Hendricken top 10 'excel in every way,' Brennan

By Kelcy Dolan
Posted 8/25/16

Editor's note: We apologize to our readers and the Hendricken community for not publishing profiles of the top ten Class of 2016 sooner. We send them our best wishes in their new endeavors. By KELCY DOLAN Every year the senior class at Bishop Hendricken

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Hendricken top 10 'excel in every way,' Brennan

Posted

Editor’s note: We apologize to our readers and the Hendricken community for not publishing profiles of the top ten Class of 2016 sooner. We send them our best wishes in their new endeavors.

Every year the senior class at Bishop Hendricken High School raises the bar “higher and higher” and according to Joseph “Jay” Brennan, Hendricken Principal, the class of 2016 is no different, rather they exceeded and excelled in every possible way.

He categorizes their accomplishments in academics as “historic.” Their average AP and standardized test scores were “off the charts”. For both AP Calculus and Physics the average test score was a 4.5 out 5, something “basically unheard of,” for classes of about 15 students.

Similarly the senior class helped bring the Academic Decathlon, run by Sister Carol Anne Murray, to second place in its division in the national competition. Many of the Top 10 thanked and recognized her influence.

The senior class and especially the top ten were involved in so many more activities than just their academics, and many of the winning championship games were “on the backs of those seniors,” who had worked towards those success all 4 years of their high school career Brennan said. This year Hendricken won championships in Soccer, Hockey, Wrestling, Swimming, Basketball, Baseball and Track.

Brennan said, “I think that it’s all just a testament to the apparent leadership of this class. It’s intangible, but this class was also just so caring courteous and kind. They took care of one another. I think they really show the ideals of a Hendricken brotherhood.”

Brennan has no concern that each of the top ten students will become leaders in whatever field they pursue, working at the forefront of their fields rather than “behind the scenes”.

He said all you need to do is look at the college placements of the Top Ten, Princeton, Notre Dame and Cornell among others to know the top ten are well on their way to becoming leaders.

“There are not many high schools that can boast these types of placements,” Brennan said. “It is just a testament to all their hard work and the hard work of our teachers. These students came to us pretty extraordinary and we thank their parents for that. They took advantage of an appreciated everything Hendricken could offer them. There is no doubt these students will be doing remarkable things in their lives.”

Riley Chabot

As the valedictorian for the Hendricken class of 2016, Chabot was involved with a plethora of extra curricular activities including the Academic Decathlon, which placed 2nd at Nationals this year, the Chess Club (2nd Board), and the Math Team.

During his time at Hendricken he received the Math Superlative Award, Rensselaer and Pell Medals, and was a National Merit Scholarship recipient.

Chabot came to Hendricken knowing only one person, but after four years and numerous friendships he believes his most memorable experiences were getting to know so many “brilliant and fun people” from so many different places.

Throughout his high school career he knew excelling would open up so many opportunities for him later in life and led to exciting experiences even while in high school such as meeting passionate teachers and students as well as taking trips across the country for different national competitions.

He thanked his teachers Thomas Morey, Sister Carol Anne Murray as well as his parents and sister, Emily.

Chabot will be attending Princeton University this fall to study Mathematics and Physics.

Andrew Denkewicz

Denkewicz will be studying Mathematics at Cornell University in the coming weeks. He enters college with a long list of awards including the Harvard Book Award, the Brother Vincent McNally Spanish Award, Joseph W. Ince Chemistry Award. He was also awarded 1st place in the Rhode Island Math League a couple of years in a row.

Denkewicz was also heavily involved in volunteering throughout his time at Bishop Hendricken alongside extracurricular activities.

Not only did he play on the varsity soccer team, but he also volunteered on the Bonita Springs Mission Trip as well as for the Autism Project. He served a peer tutor and served in the Rhode Island, National, Spanish and English Honor Societies and was a member of MU Alpha Theta and Math Honor Society.

His fondest memories of high school were helping Hendricken’s varsity soccer team to a first place win as well as the Rhode Island Math League playoffs, where he has the highest score for seniors.

He was touched by the commitment of not only his teachers but also of his coaches. Denkewicz wanted to thank Thomas Morey as well as Louise Kaskel for their support throughout high school.

Miles Temel

Throughout his high school career Temel was motivated by the commitment to excellence and brotherhood encouraged by Bishop Hendricken High School. He strove to emulate those ideals and be a true Hendricken brother.

During his time in high school Temel was part of the Ambassadors Club, the French Club, and Poetry Out Loud. He participated on the tech crew for the school’s theatre program and participated in mission trips throughout his 4 years.

Temel was a member of the Academic Decathlon and cited Sister Carol Anne Murray for greatly contributing to his success at Hendricken. He also noted his parents as well as Thomas Morey. He was names a National Merit Semi Finalist and was also on the President’s List.

Temel will be attending Dartmouth College this fall to study sustainable energy.

Christian Kirby

Kirby received a slew of awards and recognitions during his time at Hendricken. In 2015 he was named the soccer MVP and participated on the All State Team for both soccer and Tennis. Kirby will remember most the “family like bonds” he developed on the sports teams in high school; he served as a captain for both tennis and soccer. In his final month of school he won the Tennis Doubles State Tournament.

He is a member of the English, Spanish, Math, Rhode Island and National Honor Societies. Kirby was given the Brown University Alumni Book Award, the James S. Allenson Memorial Scholarship, Excellence in English Award, as well as a National Merit Letter of Commendation.

He served as both a peer minister and math tutor and even participated in the Ambassadors Club.

Kirby’s goal was to prove anything is possible with dedication and hard work, that those attributes are far more “valuable than natural ability”.

He wanted to thank God for his “strength and spirit” as well as parents, teachers and friends for always challenging him to be his best self.

Kirby will be attending the University of Notre Dame to study Business.

Andrew Sarazen

Sarazen was the vice president of the class of 2016 and also part of Youth Taking Action as well as Peer Ministry.

He was on Hendricken’s Baseball team and his best memory from high school was winning the state championships at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket.

Alongside being on the team that won the championships, Sarazen was also awarded the Holy Cross Book Award.

Excelling in academics were also always a priority for Sarazen because he knew it would lead to better opportunities not only to get into a prestigious college, but also in pursing a job after his college graduation.

He will be attending Boston College to study Economics and credit both Thomas Morey and Bettyann Tudino for helping him to realize his talent and passion for mathematics.

Andrew Hong

Hong has always wanted to contribute to society in a positive way and now having graduated with the Hendricken Class of 2016 he will be attending the United State Naval Academy to study chemistry to eventually become a Naval doctor and researcher.

During high school, Hong was a captain of the Science Olympiad, with which he was a 2015 GENIUS Olympiad International Project competition finalist and also was a State Science Olympiad Gold Medallist. He also participated on the Tennis team, Fishing Club, Math Team, Jazz Band, All-State Jazz Band, Ambassadors Club and was a peer mentor.

Hong is a National Merit Scholarship finalist, an AP Scholar with Distinction and also was a 2015 I-SWEEP International Science Fair Finalist and honorable mention award.

He will always remember the sense of community and the friends he made at Hendricken High School.

Dongjun Seung

Seung was very busy during his time at Hendricken and was involved in numerous activities both with and outside of the school. He was the founder and president of the Cultural exchange Club, President of the Chess Club, captain for the Math team and also served as the captain for the RI American Regions Mathematics League Team, a co-captain of the Science Olympiad. He participated on the Tennis and Ambassadors Club as well as the QPR Indoor Soccer Team.

Musically inclined, Seung was a member of the Hendricken String Orchestra, even serving as concert master his junior year, Providence College and Rhode island College Orchestras. He was also a member of All-State Orchestra for 4 years.

Seung believes his hard working and inspiring friends and family motivated him to excel during school and loved to “challenge himself” in a “competitive pool of brilliant minds.”

He wanted to thank Thomas Morey, Elizabeth Thompson, and Audrey Hughes.

Seung was an AIME Qualifier, Silver Medallist in Technical Problem Solving, ARML Honors Team Award, URI Chemistry Competition first place finisher in Division 1 and 2, 3rd place winner of RI Chess Scholastic Tournament and the RI State Math Meet, going on to win 1st in 2016. Seung is also a member of the National, English, Spanish Math Honor Societies.

He will be attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and majoring in Mathematics as well as Computer Science.

Sichao Xu

Xu has many interests and will be studying Mathematics, Computer Science and Philosophy this fall at UC Berkely.

He Credits his wide range of interests to Thomas Morey who motivated Xu to “explore the realm of mathematics” and Vincent Mancuso who helped him embrace the social sciences as well.

During his time at Hendricken, Xu was a programmer for the Robotics Team, a member of both Science Olympiad and Math Team as well as a Tennis player.

Xu was a Gold Division qualifier for the USA Computing Olympiad, silver medallist in the Asia Pacific Informatics Olympiad, and a semi finalist in the FTC RI Championships.

Although Xu admitted it was initially a “culture shock” trying to adapt to a new life at Hendricken his desire for “pure intellect” and curiosity would lead to his excelling in school.

Alex Richard

Class Vice President Richard also served as an ambassador and was involved in the peer ministry. Outside of Hendricken Richard was very involved with community service, volunteer at the Special Olympics, CLCF Baseball as well as Rhode Island Hospital.

In school he was awarded the Principal Leadership Award, the General Treasurer Award, Lieutenant Governor’s Leadership Award and was named one of Cranston's Best and Brightest.

With all of his high school success Richard is moving onto the Pre-Med program at the University of Notre Dame.

As he makes this transition in his life he will remember most the “incredible” sense of community at Bishop Hendricken High School.

Richard thanks his teachers Michael Gerrety and Louise Kaskel who both has “incredible energy and passion” that helped to push him out of his comfort zone and to succeed in all he did

He was motivated through school to uphold the traditions of excellence of the school’s history.

Andrew Almonte

Almonte was heavily involved in sports during his time at Hendricken High School. Not only was he a part of the Cross Country team but he also played, Varsity Basketball, Baseball, and Unified Volleyball.

Outside of sports he was also a peer mentor, peer minister, the Class Secretary, as well a member of both the Italian Club and Ambassadors Club.

He was on the National, Rhode Island, Italian and English Honor Societies as well as Mu Alpha Theta. Almonte also received the Duquesne Book Award.

From his first day at Hendricken Almonte understood what an “amazing” opportunity he had by being able to attend the high school. He wanted to make the most of it.

Alongside the brotherhood he developed with his peers he will always remember being crowned state champions with his teammates. He would like to thank his parents, grandparents as well as teacher Michael Quigley.

Almonte will be studying at Brown University this fall.

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  • Justanidiot

    How dare the Beacon do this to these fine young men?

    You are treating them like public school students.

    Friday, August 26, 2016 Report this