Top 2 Class Of 2019 Students Honored At Rockville High School

VERNON, CT — The top two students for the Rockville High School Class of 2019 were honored at the annual graduation ceremonies on Wednesday.

Hebatalla Mohamed is the valedictorian and Julia Somma is the salutatorian.

Here are their biographies:

Hebatalla Mohamed, the valedictorian, is the daughter of Hossam Mohamed and Walaa Harby. This fall, she will attend Harvard University to study political science and human rights.

Heba has been actively involved in her school community, serving as the student representative to the Vernon Board of Education. In 2018, she was selected to be one of 20 members to serve on the State Student Advisory Council on Education, where she met monthly with members of the State Board of Education, legislators, and the governor to discuss relevant topics.

Her idea for an interactive display on breaking stereotypes earned Rockville High School the CAS "2017 Challenge to Educational Citizenship Award."

Heba was instrumental in organizing "Being American," a Connecticut Youth Forum discussion attended by students from 27 schools in Connecticut.

During her time at RHS, Heba has been a member of the National Honor Society, International Club, Unity Team, and the varsity girls’ basketball and tennis teams. As a tennis player, she earned the MVP award and was recognized twice on the North Central Connecticut All-Conference Team.

Throughout her high school career, Heba received the CABE Student Leadership Award, the Yale
Club and Scholarship Foundation Book Award, the Frederick Douglass and Susan B Anthony Award, the E. Stevens Henry Award, and more than 25 undergraduate awards for academic excellence.

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Julia Somma, the salutatorian, is the daughter of Maria Somma and Marcella Motola. This fall, she will attend the University of Connecticut to pursue a degree in a biomedical engineering.

Julia has been actively involved in the Rockville High School community as a member of the National Honor Society, the LINK Crew, the varsity girls’ lacrosse team, and the Allied Health Program.

She is also a dual STEM and Humanities Scholar. As a participant in the STEM Scholars program, she created a full-length unit plan on heart disease for middle school students and taught one of her own lesson plans at Vernon Center Middle School. During her time at RHS, she has also been a member of the varsity volleyball team, serving as captain for two years and earning MVP honors as a senior.

Julia is also heavily involved in the high school’s creative writing program. She has received the Certificate of Superior Writing from the National Council of Teachers of English for her personal essay, two National Silver Medals through the 2019 Scholastics Awards for her flash fiction and poetry writing, as well as multiple publications in the Connecticut Student Writer magazine. Additionally, Julia has been an apprentice writer at the Mark Twain House & Museum. In conjunction with her engineering degree, Julia plans to continue her involvement with creative writing throughout her college career.