TRIB TOTAL MEDIA WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018 · 5
Allison Blackwell
School, grade:
Deer Lakes
High School, 12
Parents: Wanda
and Jeff Blackwell
Academic
achievements:
Top Ten Percent;
French National
Honor Society; National Honor Soci-ety;
Daughters of the American Revo-lution
Good Citizen School Winner;
Honorable Mention in the Society for
Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh’s
annual essay Contest.
Extracurricular activities: Vol-leyball;
violin lessons; youth group at
East Union Presbyterian Church.
Community involvement: DL Am-bassadors;
Best Buddies; Praise Band
at East Union Presbyterian Church;
2016 Pennsylvania Association of
Student Councils State Conference
Technology Committee Chair.
Plans/goals: I plan to attend a four
year college and obtain a bachelor of
science in biochemistry, with possible
minors in literature, human rights,
and/or film. After graduation, I will
then attend a medical school or a
graduate program and pursue a doc-torate
in a medical research intensive
field such as neuroscience, immunol-ogy
or genetics.
Renee Cebula
School, grade:
Highlands
High School, 12
Parents:
Mike and Diane
Cebula
Academic
achievements:
National Honor
Society; High Honors; First Place
Pennsylvania Junior Academy
of Science State Competition;
Third Place DECA State
Competition, Sports and
Entertainment Marketing.
Extracurricular activities: Junior
Class President; Senior Class Presi-dent;
Pennsylvania Junior Academy
of Science; DECA; GATE; student
council/SADD; cross country captain;
basketball captain; Valley News
Dispatch Athlete of the Week;
Indiana Wildcats AAU basketball.
Community involvement: OLMBS
CCD teacher, volunteer; Highlands
Elementary and Middle School bas-ketball
coach, volunteer; Sylvan Pool,
kitchen worker; Wildlife Lanes, kitchen
staff; OLMBS youth group; OLMBS
alter server.
Plans/goals: I plan to attend a
university to earn a six-year
accelerated Doctor of Physical
Therapy Degree.
Alexandra Borelli
School, grade:
Pittsburgh Science
& Technology
Academy, 12
Parents: Carol and
Michael Borelli
Academic
achievements:
Pennsylvania
Junior Academy of Science, first-place
award (Regionals and States);
Duquesne Forensic Science of Excel-lence
Award (Regionals); Pittsburgh
Regional Science and Engineering Fair
Perseverance Award; NHS President.
Extracurricular activities: Pitts-burgh
Science and Technology
Academy; Senior Class Council vice
president; Data Jam; Softball; Middle
School Science Fair Judge; Junior
Class Council treasurer.
Community involvement: Locust
Grove Senior Living Memory Care
Unit; St. Elias Church Festival; Adults
with Disabilities dance; United Way,
School Renovation Project.
Plans/goals: My goal is to be a part
of the fight against a monster, known
as Alzheimer’s. In a few months, I will
be majoring in physician assistant
studies at Gannon University, and
one day I will be working with the
minds that are being killed by this
monster.
Justin Chovanec
School, grade:
Mt Pleasant Area
Junior/Senior
High School, 12
Parents: Toni and
Michael Chovanec
Academic
achievements:
PHEAA Certificate
of Merit for Outstanding Performance
on the SAT; 790 on the math section
of the SAT; Westinghouse Science
Honors Institute; National Honor
Society; Tri-M Music Honor Society;
Johns Hopkins University Center for
Talented Youth; Excellent Honors;
High Honors; National Society of
High School Scholars.
Extracurricular activities: Swim
team co-captain; symphonic band;
Drama Club; marching band; tennis;
quiz team; jazz band; Gifted program;
region band; district band; county
band; FayWest Honors Band.
Community involvement: Diocese
of Greensburg, Episcopal Server Corps
and Lector; Meals on the Boulevard;
Mount Pleasant Lions Club; Salvation
Army; Mount Pleasant Rotary; St.
Florian Parish altar server; Our Lady
of Grace Parish Lector and volunteer.
Plans/goals: Attend a four-year
university to major in physics or
mathematics.
Marissa Callender
School, grade:
Highlands
High School, 11
Parents: Thomas
and Selena
Callender
Academic
achievements:
National Honor So-ciety;
High Honors; Women in Science
Day Awards from Seton Hill; Academ-ic
Achievement; 10 honors classes;
two College in High School classes;
four advanced placement classes; top
5 percent of class; GATE.
Extracurricular activities: Girl
Scouts; Top Hats; marching band;
concert band; Student Council;
Variations Show Choir; Concert
Choir; prom committee; musical;
DECA; Foreign Language Club;
Chemistry Club; Soccer; color guard.
Community involvement: Babysit-ter;
routine choreographer; frequently
visit nursing homes; Bible school
volunteer; ordained into church;
mission trip; Holiday 365; volunteer
at school luncheons; Stuff-A-Bus
volunteer; tutor; peer mentor
Plans/goals: I plan to become a
Pediatric Oncologist. I also plan to
continue Holiday 365, so that it
becomes a yearly event for every
holiday.
Julia Dengler
School, grade:
Mt Pleasant Area
Junior/Senior
High School, 12
Parents: Rebecca
Czekaj-Dengler and
Brian Dengler
Academic
achievements:
National Honor Society; School Board
student representative; Westinghouse
Science Honors Institute; Pennsylva-nia
Junior Academy of Science.
Extracurricular activities: Drama
Club and Geyer Theater, Dance
Captain and Choreographer; Track and
Field; Gamma Omega; Bots IQ; quiz
team; Society of Woman Engineers.
Community involvement: Philan-thropic
Internship at the Community
Foundation of Westmoreland County
which included volunteer work at mul-tiple
locations and working with non-profits;
Mt. Pleasant Public Library;
St. Pius Church; American Cancer
Society; mayoral campaign worker.
Plans/goals: I have been accepted
to the five-year BS/MS in biomedi-cal
engineering and also the Honors
College at Drexel University. My goal
is to utilize technology to make con-ventional
medicine available to those
in need and to improve human health
and quality of life.
Aiden Brewer
School, grade:
Greensburg
Central Catholic
High School, 12
Parents: Judy and
Mike Brewer
Academic
achievements:
Highest Honors;
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Med-icine
(LECOM), Summer Academy;
National Academy of Future Scientists
and Technologists Award of Excel-lence;
Westinghouse Science Honors
Institute; National Honor Society.
Extracurricular activities: USA
Track and Field (USATF) Valley
Speedsters Track Club; steeplechase;
pole vault; decathlon; student council.
Community involvement: St.
Sebastian School cross country
program, paid personal track coach;
volunteer track coach; Habitat for
Humanity; Washington City Mission
homeless shelter; church youth group.
Plans/goals: While competing as a
decathlete at the Division-I level, I will
pursue a bachelor’s degree in chemical
engineering, followed by a master’s
in biomedical engineering. Then, I will
complete medical school and plan
to use my engineering knowledge,
coupled with my medical degree, to
improve lives through science.
Sylvia Dawson
School, grade:
Mt Pleasant Area
Junior/Senior
High School, 11
Parents: Albert
and Kandida
Dawson
Academic
achievements:
Rotary Youth Exchange Program;
Viking Virtues Award for Dignity; Ex-cellent
Honors; Mount Pleasant Glass
and Ethnic Festival “Student That
Sparkles” Award Nominee.
Extracurricular activities: Girls golf;
quiz team; Student Council historian;
Yearbook Committee; Pennsylvania
Free Enterprise Week; Westinghouse
Science Honors Institute; Remem-bering
Adam voluntary drug testing
program; Spanish Club; Physics Club;
Chemistry Club; SADD; CSAY.
Community involvement: Kitchen
Staff at Laurelville Mennonite Church
Camp; St. Pius/Visitation Parish
Youth Ministry; Mount Pleasant Bor-ough
volunteer; Mount Pleasant Glass
and Ethnic Festival volunteer.
Plans/goals: I will participate in the
2018-19 Rotary Youth Exchange Pro-gram
as a foreign exchange student
to Spain. After I return, I plan on
attending college for a mathematics-related
degree.
Madison Borkovich
School, grade:
Fox Chapel Area
High School, 11
Parents: Jac-quelyn
and Daniel
Borkovich
Academic
achievements:
National Honor
Society; Straight A’s (High Honors)
awarded each year of high school;
In first decile of grade at Fox Cha-pel
Area High School; Biggest Help
Award recipient in school band; Hugh
O’Brien Youth Leadership Summit
school finalist; Won audition to inter-view
the founder of Live Like Lou for
annual school telethon.
Extracurricular activities: Fox Tales
Quarterly (school newspaper); Tapes-try
(literary magazine); Renard (school
yearbook); SAT Study Club.
Community involvement: Cross
Cultural Literacy Initiative; commu-nity
outreach; umpire for the Greater
Pittsburgh Girls Softball League;
assistant teacher in Kerr Elementary’s
summer learning academy.
Plans/goals: My plans are to be
accepted into a four-year college to
further my education. Potential inter-ests
at this time are in fields related
to English, cybersecurity, law and
education.
Olivia D’Andrea
School, grade:
Serra Catholic
High School, 12
Parents: Laura
and Joe D’Andrea
Academic
achievements:
Tri-M Honor Soci-ety;
Science Honor
Society; National Honor Society; Chi-nese
Honor Society; Thesbian Honor
Society; High Honor Roll; Junior
Achievement Award; merit awards.
Extracurricular activities: Junior
Achievement; volleyball; basketball;
musical; Eagle Choir; Serranators
(mass choir); Math League; Science
Bowl; Interact Club; WPIAL Sports-manship
Summit; Serra Ambassador.
Community involvement: Wood-lands
Foundation Camp Inspire;
Woodlands Foundation Music From
The Heart; Woodlands Foundation
Juniors Camp; Miracle League Buddy;
A Night To Remember Buddy.
Plans/goals: I will be attending
Allegheny College in the fall to study
Neuroscience with a minor in Global
Health Studies, while also partici-pating
in their collegiate volleyball
program. After I earn my undergradu-ate
degree, I plan to attend medical
school and pursue a career in a surgi-cal
field of medicine.