Capital Area School Development Association (CASDA) recognized four Guilderland students and teachers for their 40th Annual Capital Region Students and Teachers Who Make a Difference awards. Recognized students are chosen by their schools on the basis of academic achievements, community service and leadership to their schools or communities, or other unique accomplishments.
Each nominated student then selects a teacher who has had a significant influence on their education.
Guilderland senior Nanaadwoa Frimpong selected GHS social studies teacher Alonna Rudolph as her influential teacher, and senior Akshay Muppidi chose GHS ELS teacher Diane Geurin.
Nanaadwoa Frimpong
“Throughout my career, I have worked with a handful of truly exceptional students, and Nana is at the top of that list. She effortlessly balances a highly rigorous academic program with extensive extracurricular commitments, managing everything with maturity and purpose. Nana is a natural leader, who recently co-organized a school-wide ‘Ted Talk Day.’ She works part time, has participated in the STEP program, conducting research at RPI since 10th grade, is involved in many clubs at GHS, and also volunteers in her free time. What truly sets her apart, however, is her empathy. She is the Counseling Center’s ‘go-to’ ambassador for new students. Nana regularly goes above and beyond to ensure new peers feel welcomed, supported, and included from day one. Not only does she escort these students to classes, she explains the ins and outs of Guilderland High School, brings them to the cafeteria, and ensures that they have someone to eat lunch with during their transition. Nana is compassionate, self-driven, and possesses exceptional time management skills. She has spent the past four years making our high school a better place and her presence will be sorely missed next year. This fall she will be attending Northeastern University to major in Mechanical Engineering w/ Design and minor in Aerospace Engineering.”
Alonna Rudolph
“Mrs. Rudolph embodies passion like no one I’ve seen before. She clearly loves her job and she always does what’s best to help her students learn. Out of all the courses I’ve taken throughout my high school career, her APUSH class is my favorite. Even though I’m a STEM major, she was able to easily cross this boundary and form a connection. Her dedication to her job and her amazing ability to teach has made me understand that passion is something that I should strive to strengthen.”
Akshay Muppidi
“Akshay is one of the most outstanding students on my caseload. He is a highly intelligent, curious, and driven student. Over the past two years, he has completed a full slate of college-level courses and excelled in each of them. Outside the classroom, Akshay serves as president of four clubs and captain of our varsity tennis team. He also founded both the Artificial Intelligence Club and the Programming Club. Under his leadership, the Programming Club earned a top-ten finish at the Cornell State Programming Contest. Akshay’s research reflects his desire to make meaningful contributions. At just 16 years old, he became the youngest first-author presenter at the IEEE ICASSP Conference in Seoul, where he presented original research on teaching AI to recognize human emotion through speech. His accomplishments are matched by a genuine commitment to others, and he consistently looks for ways to use his talents to make a positive impact. Akshay is disciplined, thoughtful, and compassionate. He listens as much as he leads and approaches opportunities with both intellectual curiosity and humility. This fall, he will attend Columbia University to study Computer Science and Cognitive Science.”
Diane Geurin
“Mrs. Geurin had a tremendous impact on my growth throughout high school. She constantly pushed me to collaborate with people outside of my usual circle, teaching me the value of teamwork, learning from different perspectives, and being open to the possibility that I might be wrong. Through her thoughtful writing assignments and attention to detail, she helped me become a stronger writer, a more confident speaker, and a more reflective person.”
View the full list of outstanding seniors and the educators that inspire them here.