Underneath the violet blanket of a nighttime sky, the 2025 Pathfinder Award winners were announced at a special video presentation on Friday, May 9th in Downtown West Palm Beach. Among those honored, three seniors from The Benjamin School’s Class of 2025.
The Pathfinder Awards recognize area students in eighteen categories including Academic Excellence, Community Involvement, and Sports. Schools may nominate one student per category, with winners ultimately being selected by curated panels of community leaders and local academics.
Chester Coles was selected by the jury of community leaders and academic scholars as the 2025 Path- finder in History/Political Science. Coles impressed the committee with his passion for classical numismatics, the study of ancient coins. He has, notably, spent time participating in archeological excavations in Rome with historians from American University. He currently plans on studying classics and theology at the Univ. of Virginia.
While Coles continues to dig for treasures, his classmate, Anthony Viverito is determined to help educate people on what to do with their riches. His interests in finance and economics, manifested in his creation of WeeklyTheta, an internet-based educational blog, is just one of the community-centered initiatives that helped him earn the praise of Pathfinder adjudicators this year. That he often works in multiple languages, moreover, allowed him to stand out in a stellar field of seniors nominated for the award in World Languages. His first-pace finish comes as recognition for his proficiency in Thai, Spanish, Chinese, and English.The Stanford-bound Viverito intends on majoring in economics this fall.
Completing the trio of Pathfinders, student-athlete Sam Woods earned second-place honors in the Sports category. Woods, a member of both the State Champion girls’ soccer team and the State Champion girls’ track and field team, impressed judges with her commitment to the community on and off the field, as well as her academic achievements. This fall, she will be joining three other members of the Class of 2025, including fellow Pathfinder Viverito, in Palo Alto at Stanford.
This year marks the 42nd anniversary of the Pathfinder Awards program. The fifty-four students recognized with the honor each receive a monetary scholarship for their achievements, with first-place winners also receiving an astrolabe trophy.
