Utica 2018 graduates bloom in IB environment

Something amazing took root in the unique environment at Utica Academy of International Studies, speakers told the Class of 2018 on Tuesday.

Commencement speaker Gabriel Consiglio, addressing 93 members of the class, equated the graduate’s experiences at UAIS to the botany lessons they learned in their IB studies.

“We’ve been given something special at this school,” he said. “UAIS has turned this study into perennials. In sunshine, rainstorm, and mid-April snow showers, we are resilient. UAIS has instilled in us the mentality of not giving up, no matter what hardships we must endure, we come back and we bloom again. Each time more vibrant than the last.”

Graduate Rachel Stieber said that their IB experiences have broadened the definition how students see their education and their future.

“We have shown that learning manifests itself in so many ways than just reading a textbook and taking notes,” she said. “We have discovered that the ultimate forms of learning are through experiences and through people, cultures and ideas. We have learned to be adventurous.”

Superintendent Dr. Christine Johns challenged graduates to use their leadership skills to follow their class motto: “We did not come to fear the future. We came to shape it."

Referencing the opening of UAIS in 2008, Dr. Johns recognized staff and Board members who were integral in the program’s creation and urged graduates to honor “these individuals and this community by always practicing the tenants of the IB learner profile at its highest levels.”

She said: “Everyone in this auditorium believes in you. We know with the leadership you have demonstrated at UAIS that you will shape that better future for all of us.”

Board of Education Gene Klida encouraged graduates to start another Creativity, Action and Service project – a centerpiece of their IB education at UAIS.

“Take the skills you have learned here – your research skills, your ability to think at a high level, your passion and goal to bring to the world, that which is most needed. By doing so you will be part of a solution in a world that needs vision clarity,” she said.

Assistant Principal Kenneth Voakes read an impressive list of accomplishments for the UAIS Class of 2018, including a cumulative G.P.A. of 4.08 and More than $12.3 million in awarded scholarships. Students are attending the state and nation's top

“Collectively, they have invested countless hours into their studies; they have pulled all-nighters, come to school early and stayed late,” he said. “This school is special.”

Members of the UAIS Class of 2018 are:

Abigail Carol Abell 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Megan Joy Adam 1 3 4 6 SCL

Farah Mohamad-Abdelsadek Afify 1 3 4 6 SCL

Angelica Noel Alexopoulos 1 3 6 SCL

Sarah Almi 1 4 6 SCL

Sandra Karlin Andrews 1 3 6 CL

Arslan Anjum 1 3 4 6 SCL

Elina Arbo 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Sophia Marie Ayers 1 3 4 6 SCL

Anthony Bally 1 3 4 6 SCL

Madeline L Bentley SCL

Jozann Nikki Angobung Bernal 1 3 6 MCL

Julia Maria Bienkowski 1 3 4 6 SCL

Rachel Kate Bleser 1 3 6 MCL

John Bennett Braganza 1 3 4 6 SCL

Nathan Dennis Bratkowski 1 3 6 SCL

Emily Grace Brown 1 3 6 SCL

David Arthur Bullock, Jr. 1 3 5 6 SCL

Kaela Cecile Burger 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Malaena Avery Caldwell 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Moira Elizabeth Carrigan 1 3 4 6 SCL

Shawtaabdee Chakraborty 1 3 4 6 SCL

Sydney Rose Clark 1 3 4 6 SCL

Gabriel S Consiglio 1 2 4 6 SCL

Natalie Danielle Crossen 1 3 4 6 SCL

Prabdeep Dhaliwal 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Nina Michele DiBartolomeo 1 6 SCL

Samantha Lynn Gailey 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Gabrielle Marie Geromin 1 3 4 6 SCL

Jakob Won Gertsch 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Shelby Clara Host 1 3 4 6 SCL

Sehrish Hussain 1 3 4 6 SCL

Anne Mary Joseph 1 3 4 6 SCL

Kaitlyn Anne Kalaj 1 3 4 6 SCL

Mina Kandelchy 1 3 4 6 SCL

Dahlia Kathawa 1 3 4 6 SCL

Annaliese Olivia Kiel

Sarah Young-In Ko 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Catherine Kleehammer Kobetis 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Dominica Anna Kusmierczyk 1 3 4 6 SCL

Bethany Nicole Long 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Karolina Stanisława Lutrzykowska 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Sameera Mahesh Mahimkar 1 3 4 6 SCL

Sriteja Malempati 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Riya Mathews 1 3 4 6 SCL

Ian Skye McKinnon 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Robert Bruce McQueen IV 1 3 4 6 SCL

Hannah Marie Metcalfe 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Joslyn Bianca Mixon 1 3 4 6 SCL

Mallory Keiko Mizuki 1 3 4 6 SCL

Dai Phuoc Nguyen 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Jessica Ecaterina Onica 1 3 4 6 SCL

Danielle Ruth Parker 1 3 4 6 SCL

Pooja S Patel 1 3 4 6 SCL

Ritik Sanjay Patel 1 3 4 6 SCL

Vinisha Dipak Patel 1 3 6 MCL

Tessa Marie Peruzzi 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Maja Pietrowicz 1 3 4 6 SCL

Sophia Ellinor Popkin 1 3 6 SCL

Dina Ayad Qiryaqoz 1 3 4 6 SCL

Sam Chris Raphtis 1 5 6 SCL

Chloe Alexus Roland CL

Lucas Gabriel Santavicca 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Yousif Ghazwan Faisal Savaya 1 3 4 6 SCL

Kira Yuxiao Joy Schoof 1 3 4 6 SCL

Meghan Maryann Selvidge 1 3 4 6 SCL

Simerpreet Kaur Singh 1 3 6 SCL

Simran Singh 1 3 6 MCL

Rachel Emily Stieber 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

David Hyunwoo Suh 1 3 4 6 SCL

Brandon James Surhigh 1 2 4 6 SCL

Hannah Thomas 1 3 4 6 SCL

Chloe Ann Toward 1 3 4 6 SCL

Abigail Gloria Towianski 1 3 6 SCL

Isabelle Nha-Quyen Tran 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Alec James Tryan 1 3 6 SCL

Brendan Thomas Valentine 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Binsu Anna Varughese 1 3 6 MCL

Katarina Theodora Vrzovski 1 3 4 6 SCL

Mason Tyler Waldrip 1 6 CL

Yufeng Alexander Wang 1 2 4 6 SCL

Amna Ameen Wani 1 3 4 6 SCL

Marissa Anna Irene Wegmann 1 3 4 6 SCL

Samara Elise White 1 3 4 6 SCL

Isabella Hope Williams 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Ryan Logan Wingfield 1 3 4 6 SCL

Magda Sara Wojtara 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Kirsten Joan Woodcox 1 3 4 6 SCL

Mara Rose Woods 1 3 4 6 SCL

Alexander Wystepek 1 3 4 6 SCL

Adona Chi-Shan Yu 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Kaylee Marie Zecchin 1 2 3 4 6 SCL

Mary Anne Zylinski 1 3 4 6 SCL

1 IB Full Diploma Candidate

2 UCS Advanced Placement Scholar

3 National Honor Society

4 Valedictorian

5 Salutatorian

6 Seal of Global Language Candidate

GRADUATION HONORS:

Summa Cum Laude (SCL) GPA 3.9 and Above

Magna Cum Laude (MCL) GPA 3.7 - 3.89

Cum Laude (CL) GPA 3.5 - 3.69

Dr. Christine Johns, Superintendent of Schools

Http://www.uticak12.org

Source: Utica Community Schools