Bolles Head of Middle School Bartram Campus Josh Bauman announced the Second Semester President’s List recipients May 6 during a convocation in Parker Auditorium on the Bartram Campus.

The President’s List Award recognizes students who have gone above and beyond in their demonstration of The Bolles Way. The award celebrates students who have shown courage, integrity and compassion in significant service to others and who have worked in specific ways to enhance our School and broader community.

Bolles President and Head of School Tyler Hodges presented awards to the following students:

• Myka Das ’28: This eighth grader’s contributions to Bolles and the broader community demonstrate her commitment to helping others as well as personal excellence. Her volunteerism outside of school includes playing the piano at Mayo Clinic’s Lyndra P. Daniel Center for Humanities in Medicine and serving as an art instructor as part of the Joy Advisory Council, also at Mayo Clinic. At Bolles, Das is an active member of the music program, and she represented Bolles as a member of the Middle School Math Counts Team, helping the group take fourth place in the regional competition. Das is also a talented published author and poet who shares her creative writing with others.
   
• Tilly Waddell ’28: Waddell has shown a passion for raising awareness and providing support for individuals grappling with eating disorders. After first completing a project for her Civics class in which she shared information with her classmates, she was determined to find a way to inform others within the Bartram Campus community. She reached out to Bauman and, with the support of middle school health and wellness teacher Jennifer Velcio, created a presentation to share with middle school faculty and staff. Waddell then attended a faculty meeting during February’s National Eating Disorder Awareness Month to inform her teachers how to identify possible signs of eating disorders and share how they could support individuals in the school, families or other communities who may be struggling.
   
• Sofia Ayaz ’30: This sixth grader has shown a dedication and passion for supporting newly arrived refugee families to our area, specifically helping Afghan and Syrian refugee families throughout the month of Ramadan – including volunteering at an event organized by Mayo Clinic. Along with donating part of her allowance, Ayaz gave gifts to refugee children for Eid and has helped set up families in their apartments and provided them with household items, food and clothes.
   
• Natasha Saini ’30: Saini has demonstrated her desire to support meaningful causes through various efforts this year – often combining her joy for philanthropy with her love of the arts. Last fall, she set up a lemonade stand to support an organization she cares for deeply: The Bolles School. For two days, she sold lemonade, paintings and bracelets, collecting hundreds of dollars to donate to The Bolles Fund. This year, Saini also started her own business called Natasha’s Bracelets and Bamboo Stickers, selling both clay-bead bracelets that she makes herself as well as environmentally friendly bamboo wood stickers. As her business grows, she plans to donate a portion of her profits to various charitable environmental organizations. In addition to this new venture, Saini helped raise funds for Tribe Rehabilitation through the Pie in the Face raffle this spring. She also donated gifts and made holiday gift baskets as a member of the JAX Thrive Club.

Congratulations, Bulldogs! #TheBollesWay