By Nancy Kriz
TUXEDO — Graduation season is upon us, and as has been The Photo News’ tradition for many years, we are pleased to present the top graduates of the Tuxedo and Monroe-Woodbury school districts.
Though it’s the smallest high school in Orange County, students at George F. Baker High School will say its graduates have huge scholastic accomplishments.
Cheers to these top Baker graduates:
1. Arik Mozejko 97.14
2. Jeremy Dedel 94.83
3. Emily Atkinson 93.64
4. Karla Lopez 92.30
5. Emily Dowling 91.30
6. Dylan Leo 90.85
7. Vasilis Lymberis 89.90
8. Matthew Leo 89.83
9. Alexandra Garcia 89.32
10. Joanna Cichon 88.85
1. Arik Mozejko 97.14 This upcoming fall, Mozejko will attend Stony Brook University with a Presidential Scholarship. He is also the recipient of the Valedictorian Scholarship, the New York State Scholarship for Academic Excellence, and will graduate with a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation with Honors and mastery in Math and Science. Currently, he plans to major in physics with a concentration in astrophysics and minor in mathematics. After his undergraduate education, he will continue to pursue higher education in graduate school. Mozejko is the current treasurer of both the National Honor Society and Student Council. He has played both JV and Varsity level soccer and has received the prestigious Scholar Athlete Award. Over these past four years he has been a part of many clubs, including the Math Team, Bowling Club, and Tech Club. He is the technical overseer of the Tech Club, and has helped with the management of several productions, including Seussical the Musical, The Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast, and Haunted Hallways. Three Saturdays a month, Mozejko volunteers at a local soup kitchen to help those in need. He has also recently interned at a local toy company as part of his STEM curriculum to help design new products for younger children.
2. Jeremy Dedel 94.83 Jeremy Dedel will attend Manhattan College this fall where he was awarded the highest recognition available to students for his academic achievement. He plans on pursing computer science as his college major and during his spare time will join Manhattan’s Jazz Club. This year, Dedel was also awarded a scholarship through New York State Education Department’s 2017 Academic Excellence for his overall regents score average. During his time at George F. Baker High School, Dedel has taken the most academically challenging course load available. He is a current member of Tuxedo’s Jazz ensemble and Tuxedo’s Band, where he plays both the piano and trombone. He is a highly regarded member of Tuxedo’s Production Team, a member of the National Honor Society, and president of Student Council. This year, he is completing an internship at Live Technologies.
3. Emily Atkinson 93.64Emily Atkinson will attend the University of New Haven this fall. She plans to major in marine biology. Atkinson has participated in many of the school’s musical productions, including Seussical, Guys and Dolls, Music Man, and Brigadoon. She is currently serving as secretary for the National Honor Society. Atkinson played JV soccer her freshman year and varsity soccer her sophomore year. She has also played club soccer since she was seven, currently as a member of the Monroe- Woodbury Soccer Club. Since 6th grade, she has volunteered at the Tuxedo Public Library. In her freshman and sophomore years, she volunteered at the Tuxedo Recreation Summer Camp. Atkinson has been awarded the American Legion School Award for high honors in courage, leadership, patriotism, and service.
4. Karla Lopez 92.30 Karla Lopez Granillo will be attending John Jay College for Criminal Justice in New York, majoring in political science and minoring in English. During her time at George F. Baker High School she has been involved in many school activities, such as playing varsity basketball, varsity cross country, and fitness club. She served as president of the Student Council and president of the National Honor Society. She has been involved in the local community, volunteering at the Tuxedo Public Library and Good Samaritan Hospital. During Lopez’s senior year, she attended Rockland Community College part time as a head start on her college career and has earned 18 college credits.
5. Emily Dowling 91.30Emily Dowling will be attending The University of Rhode Island in the fall and will major in physical education and health studies. Emily played JV volleyball, JV basketball, varsity volleyball, and varsity basketball throughout high school, and has been on the varsity softball team since 9th grade. She was a captain both her junior and senior years on all of her teams. Her volleyball team went to the state Final Four her senior year. She received the Orange County Scholar Athlete Award, was named to the Section 9 Coaches All-Star Team, as well as Second Team All-State for volleyball. During her 2015 softball season, her team received The Bernie Berman Sportsmanship Award.
6. Dylan Leo 90.85Dylan Leo was a member of Tuxedo’s varsity soccer team, the National Honor Society, Student Council, and Tuxedo’s Tech Crew. Outside of high school, Leo was captain of his travel soccer team, Ramapo Valley Tornadoes. Last year, Leo was awarded the Xerox Scholarship for Innovation and Information Technology from the University of Rochester which recognizes a student who has a strong interest and talent in the pursuit of innovative approaches and an appreciation for the possibilities of technology. This year, Leo pursued his STEM internship hours at Guidecraft, a local toy manufacturing company and has in the past spent hours shadowing Dr. Chuck Stead at the Ramapo Salt Box in the area of environmental studies. This fall, Leo will attend The University of Delaware.
7. Vasilis Lymberis 89.90Vasilis Lymberis will attend Manhattan College in the Bronx this fall and plans on pursuing a degree in business. During his time at George F. Baker he was part of the National Honor Society and helped to organize food/toiletry donation drives in the community. He also participated in Tuxedo’s Tech Crew and was a member of the Tuxedo varsity soccer team. Outside of school, Lymberis was a member of GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth Association) where he volunteered his time at hospitals and retirement facilities. This year, Lymberis pursued his STEM internship hours at LiveTechnology (a website management development company based in Tuxedo) and worked with Wayne Reuvers, company CEO.
8. Matthew Leo 89.83Matthew Leo will be attending the University of Delaware this fall. During his time at George F. Baker High School he was part of the National Honor Society and participated in varsity soccer all four years of high school. He was a member of the high school production team and worked on Guys and Dolls, Seussical, The Wizard of Oz and Beauty and the Beast. He also participated in the STEM job shadowing at LiveTechnology and helped to build a medicine garden in the Ramapo Community with Dr. Chuck Stead. He was awarded a Certificate of Merit through the Town of Ramapo for his assistance in the development of the medicine garden. Throughout high school, Leo was a reliable and sought-after peer tutor
9. Alexandra Garcia 89.32Alexandra Garcia will be attending Texas Christian University in the fall, where she plans on pursuing a business degree. Garcia has been a member of the National Honor Society for two years and currently serves as the vice president. She is also the president of the Student Council. Throughout her entire high school career she has participated in JV softball, JV volleyball and is the co-captain of the varsity team. She also was chosen for the Section 9 All- Star’s team. Garcia helped bring the varsity team to sections twice and her senior year lead them to an outstanding third place victory in states. She has tutored elementary school children in math and Spanish and assisted in organizing the school pep rally. Presently she is dually enrolled at Rockland Community College where she maintains a 3.65 GPA.
10. Joanna Cichon 88.85 Joanna Cichon will be attending the University at Buffalo this fall. She will be majoring in biomedical sciences and hopes to pursue a career in medicine. Cichon is a member of the National Honor Society and has participated in musicals and choir in the 9th and 10th grades. She was part of the Yearbook Club and Prom Committee and played varsity basketball her junior year. Earlier this year she volunteered at The Valley Hospital, and throughout the year she shadowed surgeons at a local ambulatory surgery center.