In the month of February, both RJ Giampetruzzi and Yasmeen Galal were recipients of the 2024 Superintendent’s award. The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) has the pleasure of distributing this award to a deserving boy and girl from each school district every year. Each superintendent will choose one boy and one girl from the district to represent the region as a whole. This year, it was Giampetruzzi and Galal.
For starters, let’s discuss the criteria for winning this award. The CAPSS bases the criteria of the award on three main principles: leadership, character, and service. While each of these terms are fairly broad and self-explanatory, they certainly hold extreme value in the community.
Galal fully understands the importance and meaning of the award, and has built up quite the resumé throughout the last few years. Within Woodland, she is the Student Body Vice President, captain of the Math Team, and captain of the Tennis Team. Outside of Woodland, she is the President of Connecticut’s Student Council, a Lead Programmer on her robotics team, and a representative on the Connecticut Board of Education. She has also accumulated over 1,000 service hours throughout my time in high school.
“I am very excited that I won this award,” said Galal. “It’s an honor to be recognized for dedication to community and leadership as these are traits I really try to practice in my day to day life.”
Giampetruzzi on the other hand has had a more subtle effect on the community throughout his 4 years. However, it is safe to say that he has had just as much of a positive impact as Galal. He was the captain of the boys soccer team, is a member of a number of clubs, and is enrolled in multiple high level classes here at Woodland. Most importantly, Giampetruzzi knows how to work hard each and every day. The ability to balance school, sports, and a job is something that he is very proud of.
“I always strive to be the best version of myself, so to win this award is an honor,” said Giampetruzzi.
Since winning the award, there was also a dinner dedicated to the several award winners throughout the state. Recipients and their families were invited to a miniature award ceremony in their honor. Galal and Giampetruzzi were joined by their respective families, along with Region 16’s Superintendent of Schools Michael Yamin.
Galal’s main takeaway from the dinner was the incredible acts of other students her age.
“The dinner was very nice because I got to hear about the amazing things other students are accomplishing while also spending time with my family,” she said.
For Giampetruzzi, he truly appreciated the individual attention that the dinner put on the award recipients.
“The dinner for the award winners was great,” he said. “It was very personal and every award winner felt appreciated. The food was great and the venue was even better.”
Both Galal and Giampetruzzi are beyond deserving of this award. Since they stepped foot in this building, both have made an amazing impact on Woodland in their own ways. Galal has a great piece of advice for underclassmen who may be striving to win this award as they embark on their next few years at Woodland.
“Be passionate about everything that you do. When this is the case, all the traits of a winner, particularly leadership and service, occur naturally.”
Giampetruzzi also felt as though it was important to offer some words of advice to people who hope to be in his shoes one day.
“My advice to the underclassmen is to be your best self every day, wake up in the morning and be happy about starting your day, and to work hard at every opportunity that you are presented with.”
