WHITNEY HIGH SCHOOL • 50TH ANNIVERSARY
Awards for Graduating Seniors
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UPDATE: APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED BY ONE WEEK TO APRIL 24
Please budget your time accordingly if you will be attending Prom or participating in the spring musical.
WHITNEY FOUNDATION INVITES GRADUATING WHITNEY SENIORS TO APPLY FOR OUR 2026 AWARDS
If you intend to apply, please go to the application, sign the affirmation, and press the Submit button now.
This will let us know how many submissions to expect, so we can prepare enough readers to evaluate them.
Then when you finish writing your essay, return to the application, upload your document, and press Submit again.
Whitney is a single-purpose high school where students focus on preparing for success in college and beyond. But more than test scores and GPA, college applications and admissions, rankings and reputation, Whitney has always been about our people: teachers who care relentlessly, administrators who guide supportively, parents who nurture cooperatively, and students learning to become the next generation of leaders who contribute productively to society, rather than only being known as the “smart kids” who compete to get ahead of others.
This year, as we celebrate our 50th graduating class, the Whitney Foundation has received generous donations from our alumni to fund 10 awards honoring beloved teachers who served tirelessly for decades to make our school the unique place it is today. You may not have been familiar with their names before, but their legacy has definitely shaped your education at Whitney. Press the name of each award to learn more about that teacher:
The Joel L. Avant Sr. Memorial Prize
The Sandra Bruesch Memorial Prize
The Virginia Pooler Memorial Prize
The David Reller Memorial Prize
The Debra Price Agrums Sposa Award
Additionally, we have received donations and committed funds from our Endowment for:
The Advancement Grant, for one or more graduating seniors who come from an at-risk background or have a hidden disability. For the inaugural year of this grant, the total amount to be awarded is $1000.
The Whitney Alumni Grant, for one or more graduating seniors who have demonstrated they are qualified and motivated to follow in the footsteps of Whitney alumni who have made great accomplishments. For the inaugural year of this grant, the total amount to be awarded is $1000.
The Whitney Foundation Award, for the graduating senior who best exemplifies the vision and single-purpose mission of Whitney High School, exceptionally prepared for success in university and beyond, as an intrinsically motivated and collaborative learner who takes ownership of their education, to become a responsible and innovative global citizen. For 2026, this award comes with a grant of $1000. The 2025 recipient was Brandon Wong.
The purpose of the Foundation's awards is to continue the legacy of the teachers for whom they are named, and to promote educational excellence among Whitney graduates by improving their capacity, skill, or talent. Our awards are not scholarships, and are not subject to displacement in financial-aid packages (when a college reduces grant aid by the amount of an outside scholarship). Recipients are not required to use the funds for college expenses.
PRESS HERE TO GO TO THE APPLICATION
(You must be signed in using a Google account)
FAQ
Question: When I submit my essay, am I automatically considered for all ten awards? Or do I need to highlight a particular teacher to be considered for that award?
Answer: Last year we offered three awards and asked applicants to submit a separate essay (of up to 600 words) for each award. Many students submitted all three. That was a lot of writing for applicants and a lot of reading for our Awards Committee.
This year we offer 13 awards. If every senior submitted 13 essays, that would require too much time for you to write and for us to read. So we’re asking you to identify which teachers you relate to the most, and illustrate using concrete examples how your experiences and future plans embody their spirit or legacy, and to fit everything into a single essay (of up to 800 words).
So choose judiciously: you could identify one teacher and write in greater detail, or two teachers and write in less detail about each one, or provide illustrations that are applicable to both. As a practical matter we wouldn’t recommend more than three, but if you’re a skilled and concise writer maybe you could surprise us.
This is your opportunity to share who you are as a soon-to-be Whitney alum. It’s possible our Committee might decide you’re a better fit for an award honoring a different teacher you didn’t identify. But part of the transition from high school to college and beyond is being self-aware and knowing your strengths, and in the modern world it’s increasingly hard to major in everything. So we’d like you to think about this carefully, and give your best effort to identify the teachers you relate to the most.
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