College? Forget That! - Darien Public Schools

Suryan Radhakrishna Hailey Raskovic Jame s Reed Ryan Reed Jack Rehm Halvor Remole Carlin Renaud Meghan Richter Daniel Rizzuto Alexander Rodriguez-Barbaret Galen Rohn Rhiannon Ross Maxw ell Rothston Matthew Sacco Marlon Sandoval-Tuccina rdi Ch ristopher Santomassi Caroline Schau Alex Schenck Nicohlas Scott Sara Shaker Kate Shannon Danielle Shindler William Siemers 

Michael Stovall Ryan Stracuzzi Katherine Stueber Brian Sullivan Samantha Taylor Sarah Terhune Samantha Testa John Thacker Addison Thalhamer India Tibbetts Gina Tomaj Chapin Tricarico Emily Tropsa Catherine Tween Melanie Tzenova Kellie Valente Eliza beth Van Ingen Catherine Vodola Alex Vo n Stuelpnagel Alice Wan 

Samantha Pleasants Treat Pollio Claudia Pomponi Laura Powis Eugenia Preston Bryan Previte John Pr ice Joseph Puzio James Quinn 

Margaret Close Julia Cobb Michael Coe Matthew Collier Andres Colon David Colon J am ie Condolora N ick Connery Elisha Converse Grin Cook Reed Coots Keane Costello Jake Coughlin Ej Cowloucdundis Francesco Criscuolo Isabella D’Agosto Kerry Daigle Briton D ailey Bro oke Davis Emma Davis Mary Dee Emily 

g Christian Watson Emily Watt Robert Weav er Kincade Webster Alexa Weicker Henry West Rachael Weyhe Tucker White Stephen Wildish Mitchell Wisinski 

Ja y Alter Jim Anderson Corryn Andrianus Nicole Appleby Megan Archey Taylor Arledge Alexandra Ashburne Livy Ashburne Olivia Ashburne Le x y A s hburne Jack Bair Charles Baird Ari Balian Talene Balian Clayton Barker Ryan Barthol d Catharine Bartone David Bartram M c C ormick Bartram Shannon Beatty Abigail Becker Courtney Bell Elizabeth Benitez Robert Berisha Carly Be rizzi Amy Biggart Susan Biggart Emily Blosio Lillian Boe Regan Bolotin Gabriel Bottazzi Marieke Bravo Timothy Brickman Anthony Britton Nich olas Bruno Samuel Bryant James Burgoyne An dr ea Busato Lilia Calderon Hannah C aldwe l l Hannah Carmody 

Alexa Carroll Thomas Carruthe r s Michael Casey Lillian Cassidy Ann Cavers Allison Chiax Zoe Chun Holden Chung Steven Ciasullo Emily Clarke Lewis Clarke Haley Cliord Emily Cl ose Kathryn Close 

Mark Sm elan d Christopher Smith Harlan Smith Madison Smith 

Delora Jessica DeM aio William Dero co Christian Dobrowsky Alex andra Dodge Katherine Donovan Katherine Dostal Margaret Drake Dillon D un can Isabel Duncan K ailin Edgar Jacob Eekhof Emily Elliot Mary Elliot Corey Eppley Kelly Fahey Carolin e Farrington Katherine Feehan 

Chiaki Soejima Amanda Sommi Margot Soule Katherine Southworth McKinley Stauer Elizabeth Steinborn Peter Steinegger Kevin Steinthal Charlett Stevenson Benjamin Stockman Charles S t o ut 

e Natalie Metz Haley M i l l er Robert Minion Ryan Minion Rashad Mitchell Linda Morale s Marguerite Moran K atherine M o s h er Matthew Mu len Timothy Murphy Ca m e ron Murray Aastha Narula Nicholas Neville Thomas Nicolls Kelly Nicoletti Kathleen Nolan Alexandra Norell i Tian a Noujaim Monica O’Brien Brett O’Donnell Layton O’Donnell Emily Olsen Meredith Ott Michael Palmer Russell Palmer Oscar Parsons K y l e Pasquare la Alexandra Pear Shelby Peneld Lauren Perry William Pfeier Grace Phelps Matthew Pik Scott Pla n k 

Patrick Fitzsimmons Julianne Flynn Megan Foley Alec 

Foresta John Forlivio Sar a h Fraser Stephanie Gaete Claire Ganey Elyssa Ganser Brynn Gasparino Dominique Gelineau Daniel Germain Sam Gillespie Sherry Gilronan Henry Glick Robert Gould Olivia Gozdz Allison Graham Sarah Graves Samatha Grec o G eorge Gregory Ryan Gregory Thomas Gunn Nicole Gutierrez Windsor Hall Hannah Halstrom Erin Hannon Emily Hardin Curry Harmon Lindsey Hartfelder Dirk Heideklang Ann Hekker Elliot Helg ans Aidan Hickey Renee Holdeneld Jessica Hodges Samantha Holek Grayson Horan Georey Hubbard Amanda Hutter Jor d a n Iriza ry Christopher Janson Luis Johnston Nicolas Johnston Eric Kanigan John Keane Caroline Kearney Kelly Keating Jordyn Keegan Veronika Kelemen James Kerr Calvert Kevorkian Charles Khachian Jare d Kindy Malcom Kiplinger Cameron Kirby Felicia Knise Kevin Koenitzer Victoria Kominek Dillon Lareau Colleen Large Michael Lauer Justin Lee Matthew Lee Soy o u ng Lee Greg Leeker Gregory Leeker Abigail Leinroth Kristina Lew C atherine Lincoln Katherine Lineberger Claire Linegar Gregory Lirot Rebecca Liu Brian Love Cameron Luttrell Caitlin Lyden Thomas Lyons Katherine Maccarone Jonathan Magnusson David Maguire Seymore Mammadov Kyle Mangan Olivia M a r kham Drita Marku Stephanie M a rrie Ryan Martin Kiriko Masek Richard Math e is Tyler Mau 

l Connor McCarthy Devon McCarthy Patrick McDonald Gavin McNulty Duncan McRa

Graduation 2012 

June 2012 /// www.neirad.org 

Neirad’s 

Future Editors 

neirad editors-in-chief 

sarah graves and shelby penfield 

neirad sports editor 

ryan barthold 

neirad content editors 

emily close and mckinley stauffer 

editors-in-chief 

annabel schneider, kat mckay 

and emily caccam (not pictured) 

We would like to give a special thanks to Ms. Sybil O’Hare, Mr. Sean Otterspoor, the administration, and the DHS 

community for another great year. We would also like to thank the talented Alex Pear for designing this year’s incredible 

cover. Good luck to next year’s Editorial Board! 

- the 2011/2012 Neirad Staff 

neirad online editors 

alice wang and chiaki soejima 

june 2012 www.neirad.org neirad 3 

A Dream Chased Through Fires Fought 

Scott Plank Continues the Family Legacy as a Firefighter By matt Brown 

Almost all Darien High School 

students had a dream when they were 

just youngsters whether it be nervous 

about missing recess or forgetting their 

homework in first grade. Some wanted 

to grow up to be a doctor, a policeman, 

president, or even a superhero. Senior 

Scott Plank wanted to be a fireman 

when he grew up, and what sets Plank 

apart from the pack is that he is the 

man with a plan. 

Along with multiple DHS students, 

Plank is a probationary member 

Katie Nolan is Darien High School’s 

artistic star who has flown under the 

radar up until now. While Katie does 

not seek the spotlight, she certainly 

deserves it. Her gifted 

artistic ability ranges from 

creative in-class doodles 

to beautiful water-color 

paintings. 

Katie is also an integral 

part of the 

Art for Action 

Club, started 

by fellow 

artist and 

friend Alex 

Pear. Art for 

Action is a 

club that 

creates advertising 

for 

school and 

outside organizations 

and events. 

The club was 

first created 

in January 

2011 so she 

can say she is 

one of the founding 

members. The 

club designs flyers 

and T-shirts for things 

such as the Amazing Parks 

Pursuit, a Darien Nature Center 

campaign. The club is also currently 

working on two murals, one in the 

math learning connections room and 

the other, designed by Katie herself, to 

be displayed in the F Wing. 

“Katie has tremendous dedication to 

her art as well as a great sense of commitment 

to herself as an artist and to 

the club,” faculty advisor of the Art for 

Action club Mr. Robert Sorensen said. 

“She fosters interactions with people 

and has leadership qualities as an 

artist—she is a wonderful person to 

work with,” Mr. Sorensen said. 

Katie’s inspiration and passion for 

art came from her admiration of cartoons 

and fairytale books when she 

was a little girl. “I loved the intricate 

illustrations,” Katie said. “Ever since 

I was little I’ve loved art and would 

doodle all the time and draw things 

that I saw.” She also claims that art 

class has always been her favorite class. 

Her favorite pieces of art that she has 

at the Noroton Heights Fire Department 

and is on track to become a full member 

by the end of this school year. To say 

it runs in the Plank family is anunderstatement. 

“My dad, my uncle, 

my grandpa, another uncle, and my 

cousin are all or were a part of Noroton 

Heights,” Plank said.“Oh and my grandma 

was in the Women’s Auxiliary”. It is 

simply a family tradition, and not the 

kind of tradition that everyone hates 

during the holidays, it is a tradition 

that Plank revels in. When I asked him 

about some of his most exciting calls, 

he did not immediately think of fighting 

a massive fire, he reached back to 

the family tradition. Plank’s favorite 

call was one where it was him, his dad, 

and his uncle all in one truck together. 

However, he is hoping to be to pushing 

the family tradition of firefighting past 

Noroton Heights. 

This past year, Plank took the 

FDNY exam, the first step towards becoming 

a member of the New York 

City Fire Department. The prestige of 

being a member of the FDNY is comparable 

to that of being a professional 

baseball player. The process that Plank 

Katie Nolan: An Artistic Inspiration 

Nolan’s Creative and Bubbly Personality Infuses DHS By jessica Demaio 

ever made are an African self-portrait 

drawn in pencil and a watercolor painting 

of the sunrise in 

Rowayton, both 

of which 

were displayed 

i n 

the 

DHS 

A r t 

Show last 

month. While 

Katie’s masterpiece 

s might make it seem that art is a 

simple task for her, she admits it is not 

always so easy. “The hardest part about 

being an artist is mapping your ideas 

and getting them from your head to the 

paper,” Katie said. “Sometimes artists 

have pictures that are all too perfect 

in their minds, but the details do not 

come out on paper. Sometimes lacking 

inspiration is a problem too.” 

Outside the art studio, Katie’s biggest 

inspiration comes from her former 

nanny Hannah, who was like the older 

sister she never had. 

“She always pushed me to be creative 

and have no limit to my imagination. 

I think that’s where my love 

of art stemmed from,” Katie said. For a 

celebrity role model Katie would have 

to choose Eddie Vedder, lead singer 

of Pearl Jam, for his cool and down to 

earth personality. “He is true to who 

he is and is not sucked into the main- 

is hoping to complete is long 

and he is stacked up against 

plenty of odds. He gets the 

results of the test back at the 

end of the calendar year. If he 

passes, he is to be placed on a 

massive waiting list filled with 

people wishing to become a 

new member of New York’s 

Bravest. If your number is 

called off the waiting list you 

undergo a physical test and a 

background check, and enter 

training. 

The waiting period for 

hearing back from FDNY is 

four years. While this is a 

frustratingly long time, it is 

particularly convenient for 

someone about to graduate 

from high school and head off 

to college. Plank is attending 

Sacred Heart University next 

fall. “Yeah man, go Pioneers!” 

Plank said. Plank will graduate from 

Sacred Heart around the same time the 

“Oh, and I cook a mean cheeseburger.” 

-Scott Plank 

waiting period ends, hopefully providing 

a seamless transition from college 

to the FDNY. 

stream, which is rare these days,” Katie 

explained. 

Aside from her artistic talent, Katie is 

a high-spirited individual who always 

wears a smile. She is the person who 

picks up your mood with her bright 

and humorous personality. “I love 

how funny she is,” Olivia Gozdz said, 

who has been best friends with Nolan 

since the sixth grade. “We always have 

a really great time together, usually just 

laughing at silly little things. Even we 

don’t talk that often, we always pick 

up right where we left off and we both 

know we can talk to each other about 

anything,” Gozdz said. 

Katie also has a very motherly side 

of her, which seems unusual coming 

from a sister with two older brothers. 

Fashion is something that is also 

close to Katie’s heart, and she guesses 

it comes from her love of art. She describes 

her clothing style as bohemian/ 

indie and confesses that she loves to 

dress-up even for school. “I just cannot 

wear sweatpants to school,” she says. 

What attracts Katie to fashion is the assembling 

of outfits and that “ah-ha!” 

moment when she finds something 

that makes an outfit complete. “I guess 

I’ve kind of always liked to do my own 

thing,” Katie said. 

Katie is a vital member of both the 

Art Club and Art for Action Club here 

at DHS, which take up a lot of her free 

time after school. Otherwise, she can 

usually be found hanging out with 

friends, drawing, or going on hikes or 

long walks. “I also like to read, drink 

tea, and just relax,”Katie said. “I sort of 

act like I’m 

a grandma,” 

she admits 

with a 

laugh. Katie 

also loves 

going to 

tea houses 

and listening 

to classical 

music, 

two appreciations 

that 

are hard to 

find in today’s 

teens. 

“I also love 

dancing to 

any music. 

I’ve really 

Aside from being an outstanding 

member of the firefighting community, 

he is an integral part of the Darien High 

School community as well. He is a vital 

part of Challenger baseball. During his 

senior year he was a great player in the 

YMCA house basketball league as well 

as a pitcher on the baseball team. 

Additionally, Scott Plank has a gift 

that few people have and many wish 

that they did. He is simply, extremely 

likable. Not just likable but limitless- 

fallen in love 

with house 

m u s i c , ” 

Katie said. 

Although art 

takes up most 

of her time 

now, Katie 

remembers 

trying almost 

every sport 

out there 

from soccer to 

basketball to 

snowboarding. 

Katie was 

on the cross 

country and 

lacrosse teams 

at DHS from 

her freshman 

to junior year 

and was on 

the ski team 

her freshman 

year. 

When asked what she thought was 

the weirdest thing about herself was, 

Katie laughed and said, “I’m really 

goofy…slightly insane.” Katie is a 

person full of contradictions—she fears 

spiders, but has a hard time bringing 

herself to kill the innocent creatures. 

She hates heights, but loves the thrill 

of roller coasters. “I’m very contradictory, 

but hey, that makes life more interesting,” 

Katie said. 

Katie will be attending Clemson 

University next fall and will major in 

Food Science and minor in Art. She 

ly likable. Every single person I have 

ever heard speak about him has done 

so with a smile on their face. Perhaps 

most importantly, Plank helped bring 

the tradition of Hawaiian Shirt Friday 

to DHS. Plank is Darien’s Renaissance 

man, never failing to find something 

to be a part of and never failing at 

becoming adored. “Oh, and I cook a 

mean cheeseburger,” Plank said. “Yep, 

[those cheeseburgers are] absolutely 

amazing,” senior and friend of Plank 

Jake Coughlin said in confirmation. 

Nolan shows off some of her work at the annual DHS Art Fair 

decided to go to Clemson after witnessing 

the extreme school pride and 

friendly atmosphere of the student 

body there. Another goal of hers is to 

learn Japanese and go abroad to Japan 

during her years at Clemson. Katie has 

always been interested in Japanese culture 

ever since she was a little girl and 

would listen to stories her grandpa 

would tell of being stationed in Japan 

while in the Air Force. 

What Katie will miss most about 

DHS is the great teachers and the student 

body’s enthusiastic involvement 

in clubs and sports of the student body, 

as well as the priority students put on 

helping others. “Hopefully I can carry 

that with me to Clemson and into 

the future,” Katie said. “I like to make 

people happy and to help them.” Katie 

admitted that she will not miss the 

competitiveness of DHS in both sport 

teams and academics. 

Whether she has a paintbrush and 

pencil in hand or is just hanging out 

with friends being her bubbly self, Katie 

Nolan is a genuine example of following 

her passion and never being afraid 

to be bold and creative. Katie is someone 

who is always true to herself and 

loves to help others by putting a smile 

on their faces. Nolan has an optimistic 

outlook on life that everyone can take 

a lesson from, and is a face DHS will 

certainly miss. 

n 

n

4 

neirad www.neirad.org june 2012 

College? Forget That! 

Senior Lidia Calderon Counts Down the Days Until Her Gap Year in China By marielle ravosa 

While walking through the halls of 

Darien High School this spring, students 

have inevitably heard seniors 

telling their friends about 

the colleges they have been 

accepted to. With May 1st 

behind us, many of these 

seniors have finally committed 

to the colleges 

they will be attending for 

the upcoming fall semester; 

however, senior Lidia 

Calderon is quite the exception. 

Unlike most high 

school seniors, Calderon 

plans on taking a gap year 

before beginning college. 

She will travel to China 

and live there this fall and 

spring semester. 

“I will live in China with 

a host family who I have 

yet to be paired with from 

the end of August to the 

following May,” Calderon 

said. “I will be traveling to 

China with The Council of 

International Educational Exchange 

program. While I am there I will be 

taking classes at a local university and 

volunteering at an elementary school 

to help kids learn English,” she said. 

Calderon made the choice to take 

a gap year in China for many reasons, 

one of them 

being her impaired 

health, “I 

was sick last year 

and had to spend 

time in the hospital. 

I encountered 

difficulties 

with my thyroid 

and my condition 

was somewhat serious,” 

she said. 

Due to her hospitalization, 

she 

had trouble applying 

to colleges. 

“It was hard 

to get my applications 

in on 

time,” she said. 

Because of this, 

Calderon decided 

to take a break 

from school and 

travel to China. 

“I have always loved traveling and 

have wanted to live immersed within 

a foreign culture” she said. “I chose to 

travel to China because I went there 

my sophomore year with the DHS 

China Exchange Program and I loved 

it! The culture was so different than 

anything I had ever experienced. Upon 

arriving home, I realized that I wanted 

to go back—and now I’m getting that 

chance,” she said. 

English teacher Ms. Linda Sorensen 

met Calderon through the DHS China 

Exchange Program. “I interviewed her 

[for the exchange program] and found 

her very appealing. She has a vibrant 

interest in other cultures coming from 

another cultural background herself,” 

Ms. Sorensen said. 

Ms. Sorensen is glad Calderon has 

made the decision to go back to China. 

“That’s testament to the power of the 

exchange program here at DHS, if you 

invest in it. Lidia certainly invested in 

it and was socially, culturally, and intellectually 

changed by her experience [in 

China],” she said. 

Ms. Sorensen also admires Calderon 

for her ability to abandon her usual 

way of life here and learn about new 

cultures. “What I just love about Lidia 

is her curiosity and how she is able to 

follow that curiosity. She has a sincere 

love for other cultures,” she said. 

Calderon has always loved experiencing 

new ways of life. She not only 

traveled to China with the DHS China 

Exchange Program, but also was able 

to learn about the Spanish culture by 

taking AP Spanish here at DHS. Taking 

AP Spanish has allowed her to fulfill 

her love for learning about cultures 

and languages from around the world. 

“It has helped me gain perspectives 

into other cultures and ways of life,” 

From Kindergarten to College 

Childhood Friends Plan to Take on College Together By courtney kyritz 

Most graduates embark on the 

often scary journey of leaving home 

and going to college by packing books, 

backpacks, clothes, blankets, posters 

and towels, but only a few seniors will 

also be bringing their best friends. 

Seniors Sara Shaker and Claire Gaffney; 

Kailin Edgar 

and Elyssa 

Ganser; Katie 

Witschi and 

Abby Becker; 

Treat Pollio 

and Emily 

Watt; Ryan 

Stracuzzi and 

Ryan Gregory; 

and Megan 

Archey, Kevin 

Steinthal, 

Geoff Leeker, 

and Alex Vegliante, will all be setting 

forth on their college adventures with 

a friend with whom they have survived 

not only high school with but middle 

and elementary school as well. 

For most kids native to Darien, 

making friends has never been a component 

of the equation. At a young 

age our parents took the liberty of setting 

up our play dates, largely determing 

who our friends are now. Although 

new students transfer to Darien High 

School each year, the majority of students 

at DHS have been together since 

middle school. Therefore, walking into 

a school with anywhere from 1,800 to 

30,000 strangers next year will be a 

huge change. Making friends next fall 

at college is a taunting nightmare 

that worries most seniors. 

Seniors Elyssa Ganser and 

Kailin Edgar will be continuing 

their schooling 

together at Penn 

State University in 

Pennsylvania. While 

both girls moved 

twice, new neighborhoods 

were 

not able to separate 

these 

two. Each 

time one 

g i r l 

moved, the other followed, resulting 

in them becoming neighbors yet again. 

With two meshing personalities, 

the girls say they can get through and 

conquer almost anything. Ganser describes 

some of the strange yet exciting 

pretend games they played when they 

“We always talked about going 

to the same school but 

neither of us thought it would 

happen. We are so excited that 

it is.” 

-Abby Becker 

met early on. “We used to go down to 

the creek in our backyards and make 

these weird concoctions with all different 

random ingredients, and usually 

we threw up after,” Ganser said. Edgar 

went on to describe how by that same 

creek they kept journals and would 

frequently go down to the creek and 

write together. 

Living next to each other practically 

their entire lives was never an issue 

for the girls. When each girl was deciding 

between two of the same colleges, 

University of Denver and Penn 

State, separation was not an option. 

When Neirad talked with Ganser, she 

said, “I kept telling Kailin to pick Penn 

with me, so we could go together!” As 

Penn State bound Elyssa Ganser and Kailin 

Edgar (left to right) 

Ganser suggested that Edgar choose 

to attend Penn State next fall, the girls 

will have experienced kindergarten, 

middle school, high school and college 

together. 

After moving to Darien from St. 

Louis, Missouri at the start of elementary 

school, Abby 

Becker began a new life 

in Connecticut. She and 

neighbor Katie Witschi attended 

Royle Elementary 

School, Middlesex Middle 

School, and DHS together. 

Becker remembers 

when they first 

met quite vividly. 

“I remember 

we were 

going to 

have a play date after 

school and neither 

of us knew who each 

other was, and we 

met as we were getting 

off the bus, at 

the same stop,” Becker 

said. Becker described 

the Easter Egg hunts in 

November that the girls 

would have along with all of the 

other crazy and fun experiences that 

they shared growing up together. 

Their friendship evolved into something 

more as play dates in elementary 

school changed to carpools in middle 

school and ultimately study groups 

in high school. Often seniors leaving 

the small community of DHS are 

taunted by the overwhelm- ing anxiety 

that college presents. Becker and 

Witschi will be taking on California 

together at Santa Clara University in 

the fall. “We always talked about going 

to the same school but neither of us 

thought it would happen but we are so 

excited that it is,” Becker said. 

Becker also described the potential 

problems they may face as they take 

on college but was confident when 

saying, “We have been friends for so 

long we knew we could take on Cali 

together, we just didn’t know if Cali 

could handle us.” 

Miami of Ohio, a school long 

known for its popularity in our 

area of the country, is now also 

becoming popular amongst 

elementary school friends. 

Seniors Sara Shaker and 

Claire Gaffney will both 

be attending Miami 

University of Ohio next 

year. 

Having attended Hindley elementary 

school, Middlesex Middle school and 

DHS together, the two consider themselves 

best friends and are excited for 

what is to come. The girls took a trip 

to Ohio seeing if there was anything 

out there besides endless corn fields 

and farms and were pleased with what 

they saw in the small college town of 

Oxford. 

Gaffney talked with Neirad about 

what she looked forward to most about 

next fall. “It’s a big school 

so it will definitely be 

nice to know one 

person out of 

16,000, and we 

are both very 

Hinley buddies 

Sara Shaker and 

Claire Gaffney 

alike, 

so it will be 

good to have her 

there,” Gaffney 

said. Shaker 

being equally enthused 

said, “It 

will be nice to have 

someone from home 

if anything ever goes 

wrong.” 

Ryan Stracuzzi and Ryan 

Gregory will also be continuing their 

college journey together as they head 

down to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to the 

University of Alabama. The two have 

gone to school together since kindergarten 

starting at Holmes elementary 

school and they will be rooming together 

at Alabama. 

Neirad talked with Stracuzzi about 

what he is expecting at Alabama. 

“I’m expecting to have a good time 

at Alabama, and I’m excited to go 

to sporting events like the football 

games,” Stracuzzi said. “I am excited to 

go to a big school, but it’s nice to know 

someone there,” Stracuzzi added. 

While both Ryans are heading 

south, T.T Pollio along with her childhood 

buddy Emily Watt will be headed 

north to Hobart and William Smith 

Calderon said. 

One of Calderon’s friends, senior Zoe 

Chun, is also spending time in China 

over the summer. “I’ll be in Hong Kong 

during the summer—Lidia will be staying 

at my house for two weeks. It’s 

definitely fun to have her around; she 

always speaks Chinese with me,” Chun 

said. 

Although 

Calderon is 

unsure of 

what academic 

field 

she would 

like to 

engage in, 

she is planning 

to apply 

to colleges 

for the 2013 

fall semester. 

She plans to 

attend a college 

in the 

United States 

where she 

will further 

pursue her interests. She is looking 

forward to her trip to China and will 

prepare for it in the weeks to come. 

Colleges in Geneva, New York. From 

Hindley elementary school to DHS, 

both girls have remained close friends. 

Going down to Wake Forest, 

North Carolina will be not just one, but 

four Holmes School alumni. Seniors 

Megan Archey, Geoff Leeker, Kevin 

Steinthal, and Alex Vegliante will be 

venturing down South to attend Wake 

Forest University next fall. Although 

Vegliante does not still attend DHS, 

the four kids have managed to stay 

connected through elementary school, 

middle school and high school. 

Freshman year Vegliante left 

the group and went to Fairfield Prep 

to finish up his high school education. 

Despite a change in schooling, 

Vegliante still remained in touch with 

Darien, as he played in baseball 

leagues in the summer and stayed 

close with many of his middle 

school and elementary 

school 

friends. 

Neirad 

talked with 

Steinthal to hear 

about what he was excited for 

about college next fall. “It will be nice 

to have friendly faces so that you are 

not completely alone,” Steinthal said. 

When asked if he had talked to any of 

the other students when making his 

college decisions, Steinthal said, “No, 

we never really talked about going to 

the same school.” Together the four 

will become Demon Deacons next year 

cheering with Wake Forest Pride. 

Clearly these friendships have 

stayed strong over the years, and there 

is no doubt that they will continue in 

college. Good luck to the Kindergarten 

through College Class of 2012. 

n 

n 


Jack Bair: Carefree Living 

How Bair Managed to Balance Out School, Sports and Fun By sam meyjes anD colin sullivan 

Ever wish that you were the one student 

at Darien 

High School 

whose life was 

not overtaken 

by stress? 

Just imagine 

for one 

day, making 

it through 

the ENTIRE 

school day, an 

astounding 

six and a half 

hours, without 

wigging out 

about grades, 

homework or 

that project 

you are completelydropping 

the ball 

on and need to finish next period. Here 

at DHS, that would make you really 

unique and awesome, right? Right? 

Wrong. Straight up, flat out, smack 

in the face, wrong. Wanna know why? 

Somebody already did that. Wanna 

know who? Senior Jack Bair, that is 

who. So listen up DHS, maybe you can 

learn a thing or two from him. 

Students here are notorious for 

being over stressed and overworked; 

Jack Bair is the exception. “Average 

stress level, up here. My stress level, 

down here,” Bair said, motioning with 

his hands. 

Of course, it would be easier to visualize 

just how chill Jack Bair is if you 

could have seen where he put his hands 

to represent the difference between 

his stress level and that of an average 

DHS student. But this is an article; 

you cannot see where his hands were. 

We would draw a picture, but we are 

Speed Demon 

Hannah Halstrom’s 13 Year Race to the Go-Kart Finish Line By annaBel schneiDer 

Perhaps you have recently seen 

senior Hannah Halstrom behind the 

wheel of the stylish five ton Ford Post 

53 ambulance, but this 

is not even her flashiest 

ride. Every weekend 

Halstrom races go-karts. 

Unlike her relatively 

new endeavor piloting 

the EMS truck, Halstrom 

has been racing gokarts 

since she was five 

years old. Halstrom has 

clocked in at around 70 

miles per hour on the 

straight-aways in her 

kart. The ambulance 

is not supposed to go 

over 55. 

“My older sister, 

who is 30, was the first 

one who raced. My dad 

used to go race with his 

father. Then, when I was 

five I got a go-kart from 

Santa,” Halstrom said. 

Halstrom races on a club track in 

Norwalk every Saturday of the fall and 

spring. The day consists of four races. 

Race one is a practice to see how the 

cars are running. Race two and three 

are when 

the actual 

competition 

begins. 

Racers pick 

numbers 

to see their 

order and 

then the results 

of the 

two races 

are put together. 

The 

fourth race 

is the final 

race where 

the leaders 

writers, not artists. Just take our word 

for it, his 

hand was 

pretty 

g o s h 

darn low. 

So low 

in fact, 

that the 

only way 

for us to 

explain 

to you 

the sheer 

magnitude 

of his “unstress level” is through 

a series of analogies. If a giraffe got a 

piggy-back-ride from an elephant, your 

stress level would be sitting on top of 

the giraffe’s head. His would be the size 

of the mouse that scared the elephant. 

If your stress level was the size of the 

Crackin’ in “Clash of the Titans,” his 

would be the size of Sam Worthington. 

of race two and three compete to find 

the winner. 

The majority of the races that 

Halstrom has participated in have 

been at this track but she has also 

competed in Poughkeepsie, New York. 

She has participated in the regional 

and division championship the past 

And we all know that Sam Worthington 

always wins. But that was a terrible 

movie, and therefore a terrible analogy. 

You get the point though. He has less 

stress than you. 

But Jack is just the kind of kid who 

loves being himself. He does not spend 

his days trying to de-stress himself. 

Nor does he meditate or get in touch 

with his inner-self like that kid from 

the “Karate Kid.” Instead, being calm, 

cool, and relaxed just comes naturally. 

That is why he is in this graduation 

issue. He is just a chill kid—a chill kid 

few summers in Maryland and West 

Virginia as well. The first time she went 

to regionals she won fourth. This was a 

huge accomplishment 

because she was 

in the mediums 

class which included 

racers 

from 16-60 years 

of age. 

Halstrom’s 

uniform varies 

from her “Postie” 

attire as well. 

Racing equipment 

includes 

a full body race 

suit, special 

shoes, gloves, a 

neck brace and 

helmet. Oh yeah, 

and all of that is 

fireproof. When asked 

if she gets nervous or 

scared before races 

she said, “I get a rush 

of adrenaline, but not scared. I’m so 

used to it.” 

The possibility of flipping over is not 

even the most terrifying part. Halstrom 

races in a “lay down seat” meaning she 

who, by the way, is also captain of the 

swim team here at DHS. 

Bair is a unique swim team captain 

not only because he is one of the 

greatest swimmers ever to walk the 

hallways of DHS, but instead, the fact 

that he does it effortlessly. This year 

is laying at an angle of 45 degrees. There 

are also no seat belts, as the seats are 

formed to the racers body so they fit 

snugly. 

Paramedics are on the scene of every 

race to ensure safety. Halstrom has hurt 

her shoulder from a flip that also gave 

her a bruise on the head. While talking 

about the accident she described the 

engine burning her arm with no change 

of expression. This was her only flip but 

apparently they are pretty common. 

The go-karts that Halstrom races 

Bair won the team MVP award, and received 

four gold medals, one in FCIACs 

and three in the States. 

How does he do it? Well, Bair himself 

just thinks it is natural talent and a bit 

of practice. You may say, “I thought he 

did not work hard though!” 

Bair begs to differ. 

“I feel like it’s kind of a misconception 

that I don’t work hard. I do. I really 

do. It’s just that I’m not so stressed 

about the work. I just don’t act like I 

work hard. That’s key,” Bair said. 

Colin and I have met entire classes 

full of you wonderful students who 

say that they wish, just for one day, 

that they could be Jack Bair. That they 

could have his personality, to have his 

life, and have his success. Bair has inspired 

many a student while trying 

to swim through their pool of stress 

to just relax. When I told him of his 

impact on other students, Bair smiled. 

“Oh. Well that’s a confidence booster.” 

Not that he 

will need it, of 

course, but it 

is something 

that will be 

nice to have 

along on the 

next leg of 

his journey of 

life, to Loyola 

University of 

Maryland. 

Good luck, 

Jack Bair. Not 

that you will 

need that 

either. We 

know you will 

do great. Wishing you luck was just a 

formality. 

are low to the ground and open. The 

width of the wheels are about 2.5 times 

smaller than regular car wheels. The 

engines are exposed behind the driver. 

Beginner racers 

have plates put 

into their engines 

to slow 

them down, 

but when the 

engines aren’t 

restricted they 

can go up to 

around 70 miles 

per hour. 

Part of 

what makes 

Hannah’s experience 

unique 

is that racing is 

something she 

does with her 

family. “We are always going different 

directions and my mom is always on 

business trips. It’s really nice that every 

weekend we get to spend at least half a 

day together.” 

Freshman and younger sister Jessie 

Halstrom, who also participates in 

go-kart racing, said, “It’s really fun because 

it is a whole family effort. My 

dad changes the tires 

and checks the pressure, 

my mom fuels 

the car, and Hannah 

and I shave the tires.” 

Unfortunately, 

Halstrom probably 

won’t be able to continue 

racing next year 

Her next step will 

be at Union College 

in Schenectady, 

New York. With 

Poughkeepsie only an 

hour away, maybe she 

will change her 

mind. 

n 

n

6 


Dracula Hits the Streets of NYC 

EJ Couloucoundis Leaves the DHS Stage to Take on Juilliard By will steinthal anD BrenDan Ferguson 

As the year dwindles to an end, 

there is a sense of energy around the 

school over the senior class and their 

post high school plans. Some seniors 

may be taking 

a year off to travel 

the world, others 

may be attending 

the most prestigious 

schools in the world, 

and even others may 

be starting their careers. 

However there 

is only one student 

who will be attending 

Juilliard, the 

world famous music, 

drama, and theatrical 

performance school, 

this fall. 

At Darien High 

School, EJ Couloucoundis has made 

somewhat of a name for himself. Some 

students may remember his role as 

Dracula in Theatre 308’s production 

of “Dracula.” Others may know him 

simply as the guy who is on his computer 

in the table next to the Guidance 

Office. Most people, however, know 

him as the great opera performer. 

His singing has been described by 

peers as, “an amazing baritone” and 

“commanding.” Ironically, opera is 

not his first love, “That’s jazz. But I 

Although senior Catherine Tween’s 

innocent and modest demeanor may 

not give the same aura as that of a 

world-renowned novelist like Stephanie 

Meyer, her writing is just as moving. 

When Neirad asked Tween about 

her writing style, she said “I don’t 

really know what to say, I mean, I like 

English?” However, if one were to look 

beyond her modesty he or she would 

find a mind bursting with creativity. 

Tween’s greatest pieces are fictional, 

but based off of personal experiences. 

So, what makes her writing so 

great? Well, English Department Coordinator 

Mr. Doug Paulsen provides 

the perfect answer. 

“It is like an intellectual journey. 

You know she is taking you somewhere, 

but you don’t know exactly 

where until you hit it,” Mr. Paulsen 

said. 

Tween’s writing not only demonstrates 

her remarkable ability to create 

and connect, but the unparalleled 

craft that enhances each idea. Mr. 

Paulsen adds that she has tremen- 

still adore opera,” Couloucoundis said. 

Couloucoundis started singing in 

his fifth grade talent show at Hindley 

Elementary School. He sang the song 

“You Raise Me 

Up” by Josh 

Groban a cappella 

(without accompaniment). 

It was 

that day that he 

became hooked 

on performing. 

However, it is 

not the performance 

that got 

him hooked, 

but the instant 

gratification afterward. 

“The 

applause after 

was mind-boggling; 

I’ve been hooked on it since,” 

Couloucoundis said. 

Couloucoundis continued singing 

through middle school. One of his 

most notable performances was singing 

at the annual Variety Show that 

Middlesex Middle School Spanish 

teacher, Mr. Jonathan Smith, organized. 

Couloucoundis’ first theatrical performance 

was in the summer between 

his 8th- 9th grade school years. He was 

taking part in MTW (Musical Theatre 

Workshop) at DHS. That year, the mu- 

dous control of sentence structure 

and, like every great writer, her work 

is so finely crafted it seems effortless. 

Mr. Paulsen also notes that Tween has 

a “powerfully aggressively inquisitive 

voice”, realizing that her written voice 

is much stronger than her spoken 

voice. 

Although Tween’s writing may 

seem effortless, she confesses that 

it has required many nights of little 

or no sleep. There have been several 

days (and nights) were she worked 

on a single essay for 12 hours straight, 

without a break. 

“When I write, it’s like everything 

else ceases to exist,” Tween said. 

Although some may think these 

extensive hours are due to procrastination, 

it seems as though “entering 

her zone” and never escaping 

results in the best product. As many 

would expect, she tends to develop 

her essays longer than most students 

would attempt. Tween confesses that 

her longest piece of writing is 20 pages; 

the length of both her AP US term 

sical was “High School Musical” and 

Couloucoundis played a jock. English 

teacher Ms. Nancy Herman, the director 

of that show, comments on his 

performance by saying, “His voice was 

impressive especially for an actor of 

his age.” 

At Juilliard, Couloucoundis plans to 

continue working on and training his 

voice. “Well, in 10 years I see myself 

learning and singing somewhere at the 

very least. I’m at such a good place to 

be for a singer, and I’m so lucky. I want 

to grow to my full potential, and then 

go from there,” Couloucoundis said. 

Couloucoundis will focus his time at 

Julliard learning the art of opera, but he 

hopes to work on jazz outside of school. 

One other creative path that 

Couloucoundis wants to pursue is 

acting. In the Theater 308 fall show, he 

portrayed Dracula, which was a perfect 

role for someone with such an impressive 

stage presence. He enjoyed his experience, 

and hopes to continue acting 

at Juilliard. “If I could act every week for 

the rest of my life that would be great,” 

Couloucoundis replied. 

Couloucoundis, however, makes 

time for his other hobbies. He spends a 

lot of time during his frees writing creatively, 

and also enjoys playing “Magic: 

The Gathering.” However, according 

to his brother, freshman Michael 

paper and Advanced Composition assignments. 

“She reads more than anyone I 

know and she really has a deep love 

of literature, which shows in her writing. 

She really has a gift,” senior Laura 

Powis, a friend of Tween’s, said. 

During her senior year, Tween followed 

an English-packed schedule. 

She took three English classes: AP 

American Literature, British Literature 

and Advanced Composition. However, 

her favorite was Advanced Composition 

because she was allowed to 

write about a wide range of topics, giving 

her the flexibility she thrives on. 

Some of her writing for that class included 

an abstract philosophical analysis 

on writing, a personal story, and a 

reflection on her upcoming seniority. 

However, Tween’s 9/11 personal narrative 

was especially powerful, moving 

Mr. Paulsen and the seven other students 

in her Advanced Composition 

class emotionally and intellectually. 

“I know the other writers in the 

class were all very astonished,” Mr. 

Couloucoundis, he has a pretty busy 

schedule. “He sleeps, does homework, 

and sings. But he’s cool,“ Michael responded. 

Couloucoundis acknowledges his 

family’s sacrifices: “My family has been 

super-supportive and behind me every 

step of the way,” Couloucoundis said. 

Like most singers, Couloucoundis 

trained his voice for years. 

Still, he faces the every day challenges 

any other singer may come 

across. Couloucoundis has dealt with 

mistakes and poor performances, but 

one day in particular he had to deal 

with three back-to-back performances, 

in a “perfect storm” of failure. It 

started with a recital in the morning; 

that morning his voice was very hoarse 

and Couloucoundis wasn’t able to sing 

his best. The second performance was 

an audition, but unfortunately the accompanist 

played the piece five keys 

too low for Couloucoundis. The third 

performance was a talent show where 

the microphone did not work. 

This day was stressful, but it has 

not stopped Couloucoundis from continuing 

to perform and improve. He 

recently performed a solo at Carnegie 

Hall, which is a stage most musicians 

only dream about. He described it as, 

“Amazing and [it has] great acoustics”. 

According to Couloucoundis, he 

Read BeTWEEN the Lines 

A Hidden Talent: Catherine Tween’s Incredible Writing Skills By holly gorDon 

Paulsen said. 

Throughout her four years at DHS, 

Tween has greatly contributed to the 

English community. Tween holds the 

position of Editor-in-chief of the DHS 

literary magazine, “Current.” She enjoys 

the poetry slams “Current” holds 

throughout the year, as these events 

are open to all students interested in 

sharing their literary work, or listen- 

sang the song “Vagabond” twice - once 

solo and the other time as a duet with 

award-winning soprano Krista Adams- 

Santilli. 

Couloucoundis is not only a music 

performer, but also, like many teenagers, 

a music listener. However, as a 

classically - trained musician, he has 

different standards for artists and 

songs in society than most of us. 

Regardless of his opinion of the music, 

Couloucoundis always respects singers 

where credit is due. Usually the consumer 

makes an opinion of an artist 

based on the music they make, but he 

can appreciate an artist regardless of 

the genre. Some modern musicians 

that Couloucoundis admires include 

Lady Gaga and Adele. 

Couloucoundis has worked hard to 

develop his talents, and Juilliard has 

noticed. However, he has not worked 

alone. One of the main recommendations 

he has for other performers is to 

“Find other musicians. Make connections. 

Singing an a cappella solo isn’t 

quite as impressive as a band-backed 

performance, and a single instrument 

would sound better in a group,” 

Couloucoundis recommended. 

For future seniors planning their 

post-grad plans: “Do what you love, and 

love what you do,” Couloucoundis says. 

ing to other poets and writers. 

As she is finishing her final year 

of high school, Tween has some big 

dreams for the future. For most prospective 

young authors, writing a 

popular series like “Twilight” or “The 

Hunger Games” is the greatest accomplishment. 

However, Catherine Tween 

strides toward a more unique goal. 

Her dream is to successfully publish a 

more serious, post-modernistic work. 

The depth of reflection and reasoning 

she currently possesses throughout 

her writing gives us all the hope 

that one day she will share it with the 

world. 

For the next four years Tween will 

attend Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, 

NY, a small city on the banks of 

the Hudson River. She hopes to major 

in English and possibly philosophy 

as well. As Tween is ending her DHS 

career, we wish her the best in college 

and beyond and acknowledge her for 

her great accomplishments within 

these DHS walls. 

n 

n 

runner’s roost 


425 post road, darien, ct 

tel: 655-9337 

www.runnersroostct.com 

Photo by McKinley Stauffer

8 


Troop 799 

Yep, I Am Still a Girl Scout and So Are Seven of My Classmates By mckinley stauFFer 

Besides the communal crayons and 

afternoon siestas and my bob haircut 

complete with bangs, there is not 

much I can recall about my kindergarten 

school days. But I can tell you 

what happened on my Saturdays at 

the United Methodist Church 

of Darien. I 

could tell 

you about 

that time 

that I sold 

over 200 

boxes of Girl 

Scout cookies 

(mainly 

Thin Mints)— 

just enough to 

win the prize 

of a waterproof 

radio to sing 

along to in the 

shower; I could 

also tell you how I 

learned to recite the 

Girl Scout Promise 

before I learned our 

country’s Pledge 

of Allegiance: “On 

my honor, I will try: 

To serve God and my 

country, To help people 

at all times, And to live 

by the Girl Scout Law”; I 

can also recall how I won 

over one hundred dollars 

playing bingo at a Dude 

Ranch and how my oh so 

charitable heart inspired 

me to throw a mega pizza 

party for my fellow troop 

mates and I. For thirteen 

years, I have been a proud 

member of Troop 799. 

As of this year, Troop 

799 is composed of DHS seniors 

Livy and Lexy Ashburne, Meg 

Richter, Hannah Halstrom, Jordan 

Irizarry, Nicole Gutierrez, and yours 

truly, McKinley Stauffer. When questioned 

in a Neirad interview, Jordan 

Irrizary proudly retorted, “I have been 

a girl scout for 13 years and a part of 

Troop 799 since Kindergarten.” 

What started out as a Troop of over 

fifteen girls has slowly dwindled to 

seven; but, according to one of my 

Troop’s leaders, Ms. Ginger Halstrom, 

“Our troop size for high school is exceptional. 

You [McKinley], Jordan, 

Hannah, and Nicole have been scouts 

for 13 years, while Levy, Lexy, and Meg 

have been scouts for about 9 years. 

Most girls drop out of scouts when 

they enter 

middle 

school.” 

Though 

both of our 

troop leaders 

have 

been Girl 

Scouts themselves—Ms. 

Halstrom for four years, Ms. Benedetto 

for seven—neither of the two made it 

as far as we have, as the seven of us 

will graduate Girl Scouts at the 

same time 

we receive our high school 

diploma. In Connecticut, over the 

past five years, 2,189 girls have graduated 

high school as Girl Scouts. This 

year, 212 will graduate as scouts—and 

I, along with six other DHS students, 

am a part of those 212 girls. 

Ms. Halstrom, who I along with my 

fellow Girl Scouts refer to as Ginger 

since after 13 years there is no need for 

formalities, believes that “community 

service and trips generally keep girls 

involved in Scouting”. 

Service has most definitely impacted 

the growth of our troop. “There 

have been plenty of leadership opportunities, 

especially as we got older, 

and I now feel comfortable 

being 

in charge of 

planning and organizing 

things,” Richter said.However, Troop 

799 is in it for more than just the service 

hours. 

Though I was quick to list Girl 

Scouts under my community service 

hours for the Common 

App, I did so not 

out of the wish 

to be recognized 

but I did 

it to flaunt my 

own pride for 

the 13 year 

longfriendships 

that I 

have maintained 

over 

my childhood 

and 

teenage 

years. 

T o 

h a v e 

such a 

support 

system 

bridging from elementary 

school, to 

Middlesex, and then 

undertaking DHS 

is something that 

is not unmemorable 

but unforgettable. 

“I’ve been a 

Girl Scout for 13 

years and therefore 

have been 

able to keep all 

those friends 

for equally as 

long. We’ve 

all been able 

to grow up 

together,” 

Gutierrez 

said. 

Ms.Kim Benedetto, 

who we call Kim, also 

a leader of Troop 

799 and mother of 

Jordan, said that as 

scouts 

growing up together, 

attending 

the same elementary, 

middle, and 

high schools, 

we “will always 

have that special 

bond with 

a certain group 

of girls you 

might not 

hang out 

with on 

a regular 

basis and 

you also grow a strong 

trusting conection with your leaders.” 

Often times when people discover 

that I am a Girl Scout they snicker. 

I am used to it. Never can I think 

of a time where I was too self-conscious 

to say that I am a Girl Scout. 

Almost every Memorial Day I have 

marched with my troop—American 

flag in hand. I have sold the infamous 

Girl Scout cookies at Palmers, 

Darien’s Stop and Shop, and just this 

last March at the Darien Sports Shop. 

Decked out in my vest with the patches 

that my mother has hand-sewn on, 

I have ambushed families, senior citizens, 

and even fellow classmates to 

buy my troop’s cookies. And let me 

tell you, I was a much better salesman 

with my bob and bangs because 

then I could play the “cute” card. A 

high schooler selling cookies…well let 

us just say it does not have the same 

effect and people no longer feel badly 

about saying no as they either A) try to 

pretend that they cannot see the table 

piled with unopened cookie boxes as 

they pull out their cell phone to make 

a spontaneous phone call or B) tell 

us about their New Year’s Resolution 

to cut back on the sweets but come 

out of the store twenty minutes later 

with a shopping cart packed with two 

six packs of Coke and three pints of 

Cookies and Cream ice cream. Let me 

tell you, it gets pretty awkward—but 

at least Girl Scouts has taught me how 

to handle rejection. 

Almost all of the skills that I have 

learned from Girl Scouts have stuck 

with me over the years…almost. 

This past summer I went to a Cross 

Country camp with my fellow track 

teammates in Vermont, notoriously 

known as Norrie Camp. Though I was 

able to singlehandedly build a fire out 

of mere kindling and a single match 

for our s’mores night, I was not able 

to get myself back to 

the camp grounds 

after making a wrong turn during 

the biking portion of my triathlon. I 

was either absent from the meeting 

where we learned which direction the 

sun sets and rises or I am just inherently 

inept at finding my way in the 

dense woods of New England. But, 

I can promise you this, I will never 

forget having to clean out the latrines 

at campgrounds after setting up our 

tents in the pouring rain. That is just 

too memorable. But I am not the only 

member of Troop 799 with fond memories: 

“Well, I would have to say that 

out of all my favorite moments from 

girl scouts over the years my absolute 

favorite happened when we went 

camping. All of us were in a very small 

cabin so we didn’t have much room 

to breathe but it was fun because we 

stayed up telling lame stories, which 

we genuinely believed were scary. 

Then Livy got up to go to the bathroom 

and within four seconds she 

was screaming and running back to 

the cabin claiming that she saw something 

move. To this day I’m not sure 

if I believe her, but it was hysterical 

watching her panic over what in reality 

was, probably just a leaf blowing 

in the wind,” Lexy Ashburne recalled. 

Halstrom and Livy Ashburne 

remembered their Christmas’ at 

the Yerwood Center, “We go to the 

Yerwood Center in Stamford every 

year around Christmas time. We 

help set up tables and decorate for 

Christmas dinner. A couple of years 

ago a lady who worked at the Yerwood 

Center came up to us and told us how 

much joy we are going to bring to 

people when they see what we have 

done. She told us to keep giving back 

because that is the best thing you can 

do. I will never forget those words.” 

“I would say the most memorable 

thing we’ve done together is go to the 

dude ranch. McKinley won bingo and 

ran around the lobby, we flirted with 

a ranch hand named Fernando, and 

as always, laughed and laughed and 

laughed. Thinking about it now, that’s 

really what we’ve done together for 

all these years: laugh,” Gutierrez said. 

Yes, we have laughed throughout 

the years—especially at that time I 

won a dance competition at some 

event…everyone in my troop knows 

about my horrific dancing, I think 

the judges just pitied me to be quite 

honest. I laughed when Nicole and 

Jordan flirted with a farm hand named 

Fernando who handled the horses 

at the Dude Ranch. He was at least 

twenty. They were at least twelve. 

I have had a lot of “firsts” with my 

troop. I watched my first PG-13 movie 

with my fellow troopers Thirteen 

Going on Thirty. 

Until I was eight, I was terribly 

afraid of water. I took my life 

vest off for 

the first time 

at a Girl Scout swimming event with 

the support of my friends. The first 

time I ever rode a horse was with my 

troop; the first time I ever sang karaoke—I 

believe the song was either 

“Wide Open Spaces” by the Dixie 

Chicks or Britney Spears’ “Hit Me 

Baby One More Time”—was with my 

troop; the first time I ever did the 

Macarena or the YMCA dance or even 

the Cotton-Eyed Joe was at the annual 

Girl Scout Halloween dance held at 

the Town Hall. However, in order for 

there to be firsts there must also be 

ends. This June I will graduate with 

the other members of Troop 799; and 

though we will all be parting ways 

this upcoming fall, in accordance with 

one of the Girl Scout songs, “a circle 

is round and has no end, that’s how 

long I want to be your friend.” Until 

we meet again, it has been real Troop 

799—maybe we will all grow up to be 

future Girl Scout leaders. 

n 

Sometimes Actions Speak Louder Than Words 

The Life and Legacy of Alice Wang, the Loudest “Quietest” Person at DHS 

After a lengthy conversation with 

senior Alice Wang, winner of the Class 

of 2012’s “Most Quiet” superlative, I 

think it is safe to conclude that “quiet” 

is just a matter of where you place 

the microphone. 

Despite the implicit verdict of her 

“Senior Superlative,” I think that in 

many ways Alice is the polar opposite 

of “most quiet.” Between her physical 

voice, her talents, her creations, and 

her accomplishments, Alice’s presence 

fills the school in ways that the 

general student body might not even 

realize. 

Maybe Alice’s under-the-radar status 

is the very definition of quiet. But, 

on the other hand, 

maybe it constitutes 

being humble. Maybe 

it constitutes being 

influential, being a 

leader; being truly, 

symbolically loud. 

Whatever it means, I 

know one thing for certain: when Alice 

discovered that she won this year’s 

“Most Quiet” award, it must have 

been the last thing in the world she 

expected to hear. 

“Senior Superlatives” are voted on 

by the entire graduating class and 

enshrined in the school’s yearbook, 

the “Dariannus,” which comes out 

in June. This year, many winners 

found out about their titles far in 

advance when results of the voting 

were leaked in mid-February. A list of 

winners was posted on Facebook and 

superlatives became a hot topic of discussion, 

bringing some excitement to 

the dull dog days of winter. 

It was only a matter of time before 

Alice found out about her “award,” 

but the circumstances surrounding 

her particular moment of discovery 

were about as unlikely as conceivably 

possible. 

It was approximately 6:00 PM on 

April 17th at JFK International Airport. 

The school orchestra had just 

landed home from a four day trip to 

Disney World. Alice and some friends 

were casually waiting around for their 

baggage to arrive. In this random, unsuspecting 

moment, Alice found out 

from freshman Jessica DeRocco that 

she was voted “Most Quiet” by her 

peers. 

With an easy demeanor and smile 

on her face, Alice recounted the experience 

to me: 

“We were talking about some other 

superlatives and Jessica asked me ‘Did 

you know you have a superlative too?’ 

I said, ‘Oh, really? Is it good or bad?’ 

She said, ‘It depends.’ Another girl 

Instead of heading straight to 

college after graduating from Darien 

High School like most alumni, senior 

Monica O’Brien is preparing to fly overseas 

and study abroad. Before she gets 

to Franklin & Marshall College, she 

is going to take a detour to Dublin, 

Ireland for her first semester. 

The Spring Option Program at 

Franklin & Marshall provides students 

with the opportunity to embrace another 

culture before diving right into 

their college careers. During the gap semester, 

students can enroll in a course 

which involves earning full academic 

credits or choose to take the course 

without credits. O’Brien has elected a 

program with a full semester’s credits, 

which will enable her to graduate simultaneously 

with the rest of her class 

at Franklin & Marshall. 

O’Brien chose to study in Ireland as 

opposed to Scotland or France because 

she has an affinity for the Irish culture 

and heard excellent reviews about the 

program. “I have heard great things 

about the school that I will be attending 

there. I also thought that because 

it will be my first time not living at 

my home in Darien, and there is no 

language barrier in Ireland there will 

be less of a culture shock and hope- 

jumped in and was like, ‘No, no, really, 

it’s good.’ I asked Jessie ‘Do I want to 

know?’ and she replied ‘Yes, you do.’ 

So she told me I won ‘Most Quiet’ and 

I was like ‘Okay, it’s fine,’ but secretly I 

was fuming inside.” 

With a bit of a chuckle, she added, 

“It’s just kind of funny to me now.” 

Reflecting on why she thinks she 

earned the award, Alice told me, 

“Throughout middle school, teachers 

would say on my report card ‘I’d love 

to hear her more in class.’ I wouldn’t 

contribute on a regular basis...I would 

consciously have to say to myself, ‘I’ll 

talk in this class at least once.’ I think 

that’s where the perception started.” 

“ I want to make people feel 

expectant about the future.” 

—Alice Wang 

This perception, however, leaves 

out some major aspects of Alice’s 

personality that might not come 

through in a classroom setting. For 

starters, Alice is a skilled and expressive 

musician, with years of classical 

training on both the piano and violin. 

In my mind, being as musical as Alice 

is is fundamentally at odds with the 

very concept of quiet. 

Alice began learning piano at age 

five. Unlike many young people who 

study piano against their will at the 

compulsion of their parents, Alice really 

took to the music. She explained: 

“I loved my piano teacher. She was 

the type of teacher who focused more 

on musicality, phrasing, and the story 

and the emotion behind the music 

as opposed to technique. I’ve heard 

so many stories of people hating piano 

because their parents or teachers 

made them practice five hours a day. 

Technique is important, but if you 

don’t enjoy [playing], it’s probably 

not worth doing.” 

Alice hasn’t had the time to take 

piano lessons in a while, but she has 

stayed sharp by doing what she described 

as “a kind of self study, printing 

music offline as legally as possible.” 

“When you’re stressed, it’s so relaxing, 

playing a Chopin nocturne 

or even a Mozart sonata. To put your 

whole bodyweight onto the keys and 

let it ring, to make something larger 

than you ring...” 

At this point in the interview, Alice 

had so many brilliant things to say 

about her involvement with music 

that I could hardly keep up, listening 

The Luck of the Irish 

fully cause me to not be as homesick!” 

O’Brien said. 

One reason O’Brien may be less inclined 

to homesickness is her Irish heritage. 

O’Brien’s opportunity to explore 

her heritage is something her friend 

senior Kelly McCarthy is envious of. “I 

think it’s awesome that Monica’s going 

to Dublin, I’m extremely jealous that 

she is able to return to our homeland 

and discover her roots,” McCarthy said, 

who went on to say, “I don’t know how 

I am going to live without her next 

year in college. I’m seriously going to 

miss her.” 

O’Brien plans to leave in late August, 

around the time most college freshmen 

plan to be leaving home. However, 

she will return slightly later than most, 

in late December. Although her classes 

abroad will be lectured in English, the 

course requirements are a reflection 

of her new location. Her curriculum is 

based off of Irish history coupled with 

Irish literature. The courses are especially 

appealing to O’Brien because 

they offer diversity to her post-DHS 

experience in a field she would not 

normally study. 

O’Brien will be attending the Dublin 

School of Business and Arts, which 

boasts a strong study abroad program. 

with one ear but also struggling to 

scrawl what she had said two sentences 

before. The instant she noticed 

this, Alice paused her anecdote and 

said “I talk so much, I’m sorry! When 

my dad comes home from work, I’m 

always peppering him...” 

Lesson learned: Alice definitely 

does not think of herself as quiet, 

nor does she come across as quiet to 

those who know her best. 

Anyways, Alice says her favorite 

composer is Beethoven, a composer 

known for his loud and (in Alice’s 

words) “angsty” compositions. Alice’s 

favorite piece to play is Beethoven’s 

Piano Sonata No. 8, the “Pathétique:” 

“The first move- 

ment starts with these 

seven-note chords that 

strip it all down to the 

gut with all that layered 

sound, and the 

second movement– 

there’s something 

about playing it when you’re alone 

in the house on a spring morning; it’s 

delicate but wise.” 

Alice has been sharing her music 

with the school by playing violin in 

the orchestra for four years. You also 

may have heard Alice play as a violinist 

in the pit orchestra that accompanied 

this year’s performance of “West 

Side Story.” 

Even if you’ve never heard Alice 

play music, you’ve definitely seen the 

product of her creative talents. Alice is 

a key member of 

the small team 

which puts out 

the Neirad Online 

issue every 

month. 

Alice first got 

involved with 

Neirad sophomore 

year, after 

her freshman 

year English 

teacher Ms. Emily 

Heiden recommended 

her 

to become an 

independent 

study writer. Al- 

ice mostly wrote 

content her first 

year, before she 

took on the huge 

behind-the-scenes task of helping put 

out Online. 

“Late sophomore year, [my independent 

study teacher] Ms. Wilkins 

asked me what I wanted to do in the 

future. I knew I couldn’t be print editor 

without being in the classroom. 

O’Brien is Heading to Ireland to Study Abroad for a Semester 

The program’s website talks proudly 

about the city: “There can be few 

better cities than Dublin, the capitol of 

Ireland, in which to enjoy your time as 

a student. Dublin has a population of 

1.5 million, with all the amenities of a 

big city, yet still retains a small town 

atmosphere.” 

When considering the cultural differences 

between the United States 

and Ireland, O’Brien considered each 

facet of her experience abroad-even accounting 

for the food. Eating options 

are sure to be different in Ireland, considering 

that her program does not provide 

a meal plan or dining hall. O’Brien 

must either prepare food herself or eat 

out, a possibly daunting task to anyone 

not acclimated to fending for herself 

(she will have roommates to help out, 

though). 

However, O’Brien won’t be spending 

all her time hitting the books or 

cooking food. The program also offers 

a multitude of weekend excursions 

which allow her to visit sights around 

the area as well as neighboring countries. 

The website describing her program 

states, “. . . we consider traveling 

outside Dublin part of the adventure.” 

O’Brien’s excitement is balanced 

with some nervousness about being 

Seniors Chiaki Soejima and Alice Wang 

Online turned out to be the perfect fit 

because so much of it can be done out 

of the classroom.” 

Over the past two years, Alice has 

worked very closely with senior Chiaki 

Soejima and science teacher Mr. 

Sean Otterspoor to produce Neirad Online. 

They work with two Adobe programs, 

Dreamweaver and Photoshop, 

to lay out the articles and web pages 

you see on the high school website. 

Alice explained the process of actually 

laying out an article, emphasizing 

the fact that she and Chiaki are always 

learning by doing: 

“It’s kind of a love/hate relationship 

with Dreamweaver, but we can’t 

live without it. Laying out an article 

usually involves searching in a previous 

document for a [formatting style] 

we like and copying and pasting. 

There’s also a lot of googling how to 

make a border shadow and stuff like 

that.” 

Alice says they have done their best 

to “push the boundaries” with Online. 

She said, “Mr. Otterspoor made 

sure we knew we didn’t have to stay 

with the same old template.” 

English teacher and Neirad adviser 

Ms. Sybil O’Hare helped me understand 

how extraordinary and “indispensable” 

this work is: 

“I don’t think there is another 

school in the county that builds its 

website from scratch like us. [Alice 

and Chiaki] are so enthusiastic 

and just so incredibly talented on 

so many levels. They do something 

original and creative and great every 

single month…it’s really fun to watch 

and amazing to see.” 

The work Alice and Chiaki do 

brings in big numbers for Neirad Online. 

The homepage can get as many 

away for so long. “I’ll be gone for four 

full months in total, so of course I’m 

nervous. I’m also extra nervous because 

I’ll be in a foreign country with 

a different currency, time zone, and 

customs. But at the same time I’m 

extremely excited for the adventure,” 

O’Brien said. 

Excited for her new experience, 

O’Brien has inspired her family 

members to travel and see 

the world—namely her 

younger sister. “I’m 

[going to] miss 

Monica a lot when 

she’s abroad in 

the fall, but I’m 

excited to hear 

all about it. 

Hearing 

about 

what 


By chris janson 

as 5,000 hits the first day an issue 

is up, and any given article will get 

roughly 800-1,000 views per month. 

The visuals the girls design really 

enhance the written content to draw 

viewers in, explained Ms. O’Hare. She 

said, “Online has become part of the 

school culture, and they were indispensable 

in creating it.” 

Finally, there are Alice’s grades, 

which speak for themselves. Through 

all her hard work and studying, Alice 

has earned the distinguished honor 

of being the Class of 2012’s Salutatorian. 

(This time, she didn’t learn about 

her recognition through the grapevine, 

but from the principal himself). 

The “Salutatorian Award” goes to 

the senior with the second highest 

accumulative GPA, which is a tremendous 

accomplishment in a class of 

over 300 students, and even more so 

at an elite public high school like ours. 

As Salutatorian, Alice will be making 

the opening address at the Class 

of 2012’s graduation ceremony. In 

light of her senior superlative, Alice 

said, “I was thinking about how ironic 

it was.” 

Despite the implications of her superlative, 

Alice will certainly have no 

trouble delivering her speech. She 

tells me she did away with her stage 

fright years ago at an elementary 

school acting camp. At the same time, 

she admits that the speech “has been 

sort of weighing on my mind.” 

“There’s a bit of pressure because 

it’s been done so many 

times. There is a certain expectation 

of how it should 

be done, so I can’t stray too 

much from the topic...at 

the same time, I don’t want 

to put anybody to sleep!” 

She continued, “We’re 

such a diverse class that 

finding something everyone 

will relate to is the 

challenge. I’m looking for 

some piece of inspiration 

or advice...I don’t know if 

anyone will look back to it 

in 20 years, but in that moment, 

I want to make people 

feel expectant about the 

future.” 

I have no doubt Alice 

will find something wonderful 

to say at graduation. 

She always has something interesting 

to say, whether through a keyboard, 

through a webpage, or through her 

own physical voice. This is why, no 

matter what the yearbook says, I will 

always remember Alice Wang as one 

of the loudest people at DHS. n 

By amanDa sloaD anD katrina vassell 

she’s doing instead of going to college 

at the normal time has made me interested 

in possibly doing the same when 

I’m older,” her sister sophomore Kerry 

O’Brien said. As O’Brien departs from 

DHS, she is looking forward to broadening 

her world and embracing new experiences. 

Ireland provides an ideal location 

for her to enjoy her freedom and 

take a part in distinct 

classes. Although 

she is leaving, 

DHS will not 

forget her. 

n

10neirad www.neirad.org june 2012 


Where Are They Now? 

Remember these faces? You may remember them from younger days as these students used to walk our same hallways, complain about our same teachers, and stress over the same tests. But somewhere 

along the road each of these students left our sides, whether it be that they moved or went to boarding school. Their absence at the lunch table may, on occasion, evoke the question: “Hey, do you remember 

so-and-so?” While hypotheses may have been tested around the lunch table and via Facebook, there is still that air of questioning about many friends’ whereabouts. Somehow, we just can’t accept that 

all of the missing students dropped off the face of the planet. To end the puzzlement Neirad sought the answer to the question: “Where are they now?” 

daniel trompeter 

loomis chaffe 

hamilton college 

mary howe 

brewster academy 

bryant university 

Trey Jennings- Phillips Academy Andover 

Attending: Dartmouth College 

Sam Fuller- King Low Heywood Thomas 

Attending: Tulane University 

Ali Hughes- King Low Heywood Thomas 

Attending: Hobart and Williamsmith Colleges 

Marisa Noto- Greenwich Academy 

Attending: University of Pennsylvania 

Will Ropp- The Bolles School 

Attending: University of Michigan 

Amanda Schwartz- King Low Heywood Thomas 

Attending:Lafayette College 

Drew Choos- Kent School 

Attending: Colby College 

Jane Bunn- Creekside High School 

Attending:Saint Anslem College 

emma grimes 

ethel walker 

bentley university 

brad plunkett 

deerfield academy 

dartmouth college 

maggie annechino 

convent of the sacred heart 

college of the holy cross 

lily morgan 

forest park high school 

messiah college 

Kat Kelly- Berkshire School 

Attending:Sewanee The University of the South 

Tim Johnson-Salisbury School 

Attending: Washington College 

Dani LeBlanc- Green Mountain Valley School 

Attending:New York University 

Madison Vessels- Berkshire School 

Attending:Southern Methodist University 

John Baker- Brunswick Academy 

Attending: Colgate University 

Charlie Keady- Fairfield Prep 

Attending: University of Michigan 

Jack Voigt- Brunswick Academy 

Attending: University of Virginia 

robin bone 

oakridge secondary school 

the university of western ontario 

Ben Green, who left in the middle of sophomore year, now lives in Monaco and he attends 

the International School of Nice in Nice, France. Green is a part of a two-year school program 

where he takes six subjects of his choice. At the end of the two years, students take exams on 

everything they have learned. The International School of Nice has grades K-12 with about 

300 students total. Green has been accepted with a conditional offer to Queen’s University in 

Canada. However, Green hopes to attend McGill University in Canada, which is his first choice. 

There, he can get back into playing the sports he used to play while at Darien High School. 

“These past two years have been focused more on school than sports,” Green said. “It will be 

great to finally play sports competitively again.” 

alex vegliante 

fairfield prep 

wake forest university 

danielle denunzio 

deerfield academy 

yale university 

Robin Bone moved to London, Ontario in Canada the summer before 11th grade. Next fall, 

Bone will attend The University of Western Ontario where her father coaches football. Bone 

plans to continue her pole vaulting success at college next year. “Many of the coaches and 

members of the Canadian National Track and Field Team are based out of UWO so it was just 

the absolute perfect place for me to achieve my academic goals as well as goals in reaching the 

2016 Olympic team,” Bone said. Bone was named captain of the Canadian National Team that 

went to France for the World Youth Championships and won the Legion Canadian National 

Championships last summer. This year, Bone suffered an ankle injury but hopes to recover 

soon. “Last summer I got placed in the Olympic Development Program, a program designed 

to identify candidates for future Olympic games, which is a major stepping stone to reach my 

long terms goal of competing in the 2016 Olympic Games,” Bone said. We wish Bone all the 

best in her future pole vaulting success! 

katie lineberger 

kent school 

rollins college 

The summer after his freshman year at Darien High School, Bruno Machiavelo moved to 

Madrid, Spain. In Madrid, Machiavelo attended the American School of Madrid for the remainder 

of his high school career. At ASM, Machiavelo played tennis, participated in the student council 

and school plays, and played the saxophone. Machiavelo plans to travel throughout Europe 

before returning to the United States in the fall for college. He hopes to travel to other countries 

in Europe that he has not yet had the chance to visit such as Germany and the Czech Republic. 

Machiavelo is also traveling to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic for a senior class trip in 

the beginning of June. Next fall, Machiavelo will attend Wesleyan University in Middletown, 

Connecticut. “The two things I miss most about Darien are the people and Post 53,” Machiavelo 

said. 

ben green 

international 

school of nice 

jessie sullivan 

choate rosemary hall 

colgate university 

Danielle DeNunzio left Darien High School after her freshman year to go to Deerfield 

Academy in Massachusetts. After many years of gymnastics in Darien, DeNunzio switched 

over to diving at Deerfield instead, along with pole vaulting. She was recruited to the Yale 

University Diving Team and will be attending there next year. “Yale felt like a good fit for me 

because athletically I really like the coach and the team was a lot of fun. Academically, Yale 

has really great programs for me to focus on English and Psychology,” DeNunzio said. After 

a great three years at Deerfield, DeNunzio is really looking forward to the next four at Yale. 

bruno machiavelo 

american school of madrid 

wesleyan university

12 neirad www.neirad.org june 2012 

Congratulations to the Darien High School Class of 2012 

john alter 

syracuse 

university 

lexi ashburne 

saint anselm 

college 

clay barker 

bridgeton 

academy 

abby becker 

santa clara 

university 

susan biggart 

university of 

michigan 

tim brickman 


jim anderson 

salve regina 

university 

olivia ashburne 

saint anselm 

college 

ryan barthold 

university of 

wisconsin 

courtney bell 

gettysburg 

college 

emily blosio 

providence 

college 

tony britton 

cornell university 

corryn andrianus 

suny new paltz 

jack bair 

loyola maryland 

catie bartone 

university of 

vermont 

elizabeth benitez 

suny 

binghamton 

lily boe 

villanova 

university 

nick bruno 

coastal carolina 

university 

nicole appleby 

elon university 

charlie baird 

st. olaf college 

hunt bartram 


robert berisha 

regan bolotin 

franklin & 

marshall college 

sam bryant 

southern ct state 

university 

megan archey 

wake forest 

university 

ari balian 

suny albany 

mac bartram 

hobart & william 

smith 

carly berizzi 

st. lawrence 

university 

gabe bottazzi 

Quinnipiac 

university 

james burgoyne 

university of 

virginia 

taylor arledge 

penn state 

university 

talene balian 

st. john’s 

university 

shannon beatty 


smith 

amy biggart 

boston university 

marieke bravo 

university of 

western ontario 

andrea busato 

southern ct state 

university 

lidia calderon 

gap year (china) 

lilly cassidy 

dartmouth 

college 

lewis clarke 

Quinnipiac 

university 

michael coe 

northwestern 

university 

eli converse 

tufts university 

ej couloucoundis 

the juilliard 

school 

hannah caldwell 

new york 

university 

ann cavers 

johns hopkins 

university 

haley clifford 

colby college 

matt collier 

bryant university 

jacob converse 

francesco 

criscuolo 

nyu 

hannah carmody 

pennsylvania 

state university 

zoe chun 

university of 

rhode island 

emily close 

lafayette college 

andres colon 

bard college 

griffin cook 

santa clara 

university 

izzi d’agosto 


alexa carroll 

drexel university 

holden chung 

lehigh university 

katie close 

university of 

richmond 

david colon 

miami university 

reed coots 

clemson 

university 

kerry daigle 


thomas 

carruthers 

smu 

steven ciasullo 

university of 

michigan 

maggie close 

union college 

jamie condolora 

university of 

new haven 

keane costello 

college of 

charleston 

briton dailey 

university of 

connecticut 


michael casey 

the gunnery 

emily clarke 

providence 

college 

julia cobb 

williams college 

nick connery 

lynn university 

jake coughlin 

keene state 

college 

brooke davis 

colorado college 

Congratulations to the Darien High School Class of 2012



emma davis 


lexi dodge 

franklin & 


kailin edgar 

pennsylvania 


katherine feehan 

trinity college 

sarah fraser 

bucknell 

university 

dan germain 

fairfield 

university 

caity dee 

sacred heart 

university 

katie donovan 

babson college 

emily elliott 

ryder college 

patrick 

fitzsimmons 

james madison u 

stephanie gaete 

university of 

connecticut 

sam gillespie 

kenyon college 

jonathon dehlin 

katherine dostal 

fairfield 

university 

mary elliott 

muhlenberg 

university 

juli flynn 

worcester polytechnic 

university 

claire gaffney 


sherry gilronan 

eastern ct state 

university 

jessica demaio 

university of 

connecticut 

maggie drake 

dickinson college 

corey eppley 

lehigh university 

megan foley 

washington 

university 

elyssa ganser 

pennsylvania 


henry glick 

university of 

michigan 

will derocco 


dillon duncan 

gettysburg 

college 

kelly fahey 

stonehill college 

alec foresta 

kenyon college 

brynn gasparino 

university of ca, 

berkeley 

tyler gould 

gettysburg 

college 

christian 

dobrowsky 

roanoke college 

izzy duncan 

art institute of 

chicago 

caroline 

farrington 

washington u 

john forlivio 

university of 

connecticut 

dominique 

gelineau 

norwalk cc 

olivia gozdz 


allison graham 

salve regina 

university 

max gunn 


lindsey hartfelder 

university of 

massachusetts 

samantha holek 

ithaca college 

chris janson 

williams college 

kelly keating 

roger williams 

university 

sarah graves 


nicole gutierrez 

university of 

maryland 

annie hekker 

gettysburg 

college 

grayson horan 

bucknell 

university 

michael johnston 

northwestern 

university 

jordyn keegan 

woodbury 

university 

sam greco 

rochester institute 

of technology 

windsor hall 

cheshire academy 

elliott helgans 

washington and 

lee university 

geoff hubbard 

trinity pawling 

nick johnston 

the george 

washington u 

veronika kelemen 

undecided 

george gregory 

saint lawrence 

university 

hannah halstrom 

union college 

aidan hickey 

university of new 

hampshire 

brendan hughes 

work 

eric kanigan 

wake forest 

university 

james kerr 

denison 

university 

ryan gregory 

university of 

alabama 

erin hannon 

villanova 

university 

renee hodenfield 

rochester institute 

of technology 

amanda hutter 


john keane 

endicott college 

cal kevorkian 

university of 

michigan 


james griffiths 

champlain 

college 

emily hardin 


jessica hodges 

university of 

alabama 

jordan irizarry 

susquehanna 

university 

caroline kearney 

lafayette college 

charlie khachian 

rensselaer polytechnic 

institute 




jared kindy 


ann labine 


university 

soyoung lee 

university of 

connecticut 

claire linegar 

rutgers university 

tommy lyons 

mount saint mary 

college 

kyle mangan 

winthrop 

university 

max kiplinger 


dillon lareau 

carnegie mellon 

university 

geoff leeker 

wake forest 

university 

greg lirot 

university of 

maine 

katie maccarone 

university of 

vermont 

kaitlin marino 

stetson university 

cammie kirby 


colleen large 

tulane university 

greg leeker 


rebecca liu 


tommy maclean 

university of 

connecticut 

olivia markham 

connecticut 

college 

felicia knise 

james madison 

university 

michael lauer 

abby leinroth 

the university of 

chicago 

brian love 


jon magnusson 

university of 

richmond 

drita marku 

norwalk cc 

kevin koenitzer 

the george 

washington u 

justin lee 

michigan state 

university 

kristina lew 

fordham 

university 

cameron luttrell 

smu 

dac maguire 

plymouth state 

university 

stephanie marrie 

bryn mawr college 

victoria kominek 

university of 

vermont 

matt lee 


catherine lincoln 

middlebury 

college 

caitlin lyden 

university of 

north carolina 

seymur 

mammadov 

u of maine 

ryan martin 

clemson 

university 

kiriko masek 

bucknell 

university 

patrick mcdonald 

loomis chaffee 

ryan minion 

providence 

college 

tim murphy 

gettysburg 

college 

katie nolan 

clemson 

university 

emily olsen 

university of 

wisconsin 

case matheis 

duke university 

mike mcguinness 

university of 

alabama 

rashad mitchell 

tyler murray 

saint joseph’s 

university 

alex norelli 

university of 

south carolina 

meredith ott 

bowdoin college 

tyler maul 

norwalk cc 

duncan mcrae 


linda morales 

university of 

tampa 

aastha narula 

university of 

rochester 

tiana noujaim 

fairfield 

university 

michael palmer 

university of 

delaware 

connor mccarthy 

colby college 

natalie metz 

college of the 

holy cross 

marguerite 

morgan 


nicky neville 

university of new 

hampshire 

monica o’brien 

franklin and 


russell palmer 

smu 

devon mccarthy 


haley miller 

bowdoin college 

katherine mosher 


tommy nicholls 

university of 

tampa 

brett o’donnell 

catholic 

university 

oscar parsons 


kelly mccarthy 

colby college 

bobby minion 


matt mullen 

emerson college 

kelly nicoletti 


smith 

layton o’donnell 

naropa university 

kyle pasquarella 

dean college 




alex pear 

boston college 

samantha 

pleasants 

norwalk cc 

john price 

norwalk cc 

jack rehm 

college of the 

holy cross 

steven rodriguez 

marlon sandovaltuccinardi 

shelby penfield 

university of 

southern ca 

t.t. pollio 


smith 

joe puzio 

gettysburg 

college 

halvor remole 


fernando 

rodriguezbarberet 

chris santomassi 

lynn university 

lauren perry 

gettysburg 

college 

claudia pomponi 

auburn university 

jimmy Quinn 

university of 

new haven 

carly renaud 

university 

of denver 

galen rohn 

brown university 

caroline schau 

the george 

washington u 

grace phelps 

northwestern 

university 

laura powis 


hailey raskovic 

university of 

colorado 

meghan richter 

marist college 

rhiannon ross 

wellesley college 

alex schenck 

university of 

washington 

matt pik 

university of 

virginia 

nina preston 

washington and 

lee university 

james reed 


university 

danny rizzuto 

smu 

max rothston 

south kent school 

nick scott 

endicott college 

scott plank 

sacred heart 

university 

bryan previte 

western new 

england u 

ryan reed 

alex rodriguez 

georgia institute 

of technology 

matt sacco 

purdue university 

sara shaker 


kate shannon 

manahattanville 

college 

madison smith 


lizzy steinborn 

fordham 

university 

michael stovall 

bucknell 

university 

samantha testa 

university of 

arizona 

emily tropsa 

gettysburg 

college 

danielle shindler 

university of 

michigan 

chiaki soejima 


peter steinegger 

pennsylvania 


ryan stracuzzi 

university of 

alabama 

john thacker 

university of 

maryland 

catherine tween 

vassar college 

billy siemers 

university of 

maryland 

amanda sommi 


kevin steinthal 

wake forest 

university 

katie stueber 


addison 

thalhamer 

u of michigan 

melanie tzenova 

fordham 

university 

mark smeland 

norwalk cc 

margot soule 

boston college 

charlett 

stevenson 

u of richmond 

brian sullivan 

johnson and 

wales university 

india tibbetts 


smith 

kellie valente 

high point 

univeristy 

chris smith 


katie southworth 

colby college 

ben stockman 

university of 

colorado 

samantha taylor 

norwalk cc 

gina tomaj 

iona college 

lizzy van ingen 

university of 

georgia 


harlan smith 

university of 

southern ca 

mckinley stauffer 

brigham young 

university 

charles stout 

the george 

washington u 

sarah terhune 

simmons college 

chapin tricarico 

university of 

south carolina 

katie vodola 

university of 

rhode island 




alex von 

stuelpnagel 

u of vermont 

alexa weicker 

st. lawrence 

university 

niya wright 

loyola marymount 

university 

alice wang 

dartmouth 

college 

henry west 


alex yergey 


smith 

christian watson 

royal marines, 

england 

tucker white 

university of 

wisconsin 

leslie yuen 


emily watt 


smith 

stephen wildish 

duke university 

ellen zamsky 

georgetown 

university 

bobby weaver 

princeton 

university 

mitchell wisinski 

texas christian 

university 

billy zeko 

texas christian 

university 

kincade webster 

fordham 

university 

katie witschi 

santa clara 

university 

mike ziga 

parsons the new 

school for design

College? Forget That! - Darien Public Schools

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