Saint Francis High School celebrated the accomplishments of the Class of 2018 at the commencement ceremony on May 26 . By all measures , these seniors were incredibly successful . There were :
• 254 graduating with honors
• 83 who received National Merit recognition ; of those 29 were finalists
• 145 National Honor Society NHS members
• 76 California Scholarship Federation CSF members
• 291 seniors who attended the Senior Retreat
• Graduates completed 36,823 hours of community service
• They are attending 132 different college
• They received 460 college scholarships / awards
Principal Patricia Tennant commended the graduates , noting that the love and support they gave each other while at Saint Francis was a testimony to their greatest accomplishment : becoming Holy Cross men and women .
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Student Awards Several seniors received recognition for their accomplishments during their |
Lucas Andrighetto , Mary Andrighetto , Annastasia Annstead , Patrick Antonio
four years . As the students with the highest grades , Mythri Ambatipudi and Sonya Lee were named class valedictorians . Mythri is an accomplished researcher and scientist who worked at the Canary Cancer Research Center at Stanford University on a computeraided method of accelerating drug discovery for cancer detection research . At school , she served as a board member of the school newspaper and the Research Club .
Sonya played cello with the school chamber string ensemble for four years , performing at liturgies , assemblies , showcases and Christmas at our House student productions . She was also an active member of the National Honor Society and SF Thrive .
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( l-r ) Arrian Ebrahimi , Sonya Lee , Mythri Ambatipudi , Maya Shydlowski-Besmer , Elizabeth Stanton , Benjamin Arra .
The Blessed Basil Moreau Man and Women of the Year recipients are chosen by their peers for representing the commitment , leadership and spirit of the class of 2018 . Seniors selected Benjamin Arra , a WCAL champion wrestler and student body officer , as Man of the Year . The Woman of the Year honor was given to Maya Shydlowski-Besmer , a scholar-athlete who ran cross country and served on student council and Rally Board .
Arrian Ebrahimi received the Robert J . Urban Memorial Award , given to a student who loves learning , has been an active school leader and believes in the power of citizenship . Arrian worked on congressional campaigns and interned at legislators ’ offices . He
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Aidan Wall , Naren Karur
put his ideas into action through his leadership with many campus clubs , including Safe Spaces , the International Club , Stand Up Speak Up and the Teen Awareness Program .
The President ’ s Award recognized the student who best reflects the spiritual , intellectual and social goals of the school ’ s mission . This year , the honor went to Elizabeth Stanton . Driven by social justice and political issues , she collaborated with other students to organize a campus event to awake her peers to the movement against gun violence in schools . On the day of the walkout , she stood in front of her classmates appealing for peace and spoke for those whose voices could no longer be heard .
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