Friends of Cambridge Rindge & Latin School (Friends of CRLS or FOCRLS) is recognizing four teachers honored by the Cambridge Rindge & Latin School (CRLS) Class of 2025 for their especially positive influences. This is the 19th year FOCRLS has sponsored the Faculty Distinction Awards, with the 2025 recipients bringing the total to 76 awardees.
Members of the CRLS Class of 2025 reflected on their four years of high school and nominated teachers, guidance counselors, and other staff for being shining examples among educators. FOCRLS designed and framed the certificates, which Interim Principal Allan Gately Gehant presented as he read the awardees’ self-written profiles (below) during the commencement ceremony on the first Thursday in June.
Congratulations to our Faculty Distinction Awardees:
Dr. Sunny Gupta has taught honors and AP chemistry at CRLS since 2017 and began teaching AP macroeconomics this school year. He also advises four student clubs: the Hiking Club, the HOSA Club, the South Asian Club, and the Chemistry Olympiad Club. He holds degrees in chemistry and zoology from Kanpur University, India, earned his Ph.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and completed postdoctoral research at the Whitehead Institute at MIT. Dr. Gupta feels grateful to work in a school where learning is joyful, ideas are challenged, and students grow not only academically, but also as individuals. Students describe Dr. Gupta as calm, encouraging, funny and as someone who “teaches for the students, not the test,” and “believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.” His wish for the Class of 2025 is for them to stay curious, take care of one another, and keep exploring bold ideas. Originally from India, Dr. Gupta lives in Cambridge with his wonderful wife and their two beautiful daughters.
Mr. Sean Kussner earned his bachelor’s in mathematics from Boston College in 2001 and began working as an actuarial analyst, assessing risk and calculating insurance premiums. Seeking greater purpose, Mr. Kussner decided to follow in the footsteps of his mother, father, and sister by becoming an educator. After earning his master’s degree from Harvard in 2007, he began teaching in the Boston Public School district. In 2012, while living in Central Square, Mr. Kussner joined the faculty of CRLS, enabling him to serve the students in his community. Mr. Kussner, who is the father of two children, focuses on building relationships and delivering clear, engaging instruction. His primary goal is to help students become creative problem-solvers and responsible, thoughtful adults. Mr. Kussner wishes the Class of 2025 the persistence to achieve their goals and the courage to take calculated risks in their pursuit of happiness.
Ms. Sharon Lozada says she feels blessed to give her energy to all that she cares about at CRLS: AVID, STARS Peer Leadership and Community Action, Peer Mentoring, Cultural Visibility, and ongoing equity and social justice initiatives. Her specialty is working with students to raise awareness and consciousness so they can take action and make change on real and relevant issues they feel passionately about that directly impact our school, our city, and our lives. Ms. Lozada says she is deeply touched and grateful to be honored by the Class of 2025. She wishes the graduates all the best in everything they do in this life and wants them to remember that they have all they need within them: their voice, their spirit, and their vision. She has two daughters who are CRLS alumnae: one entering her senior year at Wesleyan University, and one preparing for her freshman year at Amherst College.
Mr. Nathan Whitfield arrived at CRLS six years ago and quickly became known for his laid back style of dress and incredibly warm and inviting aura. His favorite part of working at CRLS has been reminding students that his home state of Arkansas is not, in fact, in the midwest. His present and former students know first-hand that you have not really learned until you’ve been made to stand at the board and defend every parenthesis, lack of appropriate equal sign, stray mark in your work to the class. When answers are given in class, the eyebrow raises and infamous responses of “…fascinating…” are now CRLS staples he hopes reminds students that schools are as much about the content as they are about understanding the world at large. To the class of 2025, congratulations and you’re welcome.
FOCRLS thanks the awardees and nominating students, as well as Interim Principal Allan Gately Gehant, Interim Assistant Principal Tanya Milner, and Executive Clerks Yemisi Oluwole and Rebeca Matos for organizing, facilitating, and presenting the awards.
In addition to sponsoring these awards, FOCRLS presented a total of $101,200 in higher education scholarships to 50 members of the CRLS Class of 2025. Also in 2025, we granted a total of $10,500 in Faculty Innovation Grants to CRLS teachers, club advisors, and other staff members with creative ideas to enhance curriculum, clubs, and services. Our organization awarded a total of nearly $5,000 in Student Travel Fellowships in 2025 to help the Model United Nations (MUN) Club get to a conference in New York City and two students go on the group trip to France & Spain.
FOCRLS is a 501c3 nonprofit. For information about our programs, donating, sponsoring, or volunteering, please visit focrls.org or email info@focrls.org.