Editor’s note: We previously covered another award that was announced by the borough president, for the Patrick F. Daly Award, which honors educators and school administrators for exceptional work with children at their schools in various capacities. The borough president also recently helped a Staten Island family that had been victimized by license plate fraud obtain legal justice. Applications for local musicians to participate in the Summer concert series presented by the borough president are still open. In addition, volunteers are still needed for the neighborhood cleanups that are going on during the spring season. Interested readers can learn more at this article.
BP Fossella to Present Petrides Award to Tottenville High School Senior
Staten Island, NY – Borough President Vito Fossella honored Inyoung Kim for her academic accomplishments with the Michael J. Petrides Student Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science at a ceremony at the Petrides School on Wednesday, May 13th at 6:30 PM.
The annual award is given to a high school senior who demonstrates academic excellence in math and science. Named in memory of Michael J. Petrides, a beloved Staten Island educator and engineer who passed away in 1994, the award recognizes students who exemplify academic excellence, curiosity, and innovation. It is the only Island-wide academic award, with one nomination from each high school, both public and private.
Inyoung Kim is a highly accomplished senior of Tottenville High School and a student of the Science Institute Program, a highly competitive and rigorous academic program. She is also a member of the National Honor Society, an AP Scholar and Scholar with Distinction, and has placed on the Principal’s Honor Roll. Having risen to the occasion of her advanced academic portfolio, Inyoung will graduate at the top of her 1,000-student-class with a 106.74 cumulative average and will advance to college bearing an outstanding SAT score of 1440. Within the school community, Inyoung is in a leadership role, heading the Tottenville Student Organization and as section leader in the Symphonic Orchestra.
Inyoung is an adept volunteer, serving as an assistant teacher at a Korean school, a Kids Art & Ceramics instructor at the JCC, and as a math and English tutor for a student with a neurodevelopmental disorder.
Striving in academic pursuits of science and culture, Inyoung recently completed a Summer Science Initiative and music internship at Kingsborough Community College, and participated in a biomedical engineering summer program at Columbia Engineering SHAPE and a summer program for engineers at HYPOTHEKids HK Maker Lab. For her depth of academic acumen, Inyoung was fourth of 40 participants recognized with honors for Excellence in Brain and Cognitive Science by Columbia University and the NYS Pre-College Enrichment Program and was one of five Korean Academic Scholarship Foundation scholarship recipients in the US Northeast.
For her model citizenship in and out of the classroom, and for her extensive pursuits of knowledge and experiences in science, Inyoung Kim was awarded the Michael J. Petrides Student Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science.
In attendance at the event: BP Fossella; Inyoung Kim, 2026 Petrides Award winner; Petrides Award nominees and families; Department of Education representatives; Staten Island educators
Banner Image: BP Fossella at substance abuse partner event. Image Credit – BP Fossella
About The Author
The Office of the Borough President has a responsibility to advocate for the entire Borough of Staten Island and all its residents, and represents the Borough's interests within City government.
The Borough President communicates directly with the Mayor and the City Council to emphasize Staten Island’s budget priorities.
In addition, the Borough President is responsible for reviewing major land use decisions and proposing sites for city facilities within the Borough.
As the chair of the Borough Board, the Borough President leads Staten Island’s City Council delegation and Community Board chairs in the process of reviewing and approving the transfer of public properties to private use. The Borough President’s Office houses the Borough's Topographical Bureau, which maintains the borough’s official maps and assigns street addresses.
The Borough President monitors the delivery of city services on Staten Island, and acts as a liaison between residents and city agencies when problems arise to devise solutions. The Borough President is also responsible for appointing one member to the Panel for Educational Policy and one member to the City Planning Commission, as well as some 150 members to Staten Island’s three community boards.
How in the world does a student at Tottenville get an award from Petrides? That seems weird that they didn’t give it to a HS student of their own.