U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.) recently nominated three high school students from the Upper Valley for admission to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Among the 26 New Hampshire students Kuster nominated are: Cornish resident Sofia Di Antonio, a student at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden; Hanover resident and Hanover High School student Griffin Johnson; and Joah Moss, who is homeschooled in Plainfield.

The Write Stuff

Hartford High School freshman A.J. DeFelice placed third among Vermont students who wrote for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ State of the Union Essay Contest.

Pointing to climate change, treatment of immigrants and income inequality as “among the most pressing issues” facing the United States, DeFelice concluded that the country “will remain a strong, respected and prosperous nation if we are able to look past our disagreements and focus on making progress through compromise.”

DeFelice’s full essay, and those of overall winner Quinn Mayo of St. Johnsbury Academy and runner-up Musa Mayange of Winooski High School, are viewable at sanders.senate.gov/2017-state-of-the-union-essay-contest-winners. A panel of six Vermont teachers chose the winners.

Upper Valley residents joining DeFelice among the 20 finalists from around Vermont were South Royalton High School senior Emily Ballou, Hanover High School sophomore Billy Bender, Oxbow High School junior Jessica Daigle and Oxbow freshman Keelan Durham. Ballou cited a need for more compassion and empathy in the nation, while Bender and Durham both pointed to climate change as major problems and Daigle advocated for more help for the poor.

All the finalists are invited to join Sanders for a roundtable discussion at the Vermont Statehouse on Saturday. Their essays will be entered into the Congressional Record.

To learn about entering the 2018 essay contest, call 800-339-9834 or visit sanders.senate.gov.

Harmonic Convergences

Megan Brown Helm of Thetford, a music teacher at Crossroads Academy in Lyme, recently earned a weeklong summer session of choral singing in western Massachusetts.

She submitted a video of herself performing an a capella version of the spiritual Swing Low, Sweet Chariot to a contest conducted by Berkshire Choral International.

Collegiate Recognition

Jude Arbogast, of Hanover, earned a place on the dean’s list at Northeastern University in Boston, for maintaining the highest possible grade-point average of 4.0. The 2014 graduate of Hanover High School is a junior majoring in civil engineering.

Joseph Cravero, of Hanover, was named to the dean’s list at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., for his academic performance during the fall 2016 semester. Cravero is a senior majoring in economics.

Diversity in Education

David Wilson, president of Morgan State University, delivers a lecture on “The History and Relevancy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities” on Wednesday afternoon at Dartmouth College’s Filene Auditorium in Hanover.

The talk, which starts at 4:30, is part of Dartmouth’s series “Leading Voices in Higher Education.”

Community Service

Students in the human services program at the Hartford Area Career and Technology Center recently collected 20 bags of warm clothes, books, shoes, blankets, sleeping bags and tents, as well as more than $500, for donation to the more than 1,000 homeless people served by the Tri-County Community Action Program.

Continuing Education

Osher at Dartmouth starts registering students on Thursday for its spring term of classes that runs from March 20 to May 19.

Courses cost $40 to $80, depending on the number of sessions attended. Registration continues through Feb. 20, by visiting osher.dartmouth.edu/courses, calling 603-646-0154 or visiting the Osher office in suite 107 of 7 Lebanon St. in Hanover.

Support Staff Recognition

The institutional cleaning-supply company Cintas is inviting school employees and students nationwide to nominate their custodians for its fourth annual Janitor of the Year award.

March 1 is the deadline to nominate candidates. The top 10 vote-getters will be announced on March 15, after which the public will be asked to pick the overall winner.

The prizes for the winning custodian include $5,000 in cash and $5,000 worth of Cintas and Rubbermaid products and services to the custodian’s school. The other nine finalists for the award each receives a cash prize of $500.

To nominate a janitor and to learn more, visit cintas.com/JOTY.

David Corriveau can be reached at dcorriveau@vnews.com and at 603-727-3304. Send education news and announcements to schoolnotes@vnews.com.