Milton Hershey School Recognizes Outstanding Alumni and Student Achievements
On Friday, April 12, Milton Hershey School honored four outstanding graduates with Alumni Achievement Awards. The annual awards, developed in 1997, recognize graduates for their academic, career, and community service accomplishments. Corresponding awards also were presented to current MHS seniors.
The alumni honorees include Barbara Polk ’84, Helen Ard ’13, Albert Capozucca ’54, and Raymond Capozucca ’57. The student award recipients include seniors Lester Huang, Jian Arnold, and Nashaya Goodman.
- Barbara Polk ’84 received the Alumni Achievement Award for Career Accomplishment. Polk is the chief human resources officer at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Prior to that position, she was the president and founder of Amplify People Advisors, LLC—a consulting firm in the Washington, D.C. area. She is a business executive with more than 25 years of human resources, operations leadership, and board governance experience with prior careers working at The American Red Cross and The National Restaurant Association. She is a graduate of Rutgers University and has completed graduate coursework at the University of Maryland. Barbara also is a certified executive coach and serves on the National Board of Directors of The Lupus Foundation of America.
- Helen Ard ’13 received the Alumni Achievement Award for Academic Excellence. Ard is a 2017 graduate of Lehigh University with a dual degree in global studies and economics. During her time at Lehigh, she studied abroad in Morocco, interned for a non-profit in Cambodia, worked as a tutor at a local middle school, and held leadership positions in both the Muslim Student Association and the Phi Sigma Pi honors fraternity. She currently is a Teach for America Corps member and is teaching mathematics in the School District of Philadelphia at Strawberry Mansion High School. In the fall, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in childhood studies at Rutgers University.
- Albert ’54 and Raymond ’57 Capozucca received the Alumni Achievement Award for Community Service. In 2016, the Capozucca brothers were honored by the Italian American Association of Luzerne County with the Persons of the Year Award for their involvement in the community. Albert has been a member of the Pittston Township Volunteer Fire Department for 59 years, is the president and charter member of the Pittston Township Lions Club, and was one of the original founders of the Pittston Township Little League. He was a former member of the Pittston Knights of Columbus, a member of the Italian American Association of Luzerne County, and the Italian Citizen Enjoyment Club. Raymond also is a member of the Italian American Association of Luzerne County, the Italian Citizen Enjoyment Club, and a charter member of the Pittston Township Lions Club. He was a founder and member of the board of directors of the Pittston Township Little League and the board of United Services Agency. In addition, he held various offices with the Pittston Township Fire Department along with the board of directors of the Northeast Fair.
- Lester Huang received the Student Career Achievement Award. Huang has excelled in the areas of academic and career preparation since he enrolled as a sophomore. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Student Government Association, and numerous teams and clubs. He has earned four certifications through Milton Hershey School’s Career and Technical Education program, traveled to Peru for a Global Leadership Summit as part of the school’s Multicultural and Global Education program, and attended the Johns Hopkins University Engineering Innovation Summer Program. Beyond his academics, Huang’s character and leadership skills exemplify a well-rounded student.
- Jian Arnold received the Student Academic Excellence Award. Arnold has taken honors courses throughout his high school career and is one of the top academic students in his class. He finished the fall semester with a cumulative grade point average greater than 96 percent. Arnold has enhanced his capacity for learning by taking college-level courses for the past two years as well as several honors and advanced placement classes. He also has been Rotary Student of the Month, Student of the Marking Period, is a member of the National Honor Society, and participates in marching band, drum line, and jazz band. Along with volunteering as a member of the Fishburn United Methodist Praise Team, he also works at the Hershey Gardens and became an Eagle Scout after he collected and donated 55 backpacks full of school supplies for students in the Harrisburg area. In the summer of 2016, he attended the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth where he studied probability and game theory and in 2017, he interned in the finance office of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts.
- Nashaya Goodman received the Student Community Service Award. Goodman has served as the president of SCOR, the Spartan Community Outreach Caucus. Through that caucus she raised funds for charities and supported the creation of multiple community service events. Since 2017, she has volunteered in the MHS Admissions Office, served as a Middle Division recreation leader, Junior Chapel Leader for elementary students, MHS Student Ambassador, and for the past four years, she was a student athletic trainer. In addition to her various volunteer activities, she also completed an internship with The Hershey Company, has been Rotary Student of the Month, and in April of 2015, traveled to Iceland for a Global Leadership Summit as part of the school’s Multicultural and Global Education program.
Each spring, MHS acknowledges accomplished alumni along with seniors leading up to the announcement of the Alumnus of the Year, which will take place later this spring.