Malinowski, Ragusa & Serena Top JCA Students

Joliet Catholic Academy is pleased to announce its Students of the Month for February: Julia Malinowski, Rotary Club of Joliet; Alaina Ragusa, Joliet Noon Lions Club; and Carley Serena, Kiwanis Club of Joliet.

The daughter of Dan and Laura, Malinowski carries a 3.93 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale. She has been named to National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta for math, was picked as a Kairos leader, and was elected the treasurer of Student Council.

The captain of the varsity cheerleading team, Malinowski is a member of Drama Club, Key Club, the Hillzone, International Thespian Troupe 1046, Student Ambassadors and the Spanish Foreign Exchange. She was chosen an All-American by the National Cheerleading Association and won a leadership award.

A resident, Malinowski is the co-founder with Kelsie Chasten and Serena of “Huggables,” a dance program for girls with Down syndrome. She plans on attending Illinois State University and majoring in nursing, with hopes of becoming a pediatric nurse.

The daughter of Greg and Elizabeth, Ragusa lists pre-calculus and human anatomy as her favorite subjects and carries a 3.57 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale. She has earned achievement awards in English, history and chemistry and has been named to NHS, Spanish NHS and Mu Alpha Theta.

Along with being the secretary of Student Council and a member of the Spanish and Varsity clubs, Ragusa plays for the varsity volleyball and softball teams. A member of the 2010 Class 3A state volleyball runnersup as a junior, she received the prestigious Coaches Award as a senior.

A Joliet resident, Ragusa plans on attending the University of Iowa, which has given her a monetary National Scholars Award. She wants to major in accounting and minor in Spanish, with the hopes of working for a large Fortune 500 company.

The daughter of Joseph and Heidi, Serena ranks in the top five percent of her class and was named an Illinois State Scholar. She is the president of both Key Club and Sigma Delta Phi-Spanish National Honor Society, and also is a member of Mu Alpha Theta and NHS.

Besides being a member of the math team and Student Ambassadors for all four years of her high school career, Serena is the co-founder of JCA’s Handbells Club and “Huggables” with Chasten and Malinowski. She was on the varsity dance team as a freshman and sophomore and a varsity cheerleader as a junior.

A Shorewood resident, Serena has been accepted into the speech and hearing program at the University of Illinois in Champaign. She plans on becoming a speech pathologist.