Bulletin | spring 2014 7
ROBOTICS TEAM HEADS TO U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
WALLINGFORD HUBCAP OPENS
The Choate Robotics Team has been competing in the VEX Robotics Competitions, a series of world-wide tournaments. In its first competition last December at Masuk High School, Choate’s team was a finalist. In their second competition in January at Manchester High School the team qualified for the U.S. Open Championship to be held in Omaha this spring. The team won the “Build Award” for overall quality of their robot. Team members are Max Fine ’17 of Washington, D.C.; Katrina Gonzalez ’17 of Greenwood, S.C.; Ausar Mundra ’17 of Detroit, Mich.; Adam Guo ’14 and Jacky Xu ’15 of Shenzhen, China; Nick Chobor ’15 of Madison., Conn.; Adham Meguid ’16 of Avon, Conn.; and Ian Wolterstorff ’17 of New Haven, Conn.
National Merit Scholarship Competition Fourteen sixth formers have been named finalists in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship competition. They are winner: Dylan Farrell of Wallingford, Conn.; and finalists: Margaret Guzulescu of West Hartford, Conn.; Kevan Ip of Guilford, Conn.; Junie Khang of McLean, Va.; Ju Seung Lee of Seoul, S. Korea; Richard May of Guilford, Conn.; Bong-Gi Min of Dublin, Calif.; James Ortiz of Union City, N.J.; Courtney Pal of New Canaan, Conn.; Robert Petrocelli of Westerly, R.I.; Sneha Saha of Avon, Conn.; Ian Silvers of West Hartford, Conn.; Ye Eun Sim of El Paso, Tex.; and Elizabeth Stanley of Wallingford, Conn. Thirty-six students were named Commended Students in the 2014 National Merit Program. In addition, Calvin Nickelson of Atlanta, Ga., is a winner in the 2014 National Achievement Scholarship Program, an academic competition established in 1964 to provide recognition for outstanding black American high school students, and James Ortiz of Union City, N.J. and Jordan Santiago of Durham, Conn., have been named Scholars in the 2014 National Hispanic Recognition Program.
Headmaster Alex D. Curtis gave remarks at the opening of the Wallingford Hubcap business center in February. He joined Wallingford residents, town officials, members of the Wallingford Board of Education, and others to celebrate this community initiative at its new Center Street location. The Wallingford Hubcap is seeking to drive innovation in the community. It is a hybrid-business incubator whose goal is “to provide a unique opportunity for collaboration between businesses and the local school district to provide an authentic learning experience.” Says Headmaster Curtis, “We were delighted to be able to collaborate with Dr. Sal Menzo, Wallingford Superintendent of Schools, on the Hubcap business center which is a truly innovative project and supports the educational mission of the town.” Choate is one of several local firms and organizations that donated funds to convert the storefront space into affordable offices for technology start-ups and other fledgling businesses. The School has also partnered with a number of community initiatives including the Wallingford Public Schools’ 21st Century Innovation Team project as well as the ongoing renovation of Mark T. Sheehan High School’s Mahan Planetarium.
SERVICE HERO On March 7, Michael Solazzo ’16 of Fairfield, Conn., was recognized by the Red Cross at a breakfast in Hartford, Conn., for his work in Youth Services. Each year, the Red Cross accepts nominations from the public for recognition of people who go above and beyond in service to others, exemplifying the spirit of our own mission. These heroes are honored in recognition of their good works. Michael is chapter president of the American Red Cross at Choate.
Sixth Former Named Intel Semifinalist Seongwoo Hong ’14 of Seoul, S. Korea, has been named a semifinalist in the 73rd annual Science Talent Search. Choate is one of 185 schools from which an Intel STS semifinalist was named this year. Each Intel SFS is awarded $1,000. In addition, the semifinalist’s school receives $1,000 to further support excellence in science, math, or engineering education.
FPO
Top Debaters Head To Lithuania At the Loomis Invitational Debate in January, Kyra Ward ’14 of Aspen, Colo., and Tanay Chheda ’14 of Mumbai, India, took first and second places, respectively, in the advanced speaker division. Kyra, from an earlier win at the Andover tournament in November, and Tanay have qualified to represent the U.S. team at the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championship in Lithuania this spring. The last time Choate sent two students to the World Championships was in 2012.