January 2023

Young Alumnae share their college experiences with the Class of 2023

Pictured left to right: Giovanna Valeriano '22, Doris Prela '22, Ayya Omar '22 and Cheyenne Gonzalez '20 

Young alumnae returned to St. Catharine’s in early January to talk with seniors about their college experiences and give advice for how to make the most of their senior year.

Doris Prela ‘22, who is majoring in architecture at New York Institute of Technology, is part of the American Architecture Student Association. The club gives her access to firm tours, mentors and more. 

Doris says AP opportunities and helpful guidance counselors with scholarship advice helped put her on the fast track in college, allowing her to already take a number of electives. She points to art teacher Ms. Deborah Ross and STEM teacher Mrs. Sheree Petrignani as especially helpful in preparing her for the classes she is taking at NYIT. 

Giovanna Valeriano ‘22, who is a resident student at SUNY Cortlandt, also credits St. Catharine’s with her preparing her well because she took courses in the St. John’s program while still at SCA. “Since I took Spanish, College Writing, and Public Speaking, I didn't have to take them in college and saved a ton of money,” she says. At SUNY Cortland, Giovanna is also a member of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) Club, which focuses on all things related to communication disorders, speech pathology and audiologists. 

Cheyenne Gonzalez ‘20 is majoring in forensic psychology with a cyber crime minor at John Jay College. “What I love most about my current experience is the connections I made with a lot of people,” she says. “As someone who started my college experience through virtual classes, I especially appreciate joining a sorority or clubs and putting myself out there.”

Ayya Omar ‘22 is a commuter at Fordham University majoring in business administration. She says being active in campus clubs such the Muslim Student Association and the Fordham University South Asian Entity, have helped her build many friendships. Looking back at her SCA years, she says, “SCA academically prepared me for college by training me to manage multiple deadlines at the same time. While at SCA, I took a lot of AP classes and honors classes so I learned how to juggle studying for exams, writing papers, completing homework and projects while also having other responsibilities.”

When it came to advice, the panelists said to make the most of their time in college and to make sure they took care of themselves too. Students should give themselves time to adjust.

“Enjoy every minute of senior year,” Ayya concludes. “Although it may be hectic and stressful, the memories you will make at SCA will soon come to an end and thus, it is important to live in the moment and appreciate the people around you. So, have fun and celebrate how far you've come these past four years!”

Young alumnae returned for a brunch while on break between college semesters.

Book Club binds readers together

The Book Club brings students, faculty, administrators and staff together to read and discuss books throughout the year. Ms. Helen Rieke, guidance counselor, says the club began after she and a student talked about how much they enjoyed reading. “So basically it was from an innocent conversation about our connection with the books we read that I asked to become the moderator of Book Club.”

Ms. Rieke explains that students who are part of the club are interested in books that are beyond their assigned books from English class. She says members of the club vote monthly on books suggested by the students and the book with the most votes is the one everyone reads for discussion.

So far, the club has read Clap When you Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Currently, the club is reading I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy.

Leah R. '25 says she enjoys reading but her schedule makes it hard to find the time. Book Club helps her focus on at least one book a month. For the current book. Leah observes, "I like how Jennette tells anecdotes and writes in the perspective of whatever age she is writing from as if the events are currently happening."

Mrs. Nancy Diaz-Crespo, SCA database specialist/prospect research manager, says “I joined the club because I enjoy reading and having everyone come together, sharing their thoughts on the books, and listening to everyone's perspective.”

Two students participated in the

Harvard Student Academies

Pictured Jasmine C. and Brianna R.

Brianna R. '24 and Jasmine C. '24 attended Harvard Student Academies in November. The mission of the Academies is to provide high school students with opportunities that "transcend the classroom topics." They joined students from around the globe and worked with Harvard undergraduate instructors.

Both students, who are co-captains of the SCA Robotics team, took a two-day intensive Intro to Python Program class. They have already worked with Python coding in the Advanced Robotics class at St. Catharine's.

"Being selected to participate in the Harvard Student Academies program was an amazing learning experience in which I was able to brush up my knowledge and skills in python programming," Brianna says. "I'm always looking for programs and opportunities to learn and improve myself in coding and programming, and the HSA program did such a great job at providing that. The instructors were so helpful and the tasks given were able to both refresh and challenge me."

Calling the opportunity a privilege, Jasmine says, “Within two days, I was capable of enhancing my skills in software and programming. Having kind and patient instructors enabled me to do my best and become more confident, since software engineering is what I wish to pursue in the future.”

Read more about the Harvard Academies experience in the next Pathways.

Robotics team wins

Judges Award at Vex Competition

In its second competition of the year, the Robotics Team won the Judges Award at the Vex Competition on Long Island. Mrs. Sheree Petrignani, said she heard from Judges that "the team aced their engineering interviews and notebooks and drove flawlessly. They were also extremely impressed with their eight design revisions, knowledge of drive trains, physics, eagle wing expansions, and passion for competing."

Co-captain, Brianna R. said, "Winning the Judges Award was such a gratifying experience for the whole team. It was a form of validation and encouragement in our efforts to do the very best we can with the resources we are given. Since it was only our second competition of the season, winning this award proved that we are on the right track for success....We hope to continue winning more awards and establish ourselves as formidable forces."

Watch social media for updates on their competitions.

Basketball teams update:

Varsity on a roll

The Varsity Basketball team is on a roll with 11 wins and 2 losses so far this season. Their league record is 5 wins and 2 losses, with 5 league games left to play. The JV has 2 wins and 4 losses with 5 games left to play.

Watch social media for updates.

Career Fair 2023