06/15/2026
STUDENT AWARDS! If you didn't catch The Buzz in The Day on Sunday, here are the names of this year's student awards winners:
East Lyme and Salem, CT:
The Niantic Rotary Club is proud to announce
their 2025-2026 school year student awards for outstanding achievements as Students of the Month, Middle School Essay Contest winners, and East Lyme Scholarship Association scholarship.
The Club hosts the students, advisors, and parents to a luncheon to meet the students and award plaques and checks at the time of each award. The end of the year Students of the Month luncheon included First Selectman Daniel Cunningham, East Lyme High
School Principal Henry Kidd who introduced each student along with their accomplishments, school registrar Stacey Muscarella, credited with coordinating the program at the high school, and Superintendent of Schools, Jeffrey Newton. Newton
and Cunningham both expressed their appreciation for the school staff and acknowledged the hard work of the students. Principal Kidd remarked that these talented students would “use those talents to do good things in the world.” He wrapped up his speech by saying that these students are “a good group of human beings and that matters more than anything.”
Rotary’s motto, "Service Above Self" is at the core of this recognition. The Rotary Club honors outstanding local students who demonstrate a strong commitment to academic
excellence, leadership, and community service. Niantic Rotary dedicated over $11,000 this year to their community services programs for vocational and student development.
Middle School Essay Contest
Salem: Sonia Menon, first place; Zoe Arpin; second place
East Lyme: Luciana Rhein, first place; Rachel Baek; second place
East Lyme High School Students of the Month
Luke Bergman; Shreyal Bhagwat; Garrison Biggs; Hannah Drago; Lane Green, Ellie
Mansfield; Aneleise Mazzulli, Ayden Orozco; Susanna Trapp; RJ Zhang.
East Lyme Scholarship Association - Niantic Rotary Foundation
In addition to Student of the Month, RJ Zhang was also awarded the Niantic Rotary Foundation scholarship by the East Lyme Scholarship Association. Niantic Rotary Club sponsors an Interact Club that orchestrates community service and leadership
opportunities for its members. RJ Zang was this year’s president. Interact members are important partners to the Club’s many community service projects. The scholarship is not exclusive to Interact members, so the club was very proud to see that RJ’s efforts were rewarded.
To find out more and support our programming, go to
www.nianticrotary.org Their main fundraising Cash Raffle is active now.
Email [email protected] to attend a meeting.
