Eddy Award winners honored at banquet at OUS

A dozen students were honored on Thursday for their academic excellence.

The annual Eddy Awards banquet, hosted by the Ironton Child Welfare Club, took place in the Mains Rotunda at Ohio University Southern.

Honorees and their families were treated to a spaghetti dinner and desert, prepared by member of the Child Welfare Club, and the students were presented with trophies for their achievement.

The nonprofit administers the test each year to the top 25 percent of students in the sixth grade at Ironton Middle School and St. Lawrence School.

The dinner is to honor those who earned a Superior score on the test.

Christi Bare, guidance counselor for St. Lawrence School in Ironton, said she spoke with past recipients of the Eddy Award and it was, for many, “the first major academic award that they received.”

She said schools begin preparing for the test each February.

“It is a starting point for hard work and striving to be the best student possible,” she said.

She mentioned that the 2019 recipients of the award are now in this year’s graduating classes at the high schools.

She said these students are now preparing to pursue college and careers in diverse fields, ranging from medical to business to journalism to science.

The students each addressed the gathering in a prerecorded video, made by Dr. David Lucas.

Man had already given thought to their plans beyond high school, speaking about interests in careers including astrophysics, occupational therapy, business administration and aerospace engineering.

This year’s honorees for the Eddy Award were Ellie Webb, Adalyn Hunt, Presley Dean, Lily Patton, Briella Strickland, Tristan Danielson, Brigham Compliment, Griffin Rowe, Caleb Eaches and Sol Pennington.