2025 Scholar-Artist Awards Ceremony
On April 28, 2025, we proudly celebrated the region’s most exceptional high school seniors at the annual Scholar-Artist Awards Ceremony, held at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts. Each year, LIAA honors 20 students who excel academically and artistically, as well as a group of finalists recognized with Awards of Merit.
Below, you’ll find the full ceremony videos, including individual tributes to our Scholar-Artists and Merit Award recipients. You can also download the official digital program featuring student bios, performance details, and acknowledgments.
This celebration is more than a ceremony—it’s a testament to the power of arts education and the talent thriving in our schools and communities.
Meet The Scholar-Artists:
Meet the Merit-Award Recipients:
View and Download the Official Event Program
Feel free to download, share, or print this keepsake program featuring bios of our 2025 Scholar-Artists and Merit Award recipients.
We are deeply grateful to Newsday for their continued partnership in shining a spotlight on this program, and to the Arts Reach Fund at The New York Community Trust for their generous support.
2025 Long Island Scholar-Artists
We're thrilled to announce this year's winners of the Long Island Scholar-Artist Awards! These exceptional students have been recognized for their outstanding achievements in the arts across five disciplines: Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Dance, and Media Arts. Stay tuned as we celebrate their incredible talents throughout the school year in partnership with Newsday, with each Scholar-Artist featured in monthly profiles in print and online.
Media Arts
Scholar-Artists
Victoria Lin, Half Hollow Hills HS East
Abigail Maselli, Locust Valley HS
Riley Wood, LIHSA / Wantagh HS
Henry Zhao, Cold Spring Harbor HS
Merit Awards
Maya Martin, Herricks HS
Nick Miceli, Smithtown HS / LIHSA
Elena Mingorance, South Side HS
Christine Wang, New Hyde Park Memorial HS
Music
Scholar-Artists
Lucy Chang, Miller Place HS
Constantine Cheung, Herricks HS
Thomas Lasher, Newfield HS
Eric Reilly, Lynbrook HS
Katie Swansig, Oceanside HS
Merit Awards
Ava Giannitelli, W.T. Clarke HS
Kevin Kirley, Kellenberg Memorial HS
Aaron Liu, Syosset HS
SuQi Tian, Great Neck North HS
Dance
Scholar-Artists
Scarlett DePaul, Northport HS / LIHSA
Lauren Gilbert, LIHSA / Kings Park HS
Katelyn Guterwill, Sayville HS
Merit Awards
Ainsley Waite, Half Hollow Hills HS West / LIHSA
Theater
Scholar-Artists
Danielle Kaplan, Syosset HS
Mackenzie Kling, Mt. Sinai HS
Sara Nearenberg, Locust Valley HS / LIHSA
Arielle Ziff, Oceanside HS
Merit Awards
Amelia Freiberger, Harborfields HS
Ashlee Fucarino, LIHSA / Wantagh HS
Dani Pressman, Jericho HS
Madeline Naughton, Kellenberg Memorial HS
Ariana Washington, North Babylon HS
Visual Arts
Scholar-Artists
Janice Lee, LIHSA / Syosset
Maia Schaider, Half Hollow Hills HS West
Fiona So, Floral Park Memorial HS
Kerry Yeung, Half Hollow Hills HS East
Merit Awards
Kaitlin Cook, Garden City HS
Baihe Fu, Plainview Old Bethpage John F Kennedy HS
Elena Moryl, H. Frank Carey HS
Ashlyn Thitibordin, Jericho HS
Kimberly Widjaja, Hicksville HS
Katherine Yu Zhao, Great Neck North HS
The LIAA Scholar-Artist Program is presented in cooperation with Newsday.
The LIAA Scholar-Artist program salutes its sponsors: New York Community Bank Foundation and Arts Reach Fund at Long Island Community Foundation. Contact Lauren@LongIslandArtsAlliance.org for more information about scholarship opportunities.