Earlier this week Advance Media New York, publisher of syracuse.com and The Post-Standard, announced the winners of this year's Best and Brightest awards. Our annual competition recognizes high school seniors from across Central New York who have exemplary records in academics, extracurricular activities, awards, volunteerism and other work experience.

I had the honor of judging this year's entries and can tell you I was beyond impressed by these students' resumes, personal statements and recommendations from the adults in their lives. Fayetteville-Manlius student Shreya Bhattacharya, for example, works as an advocate for mental health resources in schools. She's also a varsity tennis player, a newspaper editor, and a violinist, among a long list of activities and work experience. Henry Zhe-Heimerman, a senior at Nottingham, is a pianist, a track athlete, and a volunteer in the Crouse Hospital emergency room. Jamesville-DeWitt student Brian Tollar invented a way to adapt toys for children with motor disabilities. These are just a few examples from the list of 23 remarkable students we selected.

AMNY Marketing Director Lindsay Marlenga says we borrowed the idea for Best and Brightest from our sister website, PennLive.com, where they've been doing a similar program for the past 20 years.

"We decided to bring it to Central New York in 2021 for a couple reasons," she said. "First, it was still pandemic times. People were still having a hard time coming together. Graduations were small. Award ceremonies were non-existent. High school kids who would normally have a wealth of clubs, sports and volunteer opportunities to round our their college applications just weren't happening. We started the award as a way to not only bring people together but to also give the kids something to celebrate and something to add to their applications."

Lindsay added that we already hosted the annual "All-CNY Sports Awards" and wanted to come up with something that recognized our local students' achievements beyond athletics. "It's important to celebrate the diverse achievements of our high school students. You don't just have to be the star athlete or lead in the school play. There are so many other ways to shine and Best & Brightest celebrates that. It also gives a unique peek into the next generation - what motivates them, where they choose to spend their time, how they interact with one an another and so much more. Reading these applications and meeting these kids makes you see how different the world is going to be when they are in charge. They're just so positive, so aware, so caring," she said.

Next week, we will be honoring the students in a ceremony at The Redhouse, in Syracuse, sponsored by the Upstate Honda Dealers Association. "Year after year I read these applications and am amazed at how these kids choose to use their time. It often feels like they have more than 24 hours a day with all that they are able to achieve at this young age," Lindsay said. "Best & Brightest is by far my favorite community event that we put on. I love learning about these kids and meeting them in person at the event."

You can see the complete list of this year's honorees here, and if you have any questions about Best & Brightest, you can reach Lindsay directly at: [email protected]