2007 John Cannon Memorial Scholarship Winner ($40,000)
Avi Edelman
Silver Spring, Maryland
Avi Edelman, a graduating senior for Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, is the recipient of this year’s $40,000 John Cannon Memorial Scholarship. Next fall he will attend Columbia University in New York City.
Avi has combined a remarkable academic record with a creative talent in a variety of media productions. He has produced 26 different videos and films as well as 13 different news stories for his high school TV station. Avi is enrolled in a rigorous interdisciplinary academic program crammed with honors and advanced placement courses. His grade point average is a perfect 4.0. He is a member of the National Honor Society, the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica, and, in 2006, was named a Maryland Distinguished Scholar.
Shay Taylor, a teacher, writes that Avi was “consistently at the top of his class in projects, leadership and initiative. His ability to tell a story clearly, passionately, and professional has impressed me again and again.”
Lansing Freeman, another teacher, says that Avi’s skills and talent with filming and editing video just have to be seen to be believed.
Avi is actively involved in political and social change groups. He is president of his high school Young Democrats Club, as well as an event coordinator for Students for Global Responsibility, and a member of Operation Understanding DC, a group that promotes better understanding among high school students from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.