12 · WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018 TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
Nicholas Secosky
School, grade:
Mt Pleasant Area
Junior/Senior
High School, 12
Parents: Rachael
and Jeff Secosky
Academic
achievements:
National Honor
Society, president; French National
Honor Society; Mount Pleasant Area
School Board Student Representative;
Wendy’s 2017 High School Heisman
school winner; Distinguished Honors,
GPA over 4.0; High Honors.
Extracurricular activities: Soccer,
captain; basketball; baseball; track
& field; SADD; Council on Substance
Abuse and Youth; Spirit Club; Phys-ics
Club; Interact Club; French Club;
Chemistry Club; Youth Education
Association; prom committee.
Community involvement: Seth
Menhart Tournament; Relay for Life,
volunteer; MP Drug Forum, volunteer;
Citizen’s Fiber Road Cleanup, volun-teer;
Green Ribbon Walk, volunteer.
Plans/goals: I plan on attending
Penn State University to study chemi-cal
engineering with a minor in some
kind of technology. I then would like
to possibly work for the government
or join the military before starting a
family.
Savannah Staab
School, grade:
Serra Catholic
High School, 12
Parents: Suzanne
and Brian Staab
Academic
achievements:
Recognized Carson
Scholar; National
Honors Society; Science National
Honors Society; La Sociedad Hono-raria
Hispanica; Quill and Scroll Na-tional
Honors Society for High School
Journalists; High Honor Roll; Student
Government; merit awards.
Extracurricular activities: Cheer-leading;
track & field; Prolife Club;
Junior Achievement; Future Business
Leaders of America; Interact Club;
yearbook editor; newspaper; TEAMS;
Math League; musical; youth group.
Community involvement: Best of
the Batch; Appalachia Work Camp;
vacation Bible school; junior high
camp; Gap sales associate; church
rectory receptionist; Serra Ambassa-dor
tour guide.
Plans/goals: One day, I hope to
pursue a career in medicine due to my
deep interest in science and helping
others. My ultimate goal would be to
become an established physician with
a family of my own and to be able to
travel the world.
Brighid Shanahan
School, grade:
Serra Catholic
High School, 12
Parent: Mariann
Butler
Academic
achievements:
Tri-M National
Honor Society,
historian; Thespian National Honor
Society; Quill and Scroll National
Honor Society; Dean’s List; Honor roll.
Extracurricular activities: FBLA;
school yearbook; Junior Achievement;
school musical; Pro-Life Club; concert
band; school newspaper; Hands of
Christ Community Service.
Community involvement: Young
People Who Care, Appalachia mission
trip; Homestead Park United Method-ist
Church, vacation Bible school; Holy
Angels Church, vacation Bible school;
St. Anthony program, musical help;
Operation Troop Appreciation; Serra
Catholic, Meet the Student’s, fresh-man
first day volunteer.
Plans/goals: My goal is to become
a licensed funeral director and later
own my own funeral home. I will be
attending Point Park University to
study funeral service with a concen-tration
in business administration and
later attend the Pittsburgh Insistute
of Morturary Science.
Olivia Steeley
School, grade:
Hempfield Area
High School, 11
Parents: James
and Danielle
Steeley
Academic
achievements:
Distinguished
Honors; Science National Honor Soci-ety;
Hempfield Enrichment Program;
STEM Literacy; Westinghouse Honors
Institute; LECOM Medical Academy of
Science and Health.
Extracurricular activities: United
Spartans (Kindness Club), historian,
vice president, president; ballet; Inter-act
Club; piano; flute; school musical;
cheerleading; Ski Club; soccer; golf;
student government; French Club.
Community involvement: YMCA
lifeguard; You’ve Got a Friend Day;
Read Across America; Penny Wars;
Hempfield Area Kindness Week, co-ordinator;
Operation Christmas Child;
United Day of Caring; Hempfield mini-
THON; Salvation Army.
Plans/goals: To attend the University
of Pittsburgh, majoring in biology or
chemical engineering, with a minor
in computer science, then either
continuing my education through a
master’s degree in engineering or at-tending
medical school.
Nichole Sommers
School, grade:
Mars High
School, 12
Parents: Denise
and John Sommers
Academic
achievements:
National Honor
Society; High
Honors; Academic Excellence Award;
selected for Biology Scholars Program
Day at Muskingum University (one of
13 students from high schools in Ohio
and Pennsylvania); American Legion
Certificate of School Award; Presi-dent’s
Education Awards Program.
Extracurricular activities: Class
Council, vice president; Responsible
Educated Adolescents Can Help
(SADD), co-vice president; basketball,
track & field; TRU (Tobacco Resis-tance
Unit) Leadership and Mentor
Day at Slippery Rock University.
Community involvement: Concordia
of Cranberry volunteer; volunteered
to serve dinner at Pine Valley Bible
Camp; Mars Planet Foundation,
Student Foundation Delegate.
Plans/goals: I plan on attending
Gannon University in the fall for the
physician assistant program. I hope
to continue to be a health advocate
for tobacco prevention and healthy
decisions.
Paytn Szymkiewicz
School, grade:
Central
Westmoreland
Career & Technol-ogy
Center, 12
Parents: Darcy
and Mark Szym-kiewicz
Academic
achievements: First-place Computer
Programming Skills USA District
Competition; West Newton Ro-tary
Student of the Month; Central
Westmoreland Career and Technology
Center Student of the Month;
Yough Rocks Student.
Extracurricular activities: FIRST
Robotics; VEX Robotics; Skills USA;
Yough Gifted Program; Yough Broad-casting
Network; bowling; SADD.
Community involvement: Fresh
Express Westmoreland County Food
Bank; Toys For Tots; Animal Friends.
Plans/goals: I will continue my edu-cation
at Robert Morris University and
major in software engineering. During
college, I want to get an internship at
a local tech company in Pittsburgh. I
wish to continue donating my time to
children by inspiring them to pursue
STEM careers and hopefully become
a mentor for FIRST Robotics. After
college, I want to get a job in the area
and further my education in robotics.
Joshua Solomon
School, grade:
Deer Lakes
High School, 12
Parent: Mary
Solomon
Academic
achievements:
National Honor
Society, vice presi-dent;
French National Honor Society,
treasurer; Top 10 percent; Wendy’s
Heisman School Winner; Commended
Student in the National Merit Scholar-ship
Program; finalist in Pennsylvania
Speech and Debate League Champi-onship.
Extracurricular activities: Football,
captain; basketball, captain; volley-ball,
captain, All-Section, All-WPIAL;
BotsIQ Team (Robotics Club), captain;
Speech and Debate; Math League,
president; Wellness Committee; Eng-lish
Festival team.
Community involvement: Pitts-burgh
Marathon volunteer; middle
school boys volleyball assistant
coach; junior camp counselor; website
designer and photographer for girls
basketball; Lisowski Landscaping.
Plans/goals: I plan to attend college
to obtain a four-year degree in electri-cal
engineering. Ultimately, I hope
to become an electrical or computer
engineer.
Megan Swift
School, grade:
Franklin Regional
High School, 11
Parents: Melissa
and Eric Swift
Academic
achievements:
Highest Honors
with Distinction;
gifted education student; National
Honor Society; accelerated math
student; advanced-placement litera-ture,
calculus and American studies;
Breakfast of Champions honoree.
Extracurricular activities: Drum
major; marching band and concert
band/wind ensemble; Thespians Club;
student council delegate; mentor
team; tennis; ultimate frisbee; voice
and piano lessons; dance, tap, ballet,
jazz; acting instruction; saxophone
lessons; chorus and show choir.
Community involvement: Relay
for Life; East End Kids Premier Teen
Song and Dance Ensemble; church
cantor; church choir; Serving Other
Souls; soloist for funerals, community
events, festivals, social events.
Plans/goals: I plan to further my
education at a college/university to
study music and musical theater. I
would like to share my love of music
and theater through performances,
directing and song writing.
Claire Simpson
School, grade:
Greensburg Salem
High School, 12
Parent: Anita
Simpson
Academic
achievements:
Speech and Debate
Association;
National Art Honor Society; National
Honor Society; Mock Trial; Yale
Book Award Winner; MENSA
accepted; Quiz Bowl; Westmoreland
Interscholastic Reading Competition;
accepted into and attended Summer
International Relations Institute
at Georgetown University.
Extracurricular activities: Stage
Right! Community Theater organiza-tion;
Gifted (AXIS) participant; dance
team/marching band; student council
association; classical violinist; NAUI
Certified SCUBA diver.
Community involvement: Altar
server at Blessed Sacrament Cathe-dral;
volunteer for “Fresh Express”
food pantry and Magi Ministry;
“You’ve got a friend day” and “Learn-ing
for life day” through the Student
Council Organization to volunteer with
local special-needs children.
Plans/goals: I plan on being a diplo-mat
or international relations worker
to sort out issues facing our world.
Madeline Sulava
School, grade:
Kiski Area
High School, 12
Parents: Mary
Frances and Jo-seph
Sulava
Academic
achievements:
National Honor
Society; High Honors; Class Rank: 32
of 295; GPA: 4.0.
Extracurricular activities: Yearbook,
head reporter; Spanish Club; Key
Club; peer tutor; lifeguard, first-aid
and CPR certified; open-water scuba
certified; mixed martial arts instruc-tor;
piano lessons; first place in the
2017 PSPA Point Park Regional in the
reporting category.
Community involvement:
Leechburg Area Pink Day; Salvation
Army Back-to-School Bash; North
Apollo Church of God Trunk-or-Treat
event; Westmoreland Cleanways for
cleanup of local highways; Oakmont
Country Club lifeguard.
Plans/goals: I plan to attend Slippery
Rock University with the major of
exercise science and to apply for the
Honors College at Slippery Rock. After
I obtain an exercise science degree,
I would like to apply for a graduate
program for physical therapy, occupa-tional
therapy or physician’s assistant.