Avondale School District celebrates the best of the best

Avondale High School Class of 2016 Top Scholars (pictured standing l to r) Kennedy Desotell, Frank Suriano, Maxx Mayhew, Florence Grypinich, Divya Ramanathan, Gabrielle Schwerin, Alex Larson and Adam Gongol; (seated l to r) Katherine Winter, Alexandra Brinker, Brittany Mae, Edu Usoro, Andy Jiang and Ryan Rocca.

Avondale High School celebrated the Class of 2016 Top Scholars at a special breakfast at Fieldstone Golf Club in Auburn Hills. During the breakfast each of the fourteen honored students celebrated an educator that had greatly impacted their life. The students’ remarks were poignant and at times humorous as they talked about their teachers and counselor as mentors and role models. The educators in turn spoke briefly about the students, sharing with the audience of parents and Avondale School District Board of Education members and administrators how remarkable the students were even beyond their academic achievements.

The educators honored by the students were Avondale Middle School teachers Laura Amatulli, Tony Palmeri and Ray Went; Avondale High School teachers Jodi Allan, Carolyn Benson, Amy Brown, Gina Furnari, Todd Henderson, Kathleen Osborn, Linda Schattmaier and Anqi Yu; Avondale High School Counselor Denise Sandvig; Avondale School District Instrumental Music Director Joshua Neuenschwander; and retired Avondale teacher Mary Beth Sullivan.

Avondale High School Class of 2016 Top Scholars are:

· Avondale Class of 2016 Valedictorian, Alexandra Brinker of Rochester Hills, is the daughter of Steven and Diane Brinker. Alexandra is a founding member of the Avondale High School robotics team, the RoboJackets, and the head of electrical and pneumatic systems for the team. She helped the RoboJackets to their first appearance at the USFIRST World Championship this year where they took the division title. During her senior year, Alexandra interned at Emabond and assisted in the construction of electrical panels for ultrasonic welding machines. She was a member of the National Honor Society, is graduating with a 4.0 GPA and will be attending Lawrence Technological University to pursue an engineering degree.

· Gabrielle Schwerin is graduating Salutatorian with a 3.99 GPA. Gabrielle will be attending Honors College at Oakland University in the fall to study nursing, specializing in Gerontology. During her time at Avondale High School, she was a member of the National Honor Society, the National Spanish Honor Society, and the Multiply Club as well as a Lady Jacket basketball player from freshman to senior year – winning scholar awards every year and a Purple and Gold Award. She is a two-time recipient of the annual Avondale Youth Assistance Award – once for personal achievement and once for community service. Gabrielle lives with her parents, Steven and Jill Schwerin in Auburn Hills.

· Kennedy Desotell, the daughter of Rick and Kim Desotell, resides in Rochester Hills and graduates from Avondale High School with a 3.97 GPA. Kennedy has been accepted into the Honors College at Wayne State University with a presidential scholarship. There she will major in biological sciences with a focus on laboratory research and a minor in French. While at Avondale, Kennedy served as vice president of the Gay-Straight Alliance in her junior year and the group’s president during her senior year.

· Adam Gongol, son of Mark and Laura Gongol of Troy, is graduating with a GPA of 3.96. Adam will attend the Honors College at Michigan State University to study computer science. He was a three-year member of the National Honor Society, a two-year member of the National Spanish Honor Society, and an active member in Class Board throughout high school. Adam also spent his senior year taking computer sciences classes at OCC. A member of Varsity cross county, Adam was also on the Debate Team and in the Recycle Club.

· Born in Quebec, Canada, Florence Grypinich, resides in Rochester Hills with her parents Nathalie Chabot and Pierre Grypinich. Florence will be attending the Honors College at Wayne State University for pre-med while majoring in Spanish. A member of the Avondale Varsity swim team for four years, she served as team captain in her junior and senior years and was a League Champion. She was also a member of the track team and the tennis team and active in the National Honor Society, the National Spanish Honor Society. Florence won the Excellence in Education Award and was named a Student of the Month during her sophomore year. She is graduating with a 3.96 GPA.

· National Merit Scholar Finalist, Andy Jiang from Rochester Hills, was an active leader and athlete at Avondale High School. He has been on the Class Board for four years, in Leadership for three years and was a member of the National Honor Society and the National Spanish Honor Society. In addition, Andy played Varsity tennis, was on the Varsity swim team, the Varsity golf team and the Varsity track team. He was also a member of the Debate Club, Amnesty International and the Recycling Club. He will be attending the University of Michigan to study computer engineering and computer science. Andy is graduating with a 3.96 GPA and he is the son of Flora Qian and Bing Jiang.

· Alexander Larson is graduating with a 3.92 GPA and will be attending Michigan State University in the fall to major in finance. He is the son of Steve and Beth Larson and resides in Rochester Hills. Alexander was on the Varsity cross country team for four years, earning the Purple and Gold Award during his freshman year. In addition, he was a member of the track team during his freshman and sophomore years. He was an active member of the Avondale Student Leadership program during his junior and senior years. Additionally, he was a member of the National Honor Society and the National Spanish Honor Society as well as the Debate Club and the Recycling Club.

· Graduating with a 3.95 GPA, Brittany Mae resides in Rochester Hills with her parents, Richard and Lin Mae. During her high school years, Brittany was a member of the National Honor Society, the National Spanish Honor Society and the Leadership Program. She was also on the Varsity track team where she received the Scholar Athlete Award and was a State Qualifier. Brittany will be attending Michigan State University in the fall and plans to study engineering and Spanish.

· Maxx Mayhew is the son of Gary and Ann Mayhew of Rochester Hills and has attended Avondale School District schools for thirteen years. Maxx is an Eagle Scout from Troop 123 and was a Boy Scout from the age of ten. As a Scout, he participated in many service projects including making picnic tables for a school in Pontiac – a project that he planned and managed. Graduating with a 3.94 GPA, Maxx plans to study engineering at Oakland University where he was chosen to receive a presidential scholarship.

· Residing in Auburn Hills with her parents Ram and Sharada Ramanathan, Divya Ramanathan is graduating with a 3.90 GPA and plans to attend the College of Engineering at Michigan State University to major in computer science engineering. While an Avondale student, Divya was active in many school organizations including Debate Club and Amnesty International where she served as president for both groups. In addition, she was a member of the National Honor Society, Avondale Leadership and the Avondale Kids Against Hunger organization. Divya received the 2016 Youth Recognition Award for Community Service, the Outstanding Youth Citizen Award from Avondale Youth Assistance and the Auburn Hills Morning Optimist Club, and has been recognized for community service by Michigan State Senator Marty Knollenberg and the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.

· Ryan Rocca, the son of Anthony and Jacquelyn Rocca of Troy, will be attending West Point Military Academy to study mechanical engineering and military science. Ryan was a member of the National German Honor Society and the National Honor Society where he served as vice president for the group. He was also captain of the tennis team and captain of the wrestling team for two years. He has earned three Purple and Gold Awards, was named All-League twice and eclipsed the 100-win mark in wrestling. He graduates with a 3.96 GPA.

· A member of the Avondale robotics team, the RoboJackets, Frank Suriano is the son of John and Candace Suriano of Auburn Hills. Frank was also a member of the Avondale Marching Band, the Jazz Band and the Symphonic Band. He was the section leader in each group and played French horn for the Zenith Brass Ensemble. Graduating with a 3.91 GPA, Frank will be attending Oakland University in the fall where he plans to study engineering.

· Edu Usoro, the daughter of Patrick and Ini Usoro of Troy, has been an Avondale student for thirteen years. She has been an active member of several school organizations and athletic teams during her tenure including the Varsity track and field team for three years and a member of the Rochester Soccer Club for two years. She was also a member of Class Board, Amnesty International and Leadership Class. She has been an integral part of Avondale Kids Against Hunger, vice president of the Debate Club and president of the National Honor Society. She was the Youth Representative for Avondale Youth Assistance, tutored students at Deerfield Elementary, and coordinated blood drives with the Red Cross. Edu received the Scholar Athlete Award, the Outstanding Service to the Avondale Community Award, the AYA Community Service Award and the Outstanding Youth Recognition Award. Graduating with a 3.95 GPA, Edu will attend Michigan State University in the fall to study biochemistry.

· The daughter of Mary Beth Lewinski and Michael Winter, Katherine Winter resides in Troy and graduates from Avondale with a 3.93 GPA. Katherine was a drum major in the school band and a driver on the school’s robotics team, the RoboJackets. She has been nominated for and attended the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders and has received multiple awards in the MITES competitions, including 2nd, 4th, and 5th place recognitions on a regional level, and two honorable mentions on a state level. In addition, Katherine won the Michigan Department of Education 2016 Breaking Traditions Award and is a runner-up for the Detroit News/CATCH Outstanding Graduates Award.