The Ocean City Board of Education took time to honor the district’s top scholars in a recognition ceremony Wednesday (May 28) in the school auditorium.
The district named the Ocean City High School Class of 2014 Top 10 — the students with the highest grade-point averages in their four years at the school. The students reached a remarkable level of achievement, not only in academics but in an array of athletic, extra-curricular and community endeavors. They will attend some of the most selective universities in the nation.
“You couldn’t ask for anything better than students who love being students,” Superintendent Kathleen Taylor said.
The board also recognized the top male and female scholar in grades 7 to 11 at the event.
Ocean City’s Top 10 includes:
- No. 1 Maham Ahmad: Ahmad had a 5.0862 grade-point average and will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall, likely majoring in biochemistry. She would like to become an oncologist and one day participate in Doctors Without Borders. She has served as vice president of the National Honor Society and the Key Club and is a student representative on the Board of Education.
- No. 2 Carolyn Previti: Previti had a 4.9445 grade-point average and will attend The College of New Jersey in the fall. She hopes to major in accounting then attend law school. She is a member of the tennis team and several school clubs. Previti was unable to attend the ceremony, because she is in Prague (Czech Republic) with her family.
- No. 3 John Kane: Kane had a 4.9012 grade-point average and will attend Brown University in the fall. In addition to taking 11 Advanced Placement classes, Kane participated in a number of clubs. His band, Pre-Generation, can be heard performing on the Ocean City Boardwalk this summer. “Jack is a great guy … it’s that simple,” counselor Christopher Banks said.
- No. 4 Kaitlyn Fox: Fox had a 4.8687 grade-point average and will attend Yale University in the fall. She hopes to major in mathematics and philosophy. In addition to a number of extra-curricular and community service achievements, Fox scored a perfect 36 on the ACT test — a feat completed by only one-tenth of one percent of test-takers.
- No. 5 Isabel Benvenuti: Benvenuti had a 4.7808 grade-point average and will attend University of Richmond in the fall. She hopes to major in mathematical economics and Spanish. Counselor Ray Martin used a Harriet Beecher Stowe quote to describe Benvenuti: “Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.”
- No. 6 Lauren Vetter: Vetter had a 4.7218 grade-point average and will attend the University of California at Berkeley, where she hopes to major in molecular biology and later attend medical school. Vetter is a student representative on the Board of Education among a wealth of other activities.
- No. 7 Leah Kornberg: Kornberg had a 4.6659 grade-point average and will attend the University of Pennsylvania, where she hopes to major in the biological basis of behavior and later attend medical school. Kornberg was a captain of the girls’ tennis team.
- No. 8 Hannah Childs: Childs had a 4.6266 grade-point average and will attend Cornell University’s School of Engineering in the fall. An “adventurous type,” Childs lived in Israel for five weeks.
- No. 9 Erica “Rosie” Catanoso: Catanoso had a 4.6251 grade-point average and will attend Fordham University in the fall and major in biology.
- No. 10 Lauren Sutherland: Sutherland had a 4.6104 grade-point average and will attend George Washington University in the fall. She hopes to major in biology and minor in English or anthropology. Sutherland has dual citizenship in the U.S. and the Netherlands.
The district also recognized the top male and female scholars in grades 7 to 11:
SEVENTH GRADE
- Female: Nora Faverzani
- Male: Jackson Neill
EIGHTH GRADE
- Female: Victoria Patella
- Male: Kyle Phillips
NINTH GRADE
- Female: Giuliana Leotta
- Male: Bradari Altman
TENTH GRADE
- Female: Juliana Kemenosh
- Male: Nickolas Eisele
ELEVENTH GRADE
- Female: BriarRose Ginn
- Male: Benjamin Fischer
The board also recognized 11th-grader Dylan Haskins as Employee of the Year in the Red Raider Retail store. Haskins is part of the school’s Life Skills Program and is know in the halls as “The Mayor of Ocean City High School.”
The board honored Ocean City High School soccer player George Meyers, who returned to the field this year just 337 days after a horrific leg injury that included two broken bones and severed arteries and required 10 surgeries. Meyer’s received the Most Courageous Athlete award from the South Jersey Coaches Association.
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