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Ranney School Graduates Well-Rounded and Passion-Driven Class of 2018

Ranney School’s 84-member Class of 2018 celebrated its commencement at OceanFirst Bank Center of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ on Thursday, May 24. Twenty-seven of the seniors, known as “Ranney Lifers,” had attended the school for 10 or more years, including both the Valedictorian Ankur Govil and the Salutatorian Paul Jensen III. Next fall, the entire group will head off to attend some of the most prestigious colleges and universities across the country, including Yale, Columbia, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Emory, Wake Forest, Michigan, and NYU. For a complete list of colleges, visit ranneyschool.org.  

The Class of 2018 demonstrates how Ranney students are encouraged to discover and engage all of their unique talents and interests through robust student life programs and a nurturing learning community. For example: Varun Sikand of Colts Neck was a semifinalist in the US History Bee and has an article that will be published next month in The Concord Review (Varun will be attending Yale); Carmine Mastrokostas of Tinton Falls was recognized with a Count Basie award (Carmine will be attending NYU); Michael Bussey of Wall won a “Best Senator” award in the Harvard Model Congress (Michael will be attending Bentley); Abigail Granata of Wall and Alec Taffin of Rumson both received Scholastic Art and Writing Gold Keys (Abigail will be attending Baylor and Alec will be attending DePaul); and four seniors have signed to play athletics at the collegiate level: Abigail Boyan of Spring Lake will play soccer at Georgia; Ryan Pongrac of Freehold will play golf at Delaware; Savior Akuwovo of Jersey City will play basketball at Howard; and Maxwell Bonevento will play lacrosse at Queens University of Charlotte. Ten seniors qualified to compete in the 2018 VEX Robotics Competition. The class also raised awareness and supported multiple charitable causes, including Carlie Taurosa of Allenwood (Chapman University) founding Beneath the Surface and Charlotte Kaye of West Allenhurst (Fairfield University) founding Charlotte’s Dance for a Chance. Academically, the Class of 2018 is exceptional: Katherine Bibilouri of Englishtown is a National Merit Commended Scholar (Katherine will be attending Sciences Po-Columbia University); and 11 seniors were recognized as AP Scholars, six as AP Scholars with Honor, and three as AP Scholars with Distinction. Among the class of 84, 56 are National Honor Society members and 17 were inducted into Cum Laude Society.
 
"Beyond earning acceptances to many of the finest colleges and universities across the nation, what struck all of us at Ranney is how cohesive and close you came to be as a class and how much you deeply believed in the idea of service to your school and your community,” said Adam Materasso, Ranney School Dean of College Counseling. “The Class of 2018 represents the best ideal of what we hope for in our graduates – fully realized citizens, ready for whatever is next, ready to make the world a better place as they have made our school a better place."

In his commencement speech, Valedictorian Ankur Govil of Manalapan said, “Yes, it is true that this is an accomplished group of individuals, with talents and intellect that will serve as assets in college and beyond. However, these outstanding young men and women you see before you today should be most celebrated for their outstanding character and values.”

“This is an exciting time of great innovation and discovery,” continued Ankur. “In this age, breakthroughs in the arts, sciences, medicine, and technology are commonplace; it seems as though the world cannot evolve fast enough to keep up. The best part of all of this is that we are about to add to it. Every graduate sitting before you today is more than capable of contributing to this wave of change.” This fall, Ankur will be studying at Johns Hopkins Biomedical Engineering. He served as Student Council Vice President, earned many academic accolades, and participated in the brass section of the Ranney School Band.

Added Salutatorian Paul Jensen III of Colts Neck, “Be proud of your achievements but show humility when discussing them.  Lead effectively but considerately.  Create spectacularly but plausibly.  Contribute definitively but astutely. Most of all, thank those along the way who aid you on your journey of life-fulfillment.”  Paul, an accomplished musician, is a member of the Ranney School Orchestra, as well as a member of the tennis and basketball teams. Paul will be studying at the Mendoza College of Business at Notre Dame this fall.

At the graduation ceremony, 10 students were awarded with special honors:
Headmaster's Cup – Jacqueline Erler of Freehold (Columbia University)
Gershom Tomlinson Humanitarian Award - Charlotte Kaye of West Allenhurst (Fairfield University)
Faculty Prize - Sarah Killian of Holmdel (Belmont University) and Rylan Foy of Spring Lake (Duke University)
Ann Kappel Citizenship and Service Award - Amanda Serrapica of Holmdel (Muhlenberg College)
Robert Paulus Leadership and Perseverance Award - Carlie Taurosa of Allenwood (Chapman University)
Margaret M. Mahon Award - Anisha Gupta of Ocean (Emory University) and Abigail Granata of Wall (Baylor University)
Lawrence S. Sykoff Award- Allison Sobieski of Wayside (Boston College)
Ranney School Leadership Award - Gabriella Snyder of Long Branch (Barnard College)

A few days prior to graduation, on Monday, May 21, Ranney School Honors Convocation recipients were awarded:
Photo Album
National Merit Scholarship - Katherine Bibilouri of  Englishtown (Sciences Po-Columbia University)
History - Varun Sikand of Colts Neck (Yale University)
Art History - Abigail Granata of Wall (Baylor University)
Economics - Paul Jensen of Colts Neck (University of Notre Dame) and Kenneth Moore of Morganville (Duke University)
L.C. Lane English - Jacqueline Erler of Freehold (Columbia University)
Science - Ankur Govil of Manalapan (Johns Hopkins University) and Brooke Nadler of Colts Neck (University of Michigan)
Mathematics - Ankur Govil of Manalapan (Johns Hopkins University)
Computer Science - Gerald "Chip" Johnson of Red Bank (Monmouth University)
French - Victoria Cuciniello of Freehold (Elon University)
Spanish - Emily Sallustio of Wayside (Northeastern University)
Performing Arts (Vocal) - Carmine Mastrokostas of Tinton Falls (New York University)
Performing Arts (Theater) -  Amanda Serrapica of Holmdel (Muhlenberg College) and Carmine Mastrokostas of Tinton Falls (New York University)
Performing Arts (Instrumental) - Max Kyrillos of Middletown (New York University), Paul Jensen of Colts Neck (University of Notre Dame) and Allison Sobieski of Wayside (Boston College)
Visual Arts (Sculpture) - Kayla Conley of Holmdel (University of Miami)
Visual Arts (Photography and Graphic Design) - Abigail Granata of Wall (Baylor University)
Visual Arts (Painting and Drawing) - Harper Herman of Rumson (University of Colorado, Boulder)
Ram Sheila Bharara Communications Award - Ankur Govil of Manalapan (Johns Hopkins University)
AP Scholars Awards - Varun Sikand of Colts Neck (Yale University), Ankur Govil of Manalapan (Johns Hopkins University), Kenneth Moore of Morganville (Duke University), Rylan Foy of Spring Lake (Duke University), Sarah Killian of Holmdel (Belmont University), Jacqueline Erler of Freehold (Columbia University), Lily Elkwood of Morganville (Cornell University), Sabrina Stott of Manalapan (Chapman University), Allison Sobieski of Wayside (Boston College), Paul Jensen of Colts Neck (University of Notre Dame), Ava Atanacio of Middletown (Northeastern University), Nicole Goldwert of Ocean (University of Miami), Shannon Gorman of Colts Neck (University of Maryland, College Park), Abigail Granata of Wall (Baylor University), Anisha Gupta of Ocean (Emory University) , Emily Kachinski of Shrewsbury (Wake Forest University), Zachary Karlin of Manalapan (Emory University, and  Laura Lehrfeld of Sea Girt (Syracuse University)
Scholar Athletes - Kenneth Moore of Morganville (Duke University) and Allison Sobieski of Wayside (Boston College)
Eugenie B. Edwards Spirit of Tennis - Anisha Gupta of Ocean (Emory University)
Excellence in Citizenship -
12th grade: Allison Sobieski of Wayside (Boston College) and Max Kyrillos of Middletown (New York University)
11th grade: Christopher Autino
10th grade: Olivia Knoop
9th grade: Evan Woska
 
 
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society.