Laudable Lawrentians Earn Recognition in the Arts and Sciences

Lawrentians have recently earned recognition for their work in poetry, visual art, science and academics, with honors ranging from a national poetry prize to a research award and a solo exhibition.  

English teacher Margaret Ray’s “Practical Effects” was selected as one of five winners of the National Poetry Series 2026 National Poetry Series Open Competition. Ray is the author of “Good Grief, the Ground” (BOA Editions, 2023, winner of the A. Poulin Jr. Poetry Prize and shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award) and the chapbook “Superstitions of the Mid-Atlantic” (Poetry Society of America, 2022). Her poems have appeared in The Atlantic, The Nation, American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, and elsewhere.

Fifth Formers Eric Chen, Seunghyun Lee, Oceana Li, and Ainsley Walters are semifinalists in the National Merit Scholar Corporation. They now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,700 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $24 million that will be offered next spring.

Karina Stakh ’27 held her first solo art exhibit, “Mara,” at the Sophia Stef Gallery in Lambertville, N.J. from September 19-23. At Lawrenceville she is president of the Muse Visual Art Council and editor-in-chief of “The Hutchins Review,” the School's art history publication. She has previously exhibited at the Present Day Club in Princeton with the Princeton Academy of Art.

Aadhya Ravi ’28 earned the Best Research Award from International Journal of Science and Innovation Research Journal. This recognition celebrates exceptional research, scientific curiosity, dedication, and a commitment to advancing innovation.

Antonia Comaniciu ’25, has received Princeton University’s Freshman First Honor Prize, awarded each year in recognition of exceptional academic achievement as a first-year student. This prize, which was established in 1923, recognizes exceptional achievement in a student’s academic work during their first year on campus. Under the terms of the prize, $1,000 is donated to the secondary school from which the Freshman First Honor Prize winner graduated. This donation is intended for the purchase of books for the school’s library, or for other educational purposes, in honor of Comaniciu.

For more information, contact Lisa M. Gillard H'17, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.