The Resident cheers its top students

In June, the Resident cheered the high school graduates within Jacksonville’s historic neighborhoods by featuring profiles of the top students at each school. Their stories and accolades are as follows:

Episcopal

Ashton Body – Valedictorian

Ashton Body
Ashton Body

Graduating with a 4.93 GPA, Body plans to attend Harvard next fall with her eye to eventually going to medical school and becoming a surgeon. For the past two years, she has conducted research at the Mayo Clinic through the SPARK program, which is how she completed most of her community service hours. As a freshman and sophomore, she played volleyball for the Eagles, and just took up lacrosse her senior year. “Graduating from Episcopal means a lot to me as it has become such a tight-knit community,” she said. “It is such an amazing place where I have been lucky enough to compete in science fairs and learn so much from such a caring and passionate faculty, but also where I could impulsively play lacrosse with my friends for the first time this year. Overall, I am extremely grateful for my time at Episcopal, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!”

Madison Clark – Salutatorian

Sarah Clark
Sarah Clark

Earning a 4.9 GPA, Clark will attend Vanderbilt University where she plans to major in pre-med molecular biology. She is a member of the Cum Laude Society, the National Honor Society, the National Chinese Honor Society, the National Art Honor Society and received several NEFAA Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. As a freshman she played volleyball, receiving the Coach’s Award. As an upperclassman, was a JV and Varsity cheerleader, and the recipient in 11th grade of the JV Lisa Lampe Rogers Excellence in Cheer Award. During all four years of high school, Clark served as an Eagle Ambassador, working with the school’s admission department as tour guide. She also served the Angels for Allison Club on its Student Leadership Council and as co-president during her senior year. Also, as a senior, she was president of Dynasty Club, a cultural club designed to educate the student body about Chinese culture. Active in community service, Clark fostered three litters of underage kittens for the Jacksonville Humane Society, spent time playing with children at Nemours Children’s Specialty Care, and served as a summer camp counselor for Beaches Episcopal School camp. “After six years at Episcopal, I feel like I have grown up here, and Episcopal has truly become a second home for me. As challenging as it will be to leave this wonderful, caring, and supportive community, especially under these circumstances, I am extraordinarily grateful for the lessons – both in my academics and in my life – that I have learned here and will feel very blessed to be an ESJ alumna.” Coronavirus has certainly disrupted my senior year! Many of the traditions we were looking forward to were either cancelled or changed substantially, such as Senior Prom, Grad Bash, graduation and for me, my senior art show. While the loss of and changes to these traditions has been challenging, I am trying to see the bright side in all of this and learn to appreciate the everyday moments that we so often take for granted even more, and I am especially grateful to Episcopal for all of their efforts to maintain as many traditions – such as our atypical graduation plan! – as they can in these circumstances.”


The Bolles School

Annie RupertoCo-Valedictorian

Anne Ruperto
Anne Ruperto

Ruperto intends to take a gap year to explore various internship and research opportunities before attending Harvard University. She has a long list of academic honors including National Merit Scholar, National AP Scholar, and was one of 4,500 students selected from 3.4 million to receive the U.S. Presidential Scholarhip. Ruperto received the Carter Stubbs Drake Goad Award as a one of 100 students worldwide who earned five or more gold medals on the National Latin Exam, and she took first place eight times at the Florida Junior Classical League (FJCL) Regional Latin Forum, including four first place finishes her senior year. She earned multiple top-five finished at the National Junior Classical League Convention (NJFL) and the FJCL State Latin Forum, including a first-place finish in advanced Greek Derivatives. She also earned the Classical Association of the Midwest and South Award for Outstanding Accomplishment in Classical Studies and was commended twice for performance on the organization’s annual translation contest. She is a gold medal/highest honors winner on the National Spanish Exam, the National Mythology Exam, and the National Greek Exam, the later of which included multiple years of self-study, and she was a qualifier for the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad National Exam. Her other accolades include: Joe Berg Scholar, captain of the Brain Brawl team, founder and president of the Math Club, and founder of the math tutoring program at Bolles, recipient of two gold cups for piano solo and piano theory at the Florida Federation of Music Clubs Festival; recipient of the President’s List Medallion, the Yale Book Award, the Calculus Award, the AP English Language and Composition Award, the Physics Award and the World History Award. She also participated in the Summer Science Program in astrophysics in Soccorro, New Mexico. For community service, Ruperto logged more than 100 hours as a volunteer at the Museum of Science and History and also participated with the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation and the Greek Orthodox Youth Association. In sports, she was captain of her travel ice hockey team and the only girl to play on the all-boys travel team that finished third in the state championship. She has been a two-time attendee at the USA Hockey Multi-District Girls’ Development Camp and a two-time team qualifier for the USA Hockey Girls Nationals. At a co-ed ProAmbitions Hockey Camp at Boston University, she received Most Improved Player and Hardest Working Player laurels. “One of my favorite high school memories was finishing third in the state championships as the only girl on my boys’ travel ice hockey team,” said Ruperto. “I am truly grateful for the terrific education that I’ve received at Bolles and for the wonderful friendships over these past four years.”

Richi MisraCo-Valedictorian

Rishi Misra
Rishi Misra

Misra had a tough time deciding between Princeton, Yale, University of Chicago, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and Duke, but finally settled on Yale. He is undecided about his course of study but intends to pursue his interests in the life sciences, business, philosophy, and ethics. During his time at Bolles, he was president of the National Honor Society, president of the Bolles Environmental Club, a pancreatic cancer researcher at the Mayo Clinic’s Cell Adhesion and Metastasis Laboratory for two years, regional vice president of the Florida Junior Classical League, played soccer for both Bolles and the Jacksonville Armada, and was a congressional campaign volunteer. Like most top students at Bolles, he also received several high school awards including first place in the undergraduate research competition at ASCB| EMBO, the world’s largest cell-biology conference in Washington D.C., where he was the only high school student competing in a field of more than 100 undergraduates and medical students. He also is a National Merit Scholarship recipient, received a gold medal or perfect score on the National Latin Exam for five consecutive years, was a finalist at the 2020 Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) and has published cancer research in MCoC, an international cell-biology journal. “I’m a Bolles lifer. I started at the Ponte Vedra campus in kindergarten, and I find it hard to believe that I am already graduating!” said Misra. “Over the last 13 years, I have met some of the most amazing friends and teachers, and attribute most of my accomplishments to the opportunities this school has given me. COVID-19 has definitely put a damper on our senior year. It’s a shame that we don’t have the chance to enjoy our last few months of high school with our friends and teachers. However, it has been pretty cool to see all of the creative ways people have been making the best of their time in quarantine.”

Yash GulaniSalutatorian

Yash Gulani
Yash Gulani

Gulani plans on studying public health and economics on a pre-med track at Brown University next fall. In high school, he served as president of the Class of 2020 for all four years. He was also president of the Latin Club and Latin Honors Society. Apart from school, he was heavily involved in his local Indian community’s youth committee. “Graduating from Bolles signifies the closing of the most formative seven years of my life,” he said. “Since the sixth grade up until now, I have met so many teachers and fellow students who have impacted my life in so many ways. In response to the Coronavirus, it has been difficult being unable to live out what was supposed to be the best days of our high school careers. Missing events such as sporting events, prom, and honor society inductions have put a damper on the year for sure, but above all the health of myself and my fellow peers comes first. I know we will get through this even stronger and find a way to celebrate our achievements.”


Samuel Wolfson School for Advanced Studies

Sherry GillValedictorian

Sherry Gill
Sherry Gill

Graduating with a weighted GPA of 4.7424 and a cumulative GPA of 3.8485, Gill is debating on whether to attend the University of North Florida or the University of Texas – Dallas. It is her hope to become a nurse, or to further her education into another career in the medical field. Throughout her high school career, she has logged more than 150 hours of community service largely through the National Honor Society, Trunk or Treat, and other International Baccalaureate activities. She was also the winner of the school’s end-of-the-year English and Art awards. “The Coronavirus has definitely brought abrupt change to my school life,” she said. “Being a senior, many activities were cancelled, which was devastating. However, as heartbreaking as it was to miss these events – prom, grad bash, etc. – the important thing was to remain safe in times like these. With this being said, it motivated me to finish strong and remain on task to complete my senior year.” Gill also said she has received inspiration from the author Nora Roberts who said “If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.”

Kevin Gonzales-TorresSalutatorian

Kevin Torres
Kevin Torres

Already committed to attend the University of North Florida, Gonzales-Torres has the goal of becoming a real estate agent and an entrepreneur. He is graduating with a weighted GPA of 4.6406 and a cumulative GPA of 3.7813. Torres was in the National Honor Society, and through the Society he logged most of his more than 150 community service hours. He also did some cleaning for a company and participated in International Baccalaureate planned events. He was the winner of Wolfson’s end-of-the-year Foreign Language Award and the Class of 1989 Alumni Award. He played soccer for the Wolfpack for three years, junior varsity his freshman year and on the varsity squad his junior and senior year. He was also on a Florida Elite Soccer Academy team throughout all four years of high school. “’Now, no matter what background you come from, there is nobody in this world who can say that their life is without troubles. Everybody faces problems at some point in their life. All that matters is how you deal with it.’”  This quote is perfect me and my school as we are not a huge not wealthy school, however, we push through it and find success,” said Gonzales-Torres. “My school has students with multiple different backgrounds and personalities, which makes it unique. The COVID-19 pandemic will easily be remembered throughout my entire life.  This virus ended my best year of high school short, however, it taught me to appreciate everything I have in my life much more. Although the pandemic took my prom away, it taught me that the school, lifestyle, and family I have are amazing and without them, I would be lost. I only grieve the loss of prom as I will never experience it. The pandemic also impacted my learning as I did not captivate information the same as back in March when we attended school. Although the learning was not the same, I never lost the motivation to do the work, and I completed high school with amazing grades and a healthy mindset for college and my future.”


Douglas Anderson School of the Arts

An TranValedictorian

An Tran
An Tran

A visual-arts major, Tran plans to head to the University of Florida where she will study architecture. During the school’s virtual end-of-the-year awards ceremony, Tran was recognized with several laurels including the National Gold Scholastic Art and Writing Award, recognition as an American Visions Nominee, and Arts for Life award, MVP Science Award and a Top 10 award. She accrued 275 hours of community service, and was a member of several school clubs including the National Honor Society, National Arts Honor Society, Robotics, Mu Alpha Theta National Math Honor Society, and Marathon High, a running club that prepares members to run a 13.1 half-marathon in the Donna race while experiencing and learning the benefits of goal setting, self-respect, leadership, teamwork, improved health, and commitment week after week for four months.”Graduating from DA is a rewarding experience knowing that all the effort I put into balancing arts and academics have finally come to fruition. The class I am graduating with are students I am proud to have as fellow peers who are creative, passionate, and driven to accomplish their goals and inspire others. The teachers, faculty, and overall environment at DA has always been supportive and welcoming. From the first day, DA has felt like a community and now a family. I will always cherish the memories and relationships I have developed at DA. The virus may have canceled many of our senior events and cut short our last farewells, but we are still connected through our shared love of the arts. I am beyond grateful to be a part of DA and the graduating class of 2020. We will not be known as the unlucky class that experienced a pandemic, but the class that stayed resilient, connected, and creative despite the odds. We are the class that overcame a pandemic on our way to academic success.

Samuel PabonSalutatorian

Samuel Pabon
Samuel Pabon

As a future University of Central Florida student who plans to major in mechanical engineering, Pabon majored in visual arts at DA and took home several end-of-the-year awards: The All-Star Senior, National Merit Finalist, National Merit University of Central Florida Scholarship, AP Chemistry award, Seal of Biliteracy, and Top 10 award. Pabon tallied 300 hours of community service and was a member of the National Honor Society, the National Art Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta National Math Honor Society, Rho Kappa National History Honor Society, the National Spanish Honor Society, the National Science Honor Society, Robotics Club, Yearbook Club and Marathon High. “Before Michelangelo sculpted the David, he had to prepare. Only through careful anatomical study, masterful technique, and years of work was the masterpiece created. It is no coincidence that the word artwork ends in work. Four years of work at Douglas Anderson has prepared me to make my own masterpieces. Besides determination, passion, and proficiency, Douglas Anderson has granted me individuality. I have been met hand on with nothing less that unfaltering encouragement in all of my undertakings. I’m not just and artist or a student. I’m a robotics engineer, a half-marathon runner, a yearbook photographer, a volunteer, a tutor, a Spanish speaker, and part of Cowboy Friday. It is the support of my teachers and peers that has allowed me to forge my own path, and there are nearly 1,200 other students just as unique as me. Graduating from DA means there is no mold for my future. In the light of the pandemic that affects the globe now, one truth stands stronger than ever: art is not defined by the final product, but by the experience of creation. I will not sulk over how my senior year could have ended because I already have countless memories and friends that deserve my appreciation. I will keep my head up; life is not meant to be a masterpiece, it’s a work in progress.”


Bishop Snyder High School

Abigail WilsonValedictorian

Abigail Wilson
Abigail Wilson

First in her class, Wilson is graduating with a 4.429 GPA and will attend the University of Florida next fall, where she will study biology and health sciences. In high school, she has served as president of the National Honor Society and was also a member of the English National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta National Math Honor Society, Rho Kappa National History Honor Society, the Science National Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society.  “While the end of this year has certainly not been ‘normal,’ with us missing out on prom and grad bash, I still am thankful that we have the opportunity to graduate in person and see our friends one last time. In a way, I’ve actually enjoyed this time, because I feel online schooling better prepares me for the college-setting, and it makes being able to graduate with my friends all the more special.”

Michael BaughCo-Salutatorian

Michael Baugh
Michael Baugh

Boasting a 4.411 GPA, Baugh will be on his way to the University of Florida next fall and is planning to major in chemical engineering. At Bishop Snyder, he was a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta National Math Honor Society, Rho Kappa National History Honor Society, the Science National Honor Society, and the Spanish National Honor Society. “The last quarter of senior year, the material felt faster paced yet less significant,” he said. “I guess it did not seem as important with other worries in minds and finals out of the question.”

Sarah KerstenCo-Salutatorian

Sarah Kersten
Sarah Kersten

Committed to St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, next fall where she will study nursing, Kersten shares Salatutorian honors with a 4.411 grade point average. In addition to memberships in the National Honor Society, English Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta National Math Honor Society, Rho Kappa National History Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society, Kersten was secretary for the school’s Student Government Association. She was also the 2020 recipient of the Cardinal Club Student Athlete Award and was on Snyder’s volleyball and soccer teams. “Having the final months of my senior year with my classmates stripped away was unanticipated and difficult to grapple with. As graduation approached, I realized the Class of 2020 has accomplished so much. It now comes down to taking this experience with us as we move forward, learning from it, and striving to accomplish even more in the future.”


Bishop Kenny High School

Kathleen YarboroughValedictorian

Kathleen Yarborough
Kathleen Yarborough

Headed to University of Florida next fall where she will major in public relations with an eye toward law school, Yarborough graduated with a 4.55 GPA and earned memberships into the National Honor Society, as well as the Latin Rho Kappa, and Science Honor Societies.  She participated in Anchor Club, Catholic Athletes for Christ, and Latin Club. Yarborough achieved honor roll every quarter of her high school career and had straight A’s in 11 advanced placement courses and was named AP Scholar with Distinction in 2019 based on her AP exams.  She logged more than 200 hours of community service in four years and is involved in her parish church. A gymnast for North Florida Gymnastics, where she is team captain, Yarborough achieved level 10 in the sport and has qualified for state and regional gymnastics competitions. As a member of her school’s swimming and diving team, she placed 13th in the state diving competition.

Gabriella HittiSalutatorian

Gabriella Hitti
Gabriella Hitti

Hitti ended the year with a 4.53 GPA and had high honors for all four years at Bishop Kenny. She is a Joe Berg graduate, a National Merit Commended Scholar, a National Hispanic Scholar, member of the National Honor Society, National Latin Honor Society, and earned the AP Scholar Award, the Wofford Scholar Award, and the UNF Diamond Scholarship. She participated in Medical Club, Spanish Club, Science Club, and The Society of St. Vincent de Paul. She will attend the Hicks Honors Program at the University of North Florida as a pre-med chemistry major. “To me, graduating high school is simultaneously nerve-wracking and exciting. Sure, we will get to move on we our lives to learn about the actual world, but I will miss all the memories of high school: the excellent teachers, the diverse student body, and the familiarity of the school itself. Many of my favorite memories were made during these four years,” she said.


Robert E. Lee High School

Lauren HamnerValedictorian

Lauren Hamner
Lauren Hamner

Graduating with a 4.80 from Lee’s Early College Program, Hamner not only received her high school diploma but also her Associate of Arts degree from Florida State college in Jacksonville. During her high school years, she was a member of Lee’s bowling team, Bible club, Future Business Leaders of America, the National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society. She was also voted “Most Intelligent,” by her senior class. She plans to attend Florida Southern College this fall.

George HuntSalutatorian

George Hunt
George Hunt

With a 4.78 GPA and an Associate degree from Florida State College Jacksonville in hand, Hunt is planning to attend Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University this fall. At Lee, he was a member of the Senior Class Council, NJROTC, the track and field team, Future Business Leaders of America, the National Honor Society and the National Technical Honor Society. Popular with his senior class peers, he was also crowned Mr. Robert E. Lee 2019-20 and was voted “Most Intelligent” by the Class of 2020.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...