When dozens of local teenagers trade in their red and navy uniforms for square hats and flammable nylon robes, it must be the commencement season.
This Friday, 147 Secaucus High School students will take their turn listening to speeches about the future – thus marking that time-honored ritual known as graduation.
However, even though every graduation ritual is similar, each class is unique.
Asked to comment on this year’s class, Secaucus High School principal Pat Impreveduto didn’t hesitate.
“Right off the bat, this has been a very academically-inclined class,” Impreveduto said. “Out of the 153 students who are graduating, 148 are going on to further their education, be it at a two-year or four-year institution. I’m guessing these students have been awarded over $1 million in academic and athletic scholarships for school next year. So, clearly this is a high-achieving class.”
The class includes several National Merit Scholars, recipients of the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence, and New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) scholarship recipients. A look at this year’s valedictorian and salutatorian also bears this out.
Off to Princeton and Georgetown
Ryan Shea, 18, is graduating with the highest grade point average ever in the school’s history. Shea, who will be heading to Princeton University in the fall to study chemical engineering, credits Secaucus High with giving him solid preparation for the Ivy League.
“I’ve gained a really good background in the sciences and in math,” said Shea, who participated in the school’s science academy. “But I also think I’ve received a well-rounded education from creative writing, English, and history classes too.”
Far from fitting the stereotype of a “nerd,” Shea is both president of Mu Alpha Theta – the school’s math honor society – and a member of the cross-country and track teams. Next year, he said, he hopes run with the Princeton cross-country team, yet modestly adds, “But we’ll have to see if that happens, ’cause the team is very competitive.”
Shea’s classmate, salutatorian Michael Lienhard, has not determined which extracurricular activities he may pursue next year as a freshman at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
“I think I’m just going to wait and see,” said Lienhard, 18, who plans to study pre-med. Having performed in three school musicals at Secaucus High, Lienhard said he may get involved with the drama club at Georgetown. He, too, participated in the high school’s science academy and believes it shaped his interest in medicine.
“The science academy offers good courses, and they’ve really helped me prepare for what I want to focus on in college,” explained Lienhard, who is also the senior class president, and president of the National Honor Society. “We take four times the amount of science courses that are required at Secaucus High School. But, like [Shea] was saying, we get a good education across the board in all our subjects, not just in math and science.”
“Just to give you a sense of how academically inclined this class is,” Impreveduto commented, “in previous classes, [Lienhard], the 2008 salutatorian, would have been the valedictorian.”
Outgoing Schools Superintendent Constantino Scerbo, who will retire at the end of August after 24 years in the position, said Shea and Lienhard’s accomplishments are indicative of the progress the Secaucus school district has made since the 1970s.
“When I started as a teacher here, we didn’t even have a high school,” Scerbo recalled last week. “Our students had to attend the various schools in north Hudson County. I was so pleased when we finally got our own high school. Since then, I’ve seen the high school evolve. More of our graduates now go to college. I think last year a little over 90 percent of the high school students went to college.”
“And our media and math and science academies have been a great achievement for us,” Scerbo continued. “If you look at this year’s valedictorian and salutatorian, both of them came through our Science Academy and are going to great colleges next fall. That, I think, demonstrates the evolution of, and improvement in, our curricula.”
Academic award recipients
In addition to Shea and Lienhard, a number of other graduates this year have good reason to be proud of their accomplishments.
Lamont Chen, Kristen Degenhardt, Megan Fitzpatrick,Shauna Genatt,Ashley Gonzalez, Kinshuk Kalia, Rachel Kantor, Elise Lennon, Agnes Lui, Sarah Mercado, Jonathan Mui, Krystal Muzones, Frank Piscotta, Julia Razdolski, Malinda Rodriguez, Maria Sallustio, Natasha Tikyani, Kim Tran, Kristina Vega, Maria Velkova, Kevin Williams, Gina Zaccagnino, Alexson Mui, Mark Rusinski, Nicole Waters, Nicole Scher, and Lienhard all received the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence.
Lamont Chen, Anges Lui, and Shea each received a National Merit Scholarship.
Craig Schmitt, Megan Fitzpatrick, Frank Piscotta, and Shea all received the NJSIAA Outstanding Scholar Athlete Award.