AHA adds 27 to ranks of National Art Honor Society; Emma Yale of Westwood is chapter president
DEMAREST—Some of the Academy of the Holy Angels’ best fine artists have been inducted into the National Art Honor Society for attaining the highest levels of achievement in art and academics.
NAHS inductees must also demonstrate good character and participate in service projects and art education at school and beyond.
NAHS Adviser Kathryn Biskup introduced this spring’s inductees at the April 6 ceremony. AHA’s honorees are Natalia Antaki of Franklin Lakes; Myra Bocage of Chestnut Ridge, N.Y.; Catherine Chiang of Orangeburg, N.Y.; Olivia Costa, Emily Danahy, Amanda Tomasella, and Lauren Tomasella of Oradell; Dominique Rose Dela Gente and Xinyue “Cindy” Yang of Tenafly; Julianna DellaCroce of Hawthorne; Caroline Dupas of Pearl River, N.Y.; Keira Footer, Sophia Toscano, Briana Uddo, and Sydney Uddo of Englewood Cliffs; Natalia Gonzalez of Paterson; Ava Goyal of Montclair; Jordan Kotch of Cornwall, N.Y.; Micayla McMahon of Norwood; Isabela Novo of River Vale; Liana Powley of Mahwah; Ashley Rubin of Blauvelt, N.Y., Shivani Sahu of Paramus; Amelia Shen of Demarest; Mackenzie Wedeen of Englewood; Nicole Yakubov of Teaneck; and Faith Youn of Closter.
Biskup noted that membership in the NAHS includes benefits, such as eligibility for various scholarships. NAHS also includes service and leadership opportunities, and a chance to gain Rising Star Secondary Recognition Program honors.
The NAHS pledge states: “I will, through my talents in art, help to create a more beautiful world for myself, for humankind, and for all living things. I will always seek to create, not destroy. I will dedicate myself to the helping and education of others through the practice of art. I will, to the best of my ability, uphold the highest level of conduct in my art, service, character, and academics.”
Those in the audience participated John Johansen-Berg’s prayer, which asks the Heavenly Artist to “bless the painters, sculptors, and composers whose creative gifts are a source of blessing for others.”
Biskup organized this year’s induction ceremony with assistance from the society’s executive board. Officers include President Emma Yale of Westwood, Vice President Julie Rubino of Nutley, Secretary Grace Sawyer of Weehawken, and Public Relations Co-chairs Zeida Ben-Fredj Lopez of Bergenfield and Kacey Pupo of Tappan, N.Y.
Yale addressed the new inductees, noting how art had helped her through the spring 2020 lockdown necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. She recounted how she relied on art as a means to understand this new world.
“Art helped me hold on,” Yale said. “Art is how I see, and who I am.”
This fall, Yale will continue her studies of art at Williams College. Her goal is to become an art professor.
AHA Dean of Students Carmen Quiñones congratulated the inductees. She said that Yale’s words reminded her of artist Frida Khalo, who poured her soul into her creations. Quiñones noted that works of art have the power to touch the artist and the viewer.
Founded by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1879, the Academy of the Holy Angels is the oldest private girls’ school in Bergen County. While AHA is steeped in Catholic tradition, this prestigious school serves young women from a broad spectrum of cultural and religious backgrounds.
The Academy’s leaders continue to further the SSND mission to provide each student with the tools she needs to reach the fullness of her potential—spiritually, intellectually, socially, and physically, by offering a first-rate education in a nurturing environment where equal importance is placed on academic excellence, character development, moral integrity, and service to others.