2021 Benjamin Cooper Awards

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Thaumatibis gigantea
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2021 Benjamin Cooper Awards

Post by Thaumatibis gigantea »

I am pleased to announce that The Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence is now accepting nominations for the 2021 Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Awards. The Cooper Awards, which recognize those who contribute to the “spirit and honor of quizbowl competition,” will be presented at the online 2021 PACE National Scholastic Championship.

The Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award will be given to a coach, advisor, administrator, tournament organizer, or other person who has made significant contributions to high school quizbowl. A second award, the Young Ambassador Award, will be given to someone affiliated with a college or high school program who, despite their young age, has already made valuable contributions to the high school academic competition community. Nominations will be accepted through April 1, 2021, and the winners will be announced in early May. For more information on the award and the nomination process, please see below.

The Benjamin Cooper Awards:


The Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award and the Young Ambassador Award recognize those who have made substantial contributions to the “spirit and honor of quizbowl competition.” Benjamin Cooper, for whom the award is named, was a model student at the Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC, who was well-liked among his classmates and the faculty. He participated in many activities in school and in service to the community. Because of his enthusiasm in promoting academic competition among his team members, he was selected as the captain of the varsity team for the 1997-1998 school year. On August 12, 1997, Ben was tragically killed in an automobile accident while returning from his summer job.

The first Cooper Award was presented by PACE to Georgetown Day School team advisor Sue Ikenberry in honor of Ben at the 1998 NSC. The Young Ambassador Award was first presented at the 2004 NSC.

Last year's winners were Chris Johnson (Itawamba High School, Mississippi) and Ashish Kumbhardare (Penn State University, Pennsylvania). A complete list of past winners is available on the PACE website.

How to Nominate:


Any member of the quizbowl community is eligible for the Cooper Award. Eligibility for the Young Ambassador Award is restricted to those who are currently students in high school or college. PACE welcomes re-nomination of those nominated in previous years who have continued to contribute to the quizbowl community. Organizations are eligible for nomination, as are small groups of individuals who have collaborated on their quizbowl work. The Cooper Awards are primarily intended to honor contributions to the high school quizbowl community.

To submit a nomination, please compose a statement of no more than 1,000 words detailing your nominee’s contributions to the quizbowl community. This statement should include a summary of positions held by the nominee as well as a specific explanation of why, in your opinion, they have contributed to the “spirit and honor of quizbowl competition.”

Please email your nomination statement to this year’s Cooper Award coordinator, Victor Prieto, at [email protected] no later than April 1, 2021. To make sure they're easily found, please put "Cooper Nomination" in the subject line of the email, and clearly specify in the text if you are nominating someone for the Young Ambassador Award. Victor Prieto will confirm receipt of your nomination within a few days of the time you submit it (if you haven't heard back from us within a week, please send a follow-up). In your email, please include your contact information in case the PACE Cooper Award Committee wishes to contact you for additional information about the nominee. All nomination statements are strictly confidential and will be seen only by the PACE members involved in the selection process.

Announcement of Winners:

Members of the PACE Cooper Award Committee will deliberate throughout the month of April. The winners will be announced on the hsquizbowl.org message board and on the PACE website during the first week of May. The awards will be formally presented to the winners during the 2021 NSC weekend.

If you have any questions about this year’s Cooper Award or to submit a nomination, please contact Victor Prieto at [email protected].
Rebecca Rosenthal, Bergen County Academies '16, Swarthmore College '20
PACE, Director of Communications
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Thaumatibis gigantea
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Re: 2021 Benjamin Cooper Awards

Post by Thaumatibis gigantea »

A reminder that there is a little over one month left to submit nominations for both Benjamin Cooper Awards.
Rebecca Rosenthal, Bergen County Academies '16, Swarthmore College '20
PACE, Director of Communications
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Re: 2021 Benjamin Cooper Awards

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Just under a week remains to submit nominees for the Benjamin Cooper Awards. We look forward to receiving your nominations!
Victor Prieto
Secretary, PACE
Tower Hill School '11 | Rice University '15 | Penn State University '21
Writer: NAQT (2019-present) | Writer, Editor: HSAPQ (2013-2016)
Member (and lots of other stuff): PACE (2015-present)
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Re: 2021 Benjamin Cooper Awards

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The deadline to submit nominations for the Cooper Awards is today! If you would like to make any submissions, please do so by the end of the day.
Victor Prieto
Secretary, PACE
Tower Hill School '11 | Rice University '15 | Penn State University '21
Writer: NAQT (2019-present) | Writer, Editor: HSAPQ (2013-2016)
Member (and lots of other stuff): PACE (2015-present)
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Thaumatibis gigantea
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Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 7:33 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: 2021 Benjamin Cooper Awards

Post by Thaumatibis gigantea »

PACE is proud to announce the winners of the 2021 Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award and Young Ambassador Award, for contributions to the quizbowl community and "spirit and honor of quizbowl competition".
  • PACE is pleased to present the 2021 Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award to Ben Herman, co-founder of Greater Pennsylvania Quiz Bowl (GPQB), for his longtime dedication to outreach in Pennsylvania, especially his support of many first-time hosts of competitions in Pennsylvania and his work increasing the profile of quizbowl via the GPQB blog.
  • PACE is pleased to present the 2021 Benjamin Cooper Young Ambassador Award to Emily Gunter of Salem High School (Salem, VA), for her extraordinary commitment to outreach, both on a local level in central Virginia and on a national level by writing articles on outreach and helping tournament directors handle online logistics.
Both Emily and Ben will be honored at the 2021 NSC Opening ceremonies, along with the 2019-2020 winners Ashish Kumbhardare and Chris Johnson!
Rebecca Rosenthal, Bergen County Academies '16, Swarthmore College '20
PACE, Director of Communications
she/her/hers
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