Members of the Holy Cross Class of 2018 Make Headlines

Talented, engaged students headed to to Mount St. James

The approximately 780 members of the Holy Cross class of 2018, who report to campus on Aug. 30, are among the top graduates in their high school classes, engaged in community service, and have distinguished themselves in creative pursuits and athletic endeavors.

The Holy Cross community doesn’t have to wait until they arrive on campus to get to know some of them.

Stories about members of the incoming class have been appearing in hometown newspapers and media outlets across the country over the spring and summer months. Here is a look at some of those stories.

Blake Basmajian, of Corinth, N.Y., graduated as valedictorian of Corinth High School’s class of 2014, reports the Times Union. The accomplishment is all the more impressive considering Basmajian suffered a serious head injury while he was in high school. more »

Kiernan Black, of Fairfield, Conn., was named statewide winner of a citizenship award, reports the Fairfield Citizen. more »

Allyson O. Braciska, of Tewksbury, Mass., received the Student-Athlete Award from Austin Preparatory School’s class of 2014, according to the Tewksbury Advocate. more »

Cassandra Brouillard, of Hampton Falls, N.H., was among the top 10 ranking students in the Winnacunnet High School class of 2014, reports SeacoastOnline.com. more »

Katie Elia, of Erie, Pa., who served as senior class president at Mercyhurst Preparatory School and played four years of varsity tennis, penned an op-ed titled “9 tips for high school grads” for the Erie Times-News. more »

Isabel Fitzpatrick, Rockport, Mass., graduated from Pingree School in South Hamilton with a departmental honor in language, reports the Gloucester Times. more »

Yonetta Harris, of Jamaica Plain, Mass., will enter Holy Cross “on nearly a full scholarship this fall, having spent the last four years balancing rigorous academics, part-time work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the assorted demands of a stellar three-sport athlete (soccer, basketball, softball) at O’Bryant High School in Boston,” reports the Boston Globe. Harris, who was attacked by her father while still in the womb, has inspired countless people around her. more »

Caitlyn Harty, of Beverly, Mass., graduated as co-valedictorian of the Beverly High School class of 2014, reports the Beverly Citizen. Harty was a soccer team captain who brought her team to a conference title this year for the first time in a decade. She will be playing soccer at Holy Cross. more »

Brenna Kent, of Scarborough, Maine, graduated in the top 10 percent of the Scarborough High School class of 2014, reports the Scarborough Leader. more »

Keepmecurrent.com also reported the news. more »

Hayden J. Kucharski, of Bloomfield, N.J., received the Msgr. Thomas J. Tuohy Award and was recognized as a member of the National Honor Society during Seton Hall Preparatory School’s class of 2014 commencement exercises, reports NorthJersey.com. more »

Nathaniel Lombardi, of Winslow, Maine, was among Winslow High School’s top 10 seniors for 2014. He plans to major in biology and chemistry, and join the premed program, reports CentralMaine.com. more »

Erica Mendoza, of Framingham, Mass., will be the first person in her family to go to college, according to Boston’s CBS affiliate, WBZ-TV. more »

Gabrielle Muniz, of Rockport, Mass., graduated from Pingree School in South Hamilton with high distinction, reports the Gloucester Times. more »

Matt Murrer, of Aptos, Calif., who has Type 1 diabetes, was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year in his high school's soccer league. He will play Division I soccer at Holy Cross, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. more »

Taylor Pels, of Chattanooga, Tenn., is one of six entering freshmen at Holy Cross to receive the full four-year tuition Sheehan Scholarship, reports Chattanoogan.com. Rev. Earle L. Markey, S.J., associate director of Jesuit relations in the admissions office, told the media outlet that Sheehan Scholars “exemplify the rigorous intellectual pursuit that characterizes a Holy Cross education.” more »

Connie Truong, of Boston, received a 2014 Blackstone/Franklin Square Neighborhood Association college scholarship. According to the South End News, Truong “graduated from the Josiah Quincy Upper School with a 4.0 grade point average, a strong aptitude for math and science, and a desire to do medical research and develop medical devices inspired by her own father’s heart problems.”  more »

Three students from Cristo Rey school in Dorchester, Mass., will be attending Holy Cross, which the Boston Globe reports is a “top destination” for that school’s students. more »

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