Seniors Earn Top Honors At Queen of Peace All School Awards Ceremony

Each year, the students at Queen of Peace High School are recognized and celebrated for their accomplishments in the areas of academics, all school honors and athletics. Queen of Peace acknowledges how these girls individual talents create a rich, vibrant community and learning environment for themselves and others that further exemplify our Dominican values. The awards assembly allows us to honor the proud, capable, confident and committed women of Peace. On May 13, 2016, four seniors were awarded the highest recognition for the school as valedictorian, salutatorian, Principal’s Leadership Award and Woman of Peace.

Izabela Paraga was named valedictorian based on her GPA, rigor of schedule and academic achievement. She has excelled both academically and in co-curricular activities. Izabela is a member of the National Society of High School Scholars, National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta (Mathematics Honor Society) and also served one term as President, President’s Leadership Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Student Council, Peace Ambassadors and Campus Ministry. In addition, she is an Illinois State Scholar and a St. Catherine of Siena Scholar. She has been awarded the Rensselaer Medal for Mathematics and Science, Cook County Sheriff’s Youth Service Medal of Honor and the Vicariate V Youth Leadership Award. In her spare time, Izabela attended the Dominican Preaching Conference and Illinois Leadership Seminar. For the last 14 years she has danced in the Stepinac Croatian Folklore Dance Group and serves as a member of the Oak Lawn Police Department Peer Jury. Izabela has chosen to attend American University in Washington, D.C.

Krysta Buche was named Salutatorian, also based on her GPA, rigor of schedule and academic achievement. Krysta has participated in National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and President’s Leadership Society. For the past four years, she has also been an active member of Student Council, Peace Ambassadors and the Math Team. In addition, Krysta is an Illinois State Scholar and a St. Catherine of Siena Scholar, a member of the Society of Women Engineers and plays golf and soccer, where she was recently named GCAC Player of the Year. In her spare time, Krysta participates in and leads retreats for the TRAIN Youth Group. For the past several years Krysta is a caddie at the Beverly Country Club and is the proud recipient of the Chick Evans Scholarship that she will take with her to the University of Notre Dame.

Katlyn Carrington received the Principal’s Leadership Award based on living out the Queen of Peace mission of inspiring academic excellence through collaboration, moral and ethical leadership, service and a passion for peace and justice. Katlyn is a great example of leadership, strength, intelligence and grace and displays the Dominican values on a daily basis. She is the student body President, an athlete (volleyball, softball and basketball) and active member of the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Campus Ministry, Peace Ambassadors and a St. Catherine of Siena Scholar. Katlyn will attend the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in the fall.

Madeline Johnson was named the Woman of Peace for the 2016 year. This award recognizes a senior who emulates all of the qualities and characteristics that we hope are at the core of each and every graduate, but stands out truly as a Woman of Peace. Madeline has a proven dedication to academics, the community and her faith bridled with unmatched energy and enthusiasm. She has immersed herself into the Peace community through many co-curricular organizations and activities most notably National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Math team, Nazareth Farm service trip, Veritas retreat leader, Robotics team member, yearbook and the face of WQOP every Friday morning. Her teachers have noted that she lives the Dominican values fearlessly in full view for others to see. Madeline is headed to Wheaton College this fall.