When Jersey City’s six public high schools hold their respective graduation ceremonies this Tuesday, June 26, more than 1,400 students will don caps and gowns. And already, several Catholic high schools graduated their students.
Among them were Hudson Catholic on June 2, St. Dominic’s Academy on June 3 and St. Peter’s Prep on June 11.
There were 212 students who graduated from St. Peter’s Prep, which held its ceremony at St. Peter College in Jersey City.
There were 116 from St. Dominic’s and 106 from Hudson Catholic, both of whom had their graduations at St. Aedan’s Church in Jersey City on different days.
St. Peter’s Prep does not have valedictorians or salutatorians, but St. Dominic’s and Hudson Catholic do acknowledge those distinctions.
The Hudson Catholic valedictorian was Gregory Smizaski while the salutatorian was Paul Le.
Smizaski, who also a cross-country runner for the school, received a full four-year scholarship to Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa. in the Philadelphia suburbs. Le will be enrolled not far from Smizaski, at Villanova University in Philadelphia.
Terry Matthews, director of admissions and public relations for Hudson Catholic, said he was proud of the graduating class.
“I was pleased our 106 graduates received $7.5 million in scholarship and grants from the colleges and universities of their choice,” Matthews said. “This is one of our strongest senior classes in regard to college acceptances.”
The St. Dominic’s Academy valedictorian and salutatorian were Angela Condo and Annabel Agcopra.
Condo will be a freshman this fall at George Washington University in Washington D.C. as a pre-med major, while Agcopra will attend Rutgers University in New Brunswick, as a biology major.
Agcopra expressed last week how proud she was to be a St. Dominic’s Academy graduate.
“[St. Dominic’s Academy] has really taught me to be a better person,” Agcopra said. “It is not just a school but it is more like a family.”
Agcopra said she plans to study biology with future plans to go into pre-med and eventually becoming a doctor.
St. Dominic’s President Benjamin Dineen was happy about this year’s graduating class.
“It is always a great day when you send 116 young leaders off into the world,” Dineen said. “This is a strong class academically.”
The St. Dominic’s Class of 2007 received $6.1 million in scholarships and were accepted to numerous colleges and universities demonstrating their academic strength.Public schools
Of the public schools, Dickinson High School will have the most grads, with 587. The other numbers are as follows: Ferris High School, 308; Lincoln High School, 180; McNair Academic, 149; Snyder High School, 156; Liberty High School (for students who need a smaller school setting), 38.
Last week, officials at several of the public high schools said that they are not releasing the names of the valedictorians and salutatorians until graduation.
But three of the top students at Liberty High School, located at 2844 Kennedy Blvd. in Journal Square, spoke about their experiences and said they were excited about college.
Princess Belden, currently top ranked at the school, will attend the Mason Gross School of the Arts on the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, where she will be majoring in visual arts.
“Just being in a class with so few people, I was able to learn better,” Belden said.
Abraham Awad, second in the class, will attend Rutgers University-Newark, majoring in business management. Daniel Jacome, 16, is tied with Awad in class rank and will major in civil engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken.
Awad and Belden came to Liberty High School as freshmen after attending Jersey City public elementary schools. Jacome, a Jersey City native, attended private elementary school in Union City and one year at a North Bergen private high school before he entered Liberty as a sophomore.
“I’ll miss my best friends, I guess…and the basement,” said Jacome, referring to the basement space that Liberty High School has occupied since it opened its doors in September of 1999.
Jacome, referred to as a “flirt” by teacher and guidance counselor Pam Colon, admitted that 90 percent of his friends are girls.
Belden said she will miss the “closeness” she enjoyed as being part of a tight-knit graduating class, which also suited what she said is her “quiet and caring” personality.
Awad, who described himself as “funny even sarcastic,” said the experience was completely different from what he would have undergone if enrolled in a larger high school.
Awad had this piece of academic wisdom for next year’s graduates – “Don’t slack off.”
“Since classes are easier, you should take them a little more seriously,” Awad said. “They are classes you need to pass, and in the end it pays off.”
Jacome elaborated on Awad’s bit of advice.
“In senior year, the classes might be easier but you got a lot more responsibility,” Jacome said. “You have the whole SAT thing, getting into college.”
Belden said it is all a matter of priorities.
“Do the things that are important first then do the things that are fun,” Belden said. Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com