Honerkamp, Sinha earn Senate’s Youth Leadership Recognition Award from Sen. Skoufis

Warwick Valley High School juniors Paxton Honerkamp and Tanya Sinha earned a New York State Senate Youth Leadership Recognition Award certificate from Senator James Skoufis in a presentation on Friday. He also recognized Warwick’s Odyssey of the Mind teams.

Left to right, Paxton Honerkamp, Sen. Skoufis and Tanya Sinha.

The state Senate’s Youth Leadership Awards Program recognizes students who exhibit leadership qualities and the determination to make a difference in the future success of businesses and their communities.

Honerkamp is president of the high school’s Youth in Government Club and has volunteered to work for a few elected officials in the region and sit on their student advisory councils. Sinha, also a member of the Youth in Government Club, was the keynote speaker for the 2023 Junior Leadership Orange (JLO) graduation ceremony last month. Sinha is also vice president and treasurer of the Autism Awareness Club; she participates in SADD and the Chronic Illness Awareness clubs; she is a member of the Math Team; and she took part in the Rotary Youth Leadership Conference last summer.

“I wanted to recognize both of you and thank you for the community service that you engage in and for giving back to your classmates,” Sen. Skoufis said. “And, also for your academic achievements as well. Well done!”

Two Warwick Valley Middle School Odyssey of the Mind teams were also honored with certificates from Sen. Skoufis for their recent accomplishments at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals. The vehicle team came in ninth place out of 61 teams; the technical team came in sixth place out of 45 teams; and the High School team came in 13th place out of 46 teams.

Students from the Middle School Odyssey of the Mind teams with Sen. Skoufis.