In all, 71 seniors from southwestern Pennsylvania were named winners. All will be recognized at a reception May 4.

Other nominees and their schools in the PG West region are:

Ambridge Area -- Lauren Jablonowski.
Canevin Catholic -- Matt Palastro, Nadia Stefko.
Center Area -- Cristin Anne Rabik, James Thomas.
Chartiers Valley -- Jessie Fallon.
Cornell -- Jessica Fichter, Tammy Watson.
Hopewell Area -- Sara Lopata, Traci Lyn Reszetylo.
Montour -- Jaclyn Barrett, Katherine Kleissas.
Moon Area -- Brad Benson, Christina J. Shadle.
South Fayette -- Robert Oswald, Sarah Welch.
Sto-Rox -- Wendy Miller, Jarrod Williams.
West Allegheny -- Amanda Ebner, Katrina Daley, Stephanie Zamule.

Aliquippa, Carlynton, Monaca and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart high schools did not participate.

Bernaciak plans to study pre-med and biology at Pitt. She is a member of the school’s Honors Academy and the executive committee of the German Club. She was selected to attend the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for Health Care. A gifted bassoon and tenor saxophone player, she performed with the Little Green Machine Marching Band. Bernaciak has been a peer tutor for younger students in the district and volunteered at Country Meadows retirement and assisted-living center.

Dziabiak is in the Performing Steel Drum Ensemble and works on the stage crew for school productions. She’s active in school service groups, including the Teen Leadership Corps, Big Brothers and Big Sisters and the Ambridge Drug and Alcohol Prevention Team, and has volunteered at Sewickley Valley Hospital and D. T. Watson Rehabilitaton Services. She’s a member of the marching, symphonic and pep bands. Dziabiak plans to be a math teacher.

Outstanding academically, Jain for the past four years volunteered weekly at a local assisted-living residence. Through her student council activities, she has helped clean up North Park, collected books for the needy and raised money for Walk America. She helped found the Chartiers Valley High School Multicultural Club and sets up display items in the school’s lobby to recognize holiday celebrations in other countries. She plans to study international business.

Jayakumar plans to be a software engineer. He has taken part in Montour’s Academic Math Team, the Students Against Destructive Decisions Club and the Science Olympics. He’s volunteered at a local soup kitchen and helped build a playground area in a local park. Jayakumar enjoys following the stock market and received first prize in the school’s stock market game. He likes to sing, practicing at home from recordings of popular music groups.

A stellar student, McMullen earned the title of Most Outstanding Student at Center. He took third place in the Geneva College Foreign Language Competition and scored Magna Cum Laude on the National Latin Exam. Through his work with the Center High School Community Service Club, he has volunteered as a storyteller, an Easter egg artist and a mentor for children with disabilities. He plans to major in chemical engineering.

Metz plans to attend Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio, to study biology and equine sciences. Active in community service, she is involved with local 4-H clubs and has been a 4-H Pennsylvania Junior Ambassador in 1999 and 2000. She has served as president and secretary of the Thundering Hooves 4-H Horse and Pony Club. A National Honor Society member, Metz is in the top 10 percent of her graduating class.

A student in the gifted program at Sto-Rox , Murphy has volunteered at the Jubilee Soup Kitchen and the Sto-Rox Focus On Renewal Library. He’s appeared in school plays, was a cast member at Gargaro Productions and a member of the school chorus and district band. Murphy also was a member of the National Honor Society and was named to Who’s Who Among American High School Students. He plans to be an actor.

Rizzi plans to major in political science in college. An honors student, he was named 1998 Pennsylvania High School Speech League Champion and Outstanding Speaker in the Student Congress category. He was selected this past summer to attend the Pennsylvania Governor’s School of Excellence for International Studies. Rizzi, editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, has received a national journalism award for his editorial cartoons.

Class valedictorian, Sterling is editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and yearbook, Key Club vice president, a Drama Club veteran and member of the marching, concert and district bands. She assisted in sponsoring the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smoke-Out Day at Cornell. Sterling was on the volleyball and swim teams and was a catcher for the girls’ softball team for three years. She plans a career as an English professor.