Dear Sacco Foundation Supporter,
2021 ended up being a first for The William J. Sacco Critical Thinking Foundation, in which we held our 10th annual awards banquet virtually.
There were nearly 100 people in attendance, including 14 students and 11 educators from all 12 Harford County High Schools and programs. This marked the first time in Sacco Foundation history that there was a student representative from each school/program.
Khiyali Pillalamarri, a senior from The Science and Math Academy at Aberdeen High School, was named the Mathematics Student of the Year.
Pillalamarri ranked 9th in her class of 289 with a cumulative GPA of 4.77. She also scored a 1590 on the SAT. Pillalamarri becomes the 3rd Sacco Foundation Mathematics Student of the Year from the S&M Academy, joining Eli Jaffe (2014) and Alexandra Stephens (2015).
The Math Educator of the Year, Kelly Mattingly, is a teacher from C. Milton Wright High School.
Mattingly teaches grades 9 – 12 at C. Milton Wright in Ramp Up to Algebra, Honors Trigonometry, Geometry, AP Calculus AB, and AP Calculus BC. She becomes the 2nd Sacco Foundation Mathematics Educator of the Year from C. Milton Wright High School, joining Cynthia Thompson (2020)
See below for a complete list of the 2021 winners.
STUDENTS
– Adam Butz (The John Carroll School)
– John Geraghty (Fallston High School)
– Natalie Kully (Joppatowne High School)
– Anthony Ma (Bel Air High School)
– Mohammed Moubarak (Edgewood High School)
– Erin O’Leary (North Harford High School)
– Avani Patel (Aberdeen High School)
– Khiyali Pillalamarri (Science and Mathematics Academy)
– Meadow Santoriello (Patterson Mill High School)
– Angel Scott (Harford Tech High School)
– Marie Webb (Havre de Grace High School)
– Christiana Wozniak (C. Milton Wright High School)
EDUCATORS
– Kim Cadle (The John Carroll School)
– Colleen Christian (Havre de Grace High School)
– Kelly Mattingly (C. Milton Wright High School)
– Megan McCrum (Harford Tech High School)
– Timothy Polack (Aberdeen High School)
– Maria Reed (Bel Air High School)
– Tabitha Sauer (Edgewood High School)
– Shelly Sparks (North Harford High School)
– Bridget Stimax (Patterson Mill High School)
– Michelle Watson (Joppatowne High School)
COMMUNITY AWARD
– McKenzie Milstead (Patterson Mill High School)
MIKE FRANKLIN COMPUTING AWARDS
– Student: Ian Morrill (Science and Mathematics Academy)
– Educator: Cynthia Thompson (C. Milton Wright High School)
The foundation also hit a milestone distribution of more than $100,000 in college scholarships to 132 high school students. In addition, more than $10,000 has been awarded to educators to support their classroom materials, course-related experiences, and further education, all since 2004.
As we look to 2022, we will once again be hosting our awards ceremony virtually. This event will take place on Monday, March 14th from 7:00-8:30 p.m. ET. More information will be made available soon.
Lastly, a sad note from September 2021 was the passing of June Sacco, wife of the late Dr. William J. Sacco, who was a pioneer in trauma injury research and namesake of the Sacco Foundation. She was 89.
June shared Bill’s passion for education and enjoyed her career of 20 years, teaching second grade at various elementary schools in Harford County. Most importantly, June was Bill’s biggest supporter. They both loved mentoring and working with talented students, and she enjoyed hosting visits at their Bel Air home.
“When I first started with Bill and his company back in high school, June had a role to organize the data entry operations and was like a second mom to me at that young age,” said John Kutcher. “The Sacco’s had a huge impact on my life direction through the opportunities they provided.”
We’ll continue their legacy through our work and support with The William J. Sacco Critical Thinking Foundation
As always, we would like to thank you for your continued support of The William J. Sacco Critical Thinking Foundation. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to the foundation, please visit https://www.saccofoundation.org/contribute/ to learn more. All money donated will go to the many scholarships given to award winners at our annual banquet.
From all of us at The William J. Sacco Critical Thinking Foundation, we wish you a happy and healthy 2022!
Harrison Swartz
Director of PR/Communications and Events