BERLIN — Anousha Hashim and Max Ding, two seniors from Berlin High School, received the Connecticut Association of Board of Education Student Leadership Award, which recognizes honorable leadership skills.
The two students were selected as this year recipients after showing leadership skills, but also for their ability to face challenges, make decisions, work with others and commitment to a project.
Hashim’s dedication to academics, extracurricular activities and community service made her stand out among her peers. She has demonstrated intellectual curiosity and a passion for learning, especially through sciences, a subject she is committed to.
This interest led her to doing five weeks of research at UConn Health, in which she explored the roles various genes may play in osteosarcoma tumorigenesis through immunohistochemistry.
Her academic excellence has been recognized with the Connecticut Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish, and she also is a member in both the National Honor Society and the Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society.
Outside of school, her leadership skills still shine, through her involvement in the community. Hashim has been a Board of Education student representative for two years, as well as part of Berlin High School’s Model UN club.
To add on, she is also the president of the school’s HOSA chapter, a writing center tutor and an active member of her mosque, where she serves as president of the Muslim Youth Association of Connecticut.
As for Ding, his natural-born leadership skills have been reflected through his commitments in academics, athletics and extracurricular activities. Like Hashim, he received the CT Seal of Biliteracy for Spanish and has been inducted into the National Honor Society and the Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society.
During a month-long fellowship at UConn’s Institute of Materials Science, Ding analyzed the kinetics of synthesizing polymers using a dichloromethane setting and analyzed the properties of the films created.
Involved in a wide range of extracurricular activities, like the medical club, the weightlifting club and the Madrigal Singers, he is also a member of the BHS math team and the Senior House Leader of Willard House in the Upbeat program.
These various activities didn’t stop him from performing in the latest Berlin High musical production,”The Wizard of Oz,” in which he embodied the Wizard.
Ding is also a volunteer at the Berlin Peck Memorial Library, at the Chinese Language School of Greater Hartford and at Willard Elementary School, where he is a classroom assistant.
He has also demonstrated high athletic achievement with both the BHS baseball varsity team and the varsity indoor track team. For 12 years, Ding has been playing baseball and is a pitcher and outfielder. As for track, he has been doing it for four years and was elected captain twice. He has also qualified for the state championship in the shot put and the 4x200 meter relay multiple times.
Both students have not committed to a college or university yet, but they both plan on pursuing their studies in a scientific field. Hashim plans on pursuing a major in biology or psychology, focusing on physician assistant and dental studies. Ding plans on studying either bioengineering/biomedical engineering, biochemistry or molecular biology, with the hope to become an orthopedic surgeon or biomedical engineer.
Ding and Hashim will be recognized during the Berlin BOE meeting in June.
