Holbrook, Cognata receive Rotary Club Hat’s Off award

TEWKSBURY — On Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022 the Tewksbury Rotary Club honored TMHS members of the Class of 2023, Lindsay Holbrook and Ava Cognata for receiving the November 2022 Hat’s Off Award.

The Hat’s Off Award is a joint initiative of the Tewksbury Rotary Club and the Tewksbury Me­morial High School to recognize those students who have distinguished themselves both academically and civically in the community.

Lindsay Holbrook, daughter of Erin and Ken Holbrook, was nominated by TMHS faculty members Ms. Dudley and Mr. Sullivan for her ability to multitask be­tween school work and extra curricular activities while demonstrating qualities of compassion and kindness in her leadership skills.

Drive and determination is behind Holbrook’s academic success at TMHS.

While being enrolled in two AP (Advanced Place­ment) courses and one Dual enrollment class, she has held a spot on the Honor Roll for all four years of high school. She has also earned the exceptional grade of 4 on an AP exam and has a grade point average of 4.0.

Holbrook is also a very active member of the TMHS student community as a member of the She’s the First Club, the International Club, Na­tional Honor Society, DECA, and as stage manager for four years with the TMHS Theatre Company.

The Biliteracy program at TMHS has been of prime interest for Hol­brook as she is working to receive the Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish and the Global Compe­tency Award by graduation.

It is evident that Hol­brook’s interest to be­come bilingual is an im­portant part of her path in life.

“(Biliteracy) will make me a better global citizen,” Holbrook recently stated. “Being educated on different cultures and languages is necessary for me to understand the rest of the world and to truly become a successful person.”

Holbrook is an enga­ged citizen locally, providing many hours of volunteer work for her community.

Organizations she has volunteered for include the Tewksbury Public Library Teen Garden Initiative, the ENGin Program which helps teach Ukrainian youth to speak English, and the National Honor So­ciety Tutor program.

Somehow, Holbrook manages to find time to have a job at Target and work as an event assistant at TMHS, helping to or­ganize and run events at the school's auditorium.

Ava Cognata, daughter of Mary Quigley and Jason Cognata, was no­minated by TMHS faculty member Melanie Ry­an for always striving to step outside of her comfort zone to challenge and improve herself. Her devotion and compassion for others shows ma­turity beyond her years, and has helped her be the connected and caring person she has become.

Academically speaking, Cognata challenged herself taking two AP courses, Psychology and French. She is also a two year Gold Card re­cipient and has held a regular place on the Hon­or Roll for the past four years.

Besides concentration on academics, Cognata has exercised her artistic side while at school, winning first place in the TMHS Art Show her junior year.

She also uses her artistic ability to help her student community as photographer and social media person for the Robotics Team, Lead Run Crew for the TMHSTC Drama Club, and as a behind the scenes participant of the daily TMHS Morning Update.

Cognata is also an ac­tive member of the She’s the First Club and the French Club.

Outside of the halls of TMHS, Cognata is busy running and managing an online business selling clothes and handmade items.

After graduation, Cogna­ta plans to continue her education and passion to help others by earning a Mas­ters Degree in Psycho­logy and opening her own business.

Holbrook is looking forward to attending college in New York to study Fa­shion Merchandising. With the help of her bilingual status, she plans on working towards a successful ca­reer in Fashion Produc­tion, specifically fashion shows.

Despite the different paths Holbrook and Cognata may follow through life, it is evi­dent these two well de­serving Hat’s Off Award recipients are headed in the right direction.