West Haven High School seniors Nabiha Khan and Grace Nowak were honored at the 28th Annual Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) Scholar Leader Banquet at Anthony’s Ocean View in New Haven, Conn. Additionally, Nowak was named one of two recipients of the prestigious Bill O’Brien Community Service Scholarship.
In total, 46 high school students were recognized at the banquet for demonstrating outstanding scholarship and leadership in their respective school and external communities. The scholar leaders were selected by their respective school’s principal.
Khan is involved in a wide variety of school activities at WHHS. She is a student representative to the Board of Education, a Peer Advocate, a member of the National Honor Society, President of HOSA, Co-President of the debate team, and part of the Emergency Medical Technician Training Program. She was recently named a QuestBridge Scholar and will be attending Yale University next year.
Nowak is also involved in several school activities. She is the founder of the “Fill-A-Bag, Fuel-A-Mind” Community Service Club, which addresses the issue of food insecurity and currently has food pantries in several West Haven schools. Nowak is also a member of the Peer Advocates, SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), WHHS Class Act Council Promoting-Sportsmanship, and is a CAC-CIAC Student Leadership Conference recipient. She is also involved in Theater, in which she recently performed in the musical “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown”, and she was named a Captain for both the Girls’ Varsity Soccer and Ice Hockey Teams this past year. Nowak recently earned All-SCC and Second All-State honors in ice hockey as a goaltender.
At the conclusion of the awards banquet, Nowak was named one of only two recipients of the Bill O’Brien Community Service Scholarship. The scholarship honors students who have a healthy balance of school and community activities that are value-added and embody the “spirit and passion” of Bill O’Brien, who is well-known for his passionate and unselfish community service efforts throughout the greater New Haven area. To be selected, students were asked to contribute a writing piece in addition to their resume of activities/achievements. Nowak was awarded a $500 scholarship for winning the award.