character - Sonya is genuinely kind to everyone she meets. She begins each day with a smile and a happy greeting and ends each day with a pleasant goodbye.  I have never heard an unkind word come out of her mouth.  She cares about others and is supportive when they are struggling. Sonya will take on any task that I ask of her, especially when I ask her to help her peers who need assistance. She will stop what she is doing to be a helper.

Courage - I've never known a more courageous girl. She has not let anything in her tumultuous past define her.  She keeps moving forward.  She's never afraid to try something new and doesn't let anything stop her from accomplishing her goals.

Sonya is the dream student for any teacher. She has proven that our students are able to learn, change, and grow! - Jennifer Dygert

Isaiah

I truly feel that Isaiah deserves to be recognized. He has attended practically every single Google Meet since we figured out how to make that work over the summer, which speaks to his commitment to his education and improving his grades. Additionally, I know that Isaiah has struggled with being remote since March 2020 because he misses his classmates and the social aspect of school, but he is thoroughly committed to helping his family and a major part of that is staying safe and healthy so his immunocompromised siblings can also remain as safe and healthy as possible. I believe that Isaiah has shown tremendous character growth during this school year - he communicates very well via Google Classroom and submits his assignments in a timely manner. The quality of his work has been consistent, and he is an active participant in Google Meets, which has a positive impact and influence on his classmates. He seems to be able to utilize coping skills, more than ever, to handle situations which may have triggered him in the past in much more positive ways and he talks about how much he is looking forward to coming back to school in September. I believe that Isaiah shows courage in many quiet ways; his family members' various health impairments, coupled with his own learning disabilities may have been an excuse to disengage from school entirely, but he has shown determination and fortitude in persevering throughout the school year to do what he needs to do to be successful. He no longer expresses frustration when he needs to ask for help, which is a major improvement from previous years. I admire Isaiah's resilience so much, and truly believe that he is deserving of this award. - John Giordano

I’d like to nominate Isaiah for the Triple C Award. I think he has demonstrated commitment, character, and courage this year. I spoke with several of Isaiah’s teachers who all confirmed that Isaiah has been committed this year to learning remotely. They confirmed that Isaiah has consistently completed all assignments on a daily basis. He checks in with teachers when he needs extra help, lets us know when he has a schedule conflict, and expresses gratitude for teachers checking in with him or giving extra help. Isaiah has struggled at times in school with certain subjects, so with all of the additional obstacles he has had to face this year in studying remotely, it is impressive that he has been able to persevere in completing all work on a daily basis and achieving passing grades in all subjects. Isaiah has shown remarkable self-awareness, speaking openly about the fact that he has struggled in the past with emotional management. He recognizes that he has improved in this area, in part thanks to skills he has learned here at Tilton. Isaiah encourages peers to complete work and checks in with peers when they don’t show up to Google Meets. He has adapted to using technology to learn (Google Meets, ebooks, screensharing, etc.) and has become skilled in using these tools. Isaiah’s perseverance, communication skills, and hard work are evidence of his commitment, character, and courage over the past year. - Anna Anngaputra

Austin

Austin has displayed the utmost in Commitment, Character and Courage over the past 6 months (January- June) as a student at the Tilton School.

Despite the struggles that Austin has experienced in his life, he faced his future with courage and each day is making a change in himself. Austin is not afraid of hard work. Austin is not afraid of a challenge. It is with this that Austin's sense of character has grown in defining himself as a person and as a musical performer. He is very kind, he is very humble, he is very hardworking in any and all tasks that are presented to him and completes them with care and pride. He seeks constructive criticism and with this- he betters himself each and every day.  Austin is committed to achieving his dream of going to college for Music, Theater and Dance. This commitment became a reality when Austin was accepted to the most challenging Academy entitled the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. Austin's commitment and dedication to hard work also became a reality when he was accepted to SUNY Fredonia to study Voice, Drama, and Dance.

Austin Streator is a student who defines Courage, Character and Commitment in the true sense of the word.  I nominate him for the Triple C Award. - Teresa Dunn