Class of 2021 Academic Achievements
Academics
Chick Evans Scholars
Marist High School is proud to announce seniors have received the prestigious Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship. Daniel Gillerlain, Cesar Gaona, Sarah Hughes, Josiah Harris and Ryan Rosenberg were recently notified of the award. 2020 graduate Robert Sheerin was also awarded.
Gillerlain (pictured above, left), a St. John Fisher graduate, has caddied at Ridge Country Club for five years. He has been a three-sport athlete while at Marist, participating in golf, baseball, and bowling. He has managed an Advanced Placement (AP) and honors course load. His top two college choices are Indiana University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). He plans to major in finance.
Hughes, who attended Queen of Martyrs, has caddied for four years at Beverly Country Club. She has balanced her AP and honors academic work with her participation in cross country, track, student council, student ambassadors, broadcasting club, and the National Honor Society. Her list of potential colleges includes University of Wisconsin-Madison, Indiana University, Marquette University, and University of Colorado Boulder.
Rosenberg, a graduate of Most Holy Redeemer, has caddied at Beverly Country Club for four years. At Marist, he has played football, volleyball, and rugby. He also carried an honors and AP course load, while serving as a student ambassador and student council member. Rosenberg is considering University of Colorado Boulder, Miami University (Ohio), The Ohio State University, and UIUC, where he plans to pursue pre-medical studies.
Harris is a caddy at Merit Country Club in Libertyville, Ill. He is considering Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Michigan State University for college in the fall. He plans to major in mechanical or civil engineering. While at Marist, he has been a member of the football and track and field teams. He is an HFS Chicago Scholar and Daniel Murphy Scholar; both are organizations that provide support, programming, and scholarships for students at Chicagoland Catholic high schools. He volunteers at the St. Blase Catholic Church soup kitchen in Summit, Ill.
Sheerin will start his seventh caddie season this summer at Ridge Country Club. A freshman at Purdue University, he is in the First-Year Engineering program and plans to go into aerospace engineering. Though activities on campus have been curtailed due to the pandemic, he did join the Purdue Space Program Solids team which is mainly virtual this year but will expand next year. While at Marist, Sheerin was involved in ultimate Frisbee and EVOLVE club, which celebrates diversity and promotes inclusivity.
Marist High School boasts 189 Chick Evans Scholars in its school history. The Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship provides full tuition and college housing for golf caddies, and is renewable for up to four years. To be eligible to apply for the scholarship, all applicants must have a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need, and outstanding character. Applicants are evaluated and compete on the above criteria for the limited number of awards given annually.
Math Team Finishes Seventh in State
Marist’s math team competed in the ICTM Math Regional/State Competition from March 16 to March 18. The entire Marist Math Team was recognized as finishing seventh overall in state, continuing an incredible run of yearly top 10 finishes in the state of Illinois.
At the regional level, the team captured first place finishes in Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus, Freshman/Sophomore 8-Person, Junior-Senior 8-Person, and Calculator. This was a sweep of all of the levels of competition. Individual achievements were earned by: freshmen Michael Alfano (1st) and Andy Viz (2nd), sophomores Moira McKee (1st), Sean Grobarcik (1st), Quinn Richards (3rd), and Walter Fleming (4th), juniors Brae Sanchez (1st) and Brian Winstead (4th), and seniors Caitlin McGrath (1st), Tommy Kavanaugh (1st), and Jack Vulich (3rd).
At the state level, the Geometry team of McKee, Grobarcik, Richards, and Fleming finished in sixth. The freshman-sophomore eight-person also earned a 10th place finish at the state level.
Earlier this year, the senior squad had an impressive showing at the prestigious Loyola Math Teachers’ Association contest. The team is coached by long-time Marist math instructors Mr. Owen Glennon and Mr. Jeff Nicholson ’81.
Journalists Succeed at State
Marist High School’s Sentinel newspaper staff wrapped up a banner year with accolades at the IHSA state competition including senior PJ Cunningham (pictured) capturing the state title in caption writing. He is the first state champion for Marist since the IHSA has offered a journalism state series. He also placed third in state in headline writing while senior Matthew Warakomski placed fourth in state in review writing. Marist finished in a three-way tie as a team for eighth place at state. The event was held virtually on April 24 with Marist journalists competing from their newspaper headquarters at the school.
Earlier in April, RedHawk journalists competed virtually in the IHSA sectional journalism competition and seven students advanced to the state finals in nine categories. This is the greatest number of RedHawks to advance to state in program history.
At the sectional level, Cunningham was a dual sectional champion in both caption writing and headline writing. Senior Grace Molenhouse was a sectional champion in advertising and took third place in editorial cartooning. Senior Julia Reedy took second place in editorial writing. Warakomski took third place in review writing. Junior Delaney Powers took third place in copy editing. Junior Billy McNicholas took third place in sports writing. Sophomore Emma Fishback took second place in copy writing. Also placing at sectionals were senior Isabella Schreck, taking fifth place in feature writing, and junior Faith Harper, taking fourth place in photo story telling. Senior Emma Jamison, a talented writer, competed in news writing. The RedHawks tied for third place as a team.
Senior Wins Design Contest
Marist High School senior Angel Ortiz won a sneaker design contest sponsored by the College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit, Mich., garnering him a scholarship to the school’s Precollege Sneaker Design Summer Camp.
Ortiz learned about the design contest from a CCS admissions representative visiting Marist in early 2020. The inspiration for his design was a turtle shell and the challenge of creating a fully recyclable sneaker made out of waste products from the ocean. The design will not be revealed until after the summer program. It will be part of Ortiz’s own line of sneaker clothing products under the brand name SneakerNerds.
At Marist, Ortiz took Photography I and 2, and since winning the contest took design classes at CCS as they were offered online. He will attend the University of Oregon in the fall, majoring in business and minoring in product design.
Ortiz is waiting for a final decision on whether the summer program will be held in-person or online due to COVID-19. He hopes it will be in person, but says the online courses he has taken with the school have offered a great experience. “I got to meet designers that were former Adidas and Nike designers,” Ortiz said. “We worked on a project that they assigned which was designing a sneaker for your favorite athlete.”
Six students won the scholarship for the summer program. The three-week program gives high school students the chance to prepare for CCS’s Product Design program where graduates have gone on to work for Nike, Adidas, and Puma.
Senior Earns Butler University Scholarship
Marist High School is proud to announce that senior Brooke Arundel was awarded the Butler University Chicago Partnership Award, a four-year, full-tuition scholarship.
Arundel, has been a part of the HFS Chicago Scholars program during her high school years, which is an organization that provides mentorship, college readiness support, and academic excellence programs. She has been deeply involved in community activities, especially with floChicago, a youth development organization. She is a member of the National Honor Society and has served as the Marist softball team manager since freshman year.
HFS nominated Arundel for the scholarship which is open to students from the Chicagoland area. She had to have a 3.2 cumulative grade point average, participate in an interview, and meet other requirements.
Arundel credits her family for teaching her to value education. “[Education] is my opportunity for more,” she said. “While in college, I get the chance to be independent, learn about the field I am passionate about, and experience a whole new environment. None of those things would be possible without my academic experiences. Arundel plans to major in accounting during college and hopes to work for one of the “big four” firms upon graduation.
Senior Named To All-Academic Team
Marist High School is proud to announce that senior Thomas Kavanaugh has been selected as a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) 2020-21 All-State Academic Team. The 26-member team includes 13 male and 13 female honorees and represents the IHSA’s top academic honor. They were chosen from a group that included hundreds of students throughout the state.
Kavanaugh (Oak Lawn) served as the captain of the Marist cross country team and also competes in track and field in the spring. He is a member of the school’s decorated math team. His list of potential colleges includes Marquette University, Vanderbilt University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Purdue University. He plans to major in finance or engineering.
“This is an incredible honor for Tommy, who has worked hard in every facet of high school life,” explained Marist Principal Dr. Kathryn Baal. “He should be very proud of his hard work and commitment.”
Every IHSA member school was invited to nominate one female student and one male student by the February deadline. Nominees needed to possess a minimum 3.50 grade point average on 4.0 scale after their 7th semester, have participated in at least two IHSA sponsored sports or activities during each of the last two years and demonstrated outstanding citizenship.
The nominations were evaluated by a committee made up of IHSA principals, representatives of the Illinois Activities Directors Association, and representatives of the Illinois Athletic Directors Association. One male winner and one female winner from each of the seven IHSA Board of Directors Divisions were selected initially, while the final 12 spots on the team were then rounded out with at-large candidates from anywhere in the state.
