Two Kingswood Oxford Seniors Tapped for Special Honors

Two Kingswood Oxford seniors – Stephanie Fagbemi and Brenda Winn -- have recently been honored for extraordinary service by prestigious organizations.

Winn, daughter of Marcia and Kevin Winn of Newington, is one of four students awarded a $1,000 United Technologies/YMCA Wesley A. Kuhrt Youth Citizenship Award for Community Service. The award is given in memory of Wesley A. Kuhrt, former president of Sikorsky Aircraft and UTC senior vice president, who was known for his volunteer and professional leadership.

The YMCA cited Winn’s involvement with Friendship Circle CT, which pairs Jewish teens with special needs youth, as well as Sponsor a Smile, through which she created and delivered 100 handmade fleece blankets to several children’s organizations, including the siblings of children who died in Newtown.

At KO, Winn was a member of the Cum Laude honor society; one of only seven Martin-Nicholson Scholars in the Class of ’13; co-editor of the yearbook; managing editor of the KO News; executive board member of KO’s tour guide group; and a senior advisor to 6th-grade students. Over the March break, she performed community service in Tobati, Paraguay, with a group from KO. She will attend St. Lawrence University.

Fagbemi, the daughter of Stephen and Antonia Fagbemi of West Suffield, is one of only three Connecticut students honored by the Princeton Prize in Race Relations, sponsored by Princeton University.

According to Princeton, “the prize was created to promote harmony, understanding and respect among people of different races by identifying and recognizing high school students whose efforts have had a significant, positive effect on race relations in their school and communities.”

As an officer in United Students, KO’s diversity club, Fagbemi “has helped to initiate countless conversations about diversity, benefiting students and adults alike in our community,” said Zaira Santiago, her college advisor.

Fagbemi is an AP Scholar, was honored as an Outstanding Participant in the National Achievement Scholarship Program, and is co-editor of the yearbook. She competes on KO’s squash, volleyball, and track teams, and is also a member of several choral groups. She will attend the University of Pennsylvania.