As the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) Class of 2021 finishes up the final weeks of their high school career, Foothill Tech planned an online version of the annual Senior Awards Night to honor the contributions and achievements of many students. This event was streamed live on YouTube on May 27 at 6:30 p.m. PST and featured dozens of different awards and students. 

In normal circumstances, the event would have infamously stretched on for several hours in the large auditorium of Buena High School, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, it was kept to a little more than an hour, and each presenter was pre-recorded ahead of time. 

The event started out with a short video introducing Foothill Tech’s national rankings and then transitioned to an introduction by Melanie Lindsey “Captain” and Justin Frazier. The Class of 2021 was acknowledged for being short-changed of many high school experiences due to the Thomas Fire in 2018 and the current COVID-19 pandemic before the awards actually began.   

The awards, nominations and winners of the night are listed below in chronological order. 

The Bioscience Dragon Hall of Fame was awarded to Elsa Schmidt with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Dylan Mullaney and Hannah Dearman-So. 

The Journalism Dragon Hall of Fame was awarded to Dylan Mullaney with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Zen Li and Naomi Schmitt. 

The Community Service Dragon Hall of Fame was awarded to Eesh Manwani with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Mason Reese-Woertink and Alyssa Kai Duque. 

The Computer Science Dragon Hall of Fame was awarded to Akshay Shanbhag with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Verdang Joshi and Grace Marshall. 

The Dana Eaton Dragon Hall of Fame was awarded to both Karina Rameriez and Azucena Montoya Reyes with an honorable mention of the three nominees: Angie Martinez, Katie Leung and Maksyn Mueller. 

The English and English Renaissance Dragon Hall of Fame is an award with two separate categories based on the rigor of the student’s English courses throughout high school. The English Hall of Fame was awarded to Noelle Hayward with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Elsa Schmidt and Nadia Connelly. The English Renaissance Hall of Fame was awarded to Shelby Castro with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Caden O’Neil and Ellie Crist. 

The Spanish Native and Non-Native Speaker Dragon Hall of Fame is an award with two separate categories based on the student’s prior knowledge of the language. The Spanish Native was awarded to Diana Garcia Salinas with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Dafne Verela and Lisbet Soriano de Jesus. The Spanish Non-Native was awarded to Ellie Crist with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Hannah Dearman-So and Tyler Clark. 

The Math and Math Renaissance Dragon Hall of Fame is an award with two separate categories based on the rigor of the student’s math courses throughout high school. The Math Hall of Fame was awarded to Rose Aguilar with honorable mention of the two nominees: Fae Armstrong and Kassandra Mendoza. The Math Renaissance Hall of Fame was awarded to Hannah Dearman-So with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Akshay Shanbhag and Connie Yang. 

The AVID Dragon Hall of Fame was awarded to Maria Munoz with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Eesh Manwani and Miranda Cahue. 

The Most Inspirational Dragon Hall of Fame was awarded to Malcolm Christie with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Zachary Jackson and Leilani Oros. 

The DTech Dragon Hall of Fame was awarded to Vedang Joshi with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Malcolm Christie and Chloe Even. 

The Scholar-Athlete Dragon Hall of Fame is an award with two separate categories for male and female athletes. The Female Scholar Athlete was awarded to Hannah Dearman-So with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Heidi Fedde and Giovanna Postma. The Male Scholar-Athlete was awarded to Oliver Pick with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Tristan Arana and Luke Shadden. 

The Leadership Dragon Hall of Fame was awarded to both Elizabeth Ferris and Madison Duston with an honorable mention of the three nominees: Ashlynn Bryson, Elise Paul and Nicole Stidham. 

The Science and Science Renaissance Dragon Hall of Fame is an award with two separate categories based on the rigor of the student’s science courses throughout high school. The Science Hall of Fame was awarded to Nikhil Maserang with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Rose Aguilar and Andrew Touchette. The Science Renaissance Hall of Fame was awarded to Maya Thompson with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Karen Julian Francisco and Isabel Raigoza. 

The Social Science and Social Science Renaissance Dragon Hall of Fame is an award with two separate categories based on the rigor of the student’s social science/history courses throughout high school. The Social Science Hall of Fame was awarded to Rachel Johnston with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Elsa Schmidt and Vedang Joshi. The Science Renaissance Hall of Fame was awarded to Raul Medrano Contreras with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Katie Leung and Maria Munoz. 

The Visual Arts Dragon Hall of Fame was awarded to Tyler Clark with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Reggie Franada and Toby Pflaumer. 

The Best All-Around Dragon Hall of Fame was awarded to both Dylan Mullaney and Nikhil Maserang with an honorable mention of the three nominees: Elsa Schmidt, Sarah Francis and Vedang Joshi. 

Lastly, the Chris Prewitt Dragon Hall of Fame was awarded to Zachary Jackson with an honorable mention of the two nominees: Shelby Castro and Eesh Manwani. 

Captain Lindsey and Mr. Frazier closed the ceremony with congratulations to all the winners and nominees and with announcements about senior barbeque. Captain also concluded with an inspirational speech for the seniors about COVID-19, growth, mistakes and curiosity to help guide them into the next chapter of their lives.