Hopewell Valley Central High School’s Top 10 students Nigel Bates, Scott Brown, Lauren Gilmore, Megan Hill, Molly Hunt, Ryan Kuchinski, Mandy Lee, Maia Miller, Michaela Ovale and Melissa Rolwood.
Journalist, lawyer, nurse, nutritionist and engineer. Those are just a few of the professions that Hopewell Valley Central High School’s outstanding graduating seniors are looking forward to as they end their high school years and begin their college careers.
Although only one plans on playing sports at the collegiate level, many of the seniors played sports in high school, including cross country, track, field hockey, cheerleading, tennis, soccer, and softball.
Extracurricular activities were diverse with the students participating in orchestra, marching band, jazz band, a cappella groups, student council, Club For the Cure, and Teens Against Tobacco Use.
Three will be attending Georgetown and one will be going to the Ivy League at Columbia.
In lieu of picking the top 10 students based on grade point average, high school administration selected 10 outstanding students, not listed by GPA.
The school does not keep class rank, so the following students are listed alphabetically.
Nigel Bates
Williams College (environmental science)
Schools: Pinon Valley Elementary, Colorado Springs, Colo. (00-04); Hopewell (04-06); Timberlane (06-09).
Clubs: Orchestra (cello), U Got Male (a capella chorus).
Sports: Cross country, Track.
Collegiate sports: Cross country, Track.
Favorite memory: “Trips to the Brown Invitational in Rhode Island with the cross country team.”
Memorable quote: Dream on! But don’t imagine they’ll all come true. –Billy Joel, Vienna
Scott Brown
Northwestern University (journalism)
Journalist/Activist
Schools: Bear Tavern (01-06); Timberlane (06-09).
Clubs: Student council (treasurer), Jazz band, Con Brio (a capella group), U Got Male, S2J2 (tutoring in Trenton), Marching Band. Sports: Cross country, Track.
Favorite memory: “When a few friends an I wrote a satirical newspaper about the world ending and distributed it around the school on December 21, 2012, the day the world was supposedly going to end.”
Memorable quote: The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma. –Patrick Star
Lauren Gilmore
Georgetown University (nursing)
Nursing
Schools: Timberlane, Stony Brook, Bear Tavern.
Clubs: Teens Against Tobacco Use, LEAD, Club For the Cure, Kids For Kids, Be the Change. Sports: Field Hockey.
Favorite memories: “Participating in the Spanish Exchange.”
Memorable quote: Never a failure, always a lesson. –Rihanna
Megan Hill
University of Richmond (political science/leadership studies)
Government or Law
Schools: Hopewell, Stony Brook, Timberlane.
Clubs: National Honor Society, Four years as class liaison, Teens Against Tobacco, Winter musical, Chamber Singers.
Sports: Cheerleader.
Favorite memories: “If there’s one moment I won’t forget, though, it’s winning first place for our class float in both junior and senior years. These moments epitomized fun, school spirit, and showed that hard work really pays off.”
Memorable quote: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. –Mark Twain
Molly Hunt
The College of William and Mary (undecided)
Schools: Toll Gate (00-06); Timberlane (06-09)
Clubs: Model U.N.; Club DORM; Latin Quiz Bowl.
Sports: Tennis.
Ryan Kuchinski
Georgetown University (history)
Law
Schools: St. John’s International (00-02); Bannockburn (02-03); Hopewell (03-06); Timberlane (06-09).
Clubs: Model U.N., Student Council, Peer Leaders, Leadership Corps.
Sports: Tennis, Soccer.
Memorable quote: Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is nothing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. –William Jennings Bryan.
Mandy Lee
Georgetown University (culture and politics)
International Nonprofit/Foreign Service
Schools: Bear Tavern (00-06), Timberlane (06-09).
Clubs: Model World Health Organization, Peer Leaders, Class of 2013 Vice President.
Sports: Softball. Favorite memories: “Dancing in a kimono for our senior year ‘Mulan’ homecoming float.
Memorable quote: Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.” –Ferris Bueller.
Maia Miller
Stanford University (product design)
Engineer
Schools: Stony Brook (05-06); Timberlane (06-09)
Clubs: Science Olympiad, Student Council, Club DORM.
Memorable quote: Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done. –Louis Brandeis
Michaela Qvale
Columbia University (acting and political science or business management)
Acting, Producer or Broadcast Journalist
Schools: Toll Gate (00-06); Timberlane (06-09).
Clubs: Club DORM; Winter musical.
Sports: Cross country, Track.
Memorable quote: We must overcome the notion that we must be regular. It robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre. –Uta Hagen
Melissa Rolwood
University of Delaware (nutritional science)
Nutritionist
Schools: Bear Tavern, Hunterdon Christian Academy.
Clubs: Club For the Cure, Cross Country.
Sports: Cross country, Track. Favorite memories: Traveling to Germany as part of the German Exchange Program.
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