Student musicians, including some from Hopkinton. perform at the MICCA gold medal showcase last month. PHOTO/DECLAN HANSCOM

A number of musical groups from Hopkinton High School and Hopkinton Middle School earned awards at the recent Massachusetts Instrumental & Choral Conductor’s Association (MICCA) competition.

From the high school, the orchestra, symphonic band and concert band all won gold, while the chorus took home bronze.

From the middle school, the orchestra and band won silver, while the chorus earned bronze.

The purpose of MICCA is to encourage and support high-performance standards by high school, middle school and elementary school musical organizations. The MICCA Concert Festival encourages the improvement of an ensemble’s musical standards by providing musical adjudication by highly qualified adjudicators.

Robotics team wins award

Following up on our feature from the last issue on the local robotics teams that qualified for the VEX Robotics World Championships in Dallas from April 25-May 3, Hopkinton Middle School Team 1715Z won the Amaze Award, which recognizes a consistently high-performing and competitive robot.

Also, one student’s name was accidentally omitted from last issue’s article. Ajay Goverdhan is a member of the Team W Robo-Wizards.

HHS students support Kick Butts Day

Hopkinton High School students Neha Ninan, Aryaa Dixit and Emily Evans visited the Statehouse for Kick Butts Day on April 2. They were representing the Hopkinton Organization for Prevention (HOP) Youth Coalition.

Kick Butts Day is a national day of education and advocacy focused on tobacco prevention. At the event, the local students talked to state Rep. James Arena-DeRosa about the tobacco and vaping industries’ tactics and what the students are seeing in the community. They also took part in development training, listened to speeches and rallied outside the Statehouse with other youth who share the same passion.

Ninan was part of the leadership team that helped organize the program with The 84 Movement, an organization that focuses on fighting big tobacco and vaping companies. The event was sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

Shrivastava earns Merit Scholarship

Hopkinton High School student Prisha Shrivastava was named a winner of a $2,500 grant as part of the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. Shrivastava has expressed interested in pursuing a career field in genetics.

National Merit $2,500 scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

Local collegians honored

Stonehill College senior Brooklyn McDermott-Hyland was inducted into the Tri-Alpha Honor Society, which recognizes members of the institution’s first-generation community, who are the first in their families to attend college, for their commitment to academic excellence. McDermott-Hyland also was honored with a certificate of achievement in accounting at the 2024 Scholars Celebration, held April 30. …

Also at Stonehill, senior Ian Cann was inducted into Lambda Epsilon Sigma, the institution’s academic honor society. The organization recognizes outstanding juniors and seniors who have demonstrated an excitement for both learning and sharing their knowledge. …

At UMass Amherst, Lillian York was initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, which bills itself as the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society.

Editor’s note: Information for college honors is provided by the schools. Those interested in being included in this section should forward the official notification or request for the school to email it to editor@hopkintonindependent.com.