Holy Comforter's 8th grade
class of 2015
(71 students in all – our largest to date) graduated from 5 different local high schools (Leon, Lincoln, Chiles, Maclay, and John Paul II Catholic School) and 4 other schools from across the country (Vero Beach, Florida; Ashland, Massachusetts; Asheville, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada). Although the information is still coming to us about scholarships and awards that they have been awarded, we are so proud
of their accomplishments that we could not wait to share it with you.
We’d love to highlight every graduate but here are a few individual stories of high achievements worth sharing:
For the second year in a row, the valedictorian(s) from John Paul II Catholic High School’s are graduates from HCES! Natalie and Savannah Laywell have been announced as co-valedictorians. They both plan to attend the University of Florida as a Florida Academic Scholars. Congratulations to the Laywell sisters!
Each year Wake Forest University awards merit-based scholarships to less than 3% of its first-year applicants. These scholarships are among the highest honors given to Wake Forest students and we are pleased to announce that Carsyn Kenny (Leon) is one of those recipients.
Layla Fistos and her family moved to Asheville, North Carolina the summer after her HCES graduation where she enrolled in Enka High School. There, she continued to pursue her passion for Latin, originally instilled by HCES MS teacher Leslie Peebles, which has resulted in her election as the National Junior Classical League Parliamentarian during her senior year. Layla was named valedictorian and has accepted the Presidential Merit Scholarship at Bryn Mawr College, where she plans to major in Classical Studies and minor in Environmental and Arab Studies. She chose Bryn Mawr over acceptances from Duke, Davidson, Emory, Oberlin, Richmond and UNC Chapel Hill Honors College.
Johnny Fitzgerald (Leon) graduated in December and enrolled at the University of Akron, where he will play as a midfielder for Akron’s soccer team. The Zips play in the MAC conference and were ranked 4th overall in the country this past year in Division I play.
Emma McGibany (Leon) has also signed a letter of intent to play soccer for Appalachian State University. Emma earned four varsity letters in soccer and All-Big Bend Conference honors four straight seasons while in high school. In addition, she is the career-leading scorer in Leon Girls Soccer history. Emma was the Winner in the Athletic category for this year’s Best and Brightest.
Ryan Rumana (Maclay) is a National Merit Commended Scholar and has accepted a scholarship to swim for the engineering school Colorado School of Mines. A finalist in the Athletic category for Best and Brightest, Ryan also created a non-profit organization Strokes for Strokes under the umbrella of the TMH HealthCare Foundation during his high school years.
Katherine Resavage (Leon) was the runner up for the Foreign Language category for Best and Brightest and credits HCES Middle School teacher Mrs. Durrance for her love of the Spanish language. She will be a Florida Academic Scholar at the University of Florida and was recently awarded the Childers/Everett scholarship, a student athlete award from Leon County Schools.
Hailey Hobbs (Maclay) was Honorable Mention in the Foreign Language category for Best and Brightest. Hailey accumulated an astonishing 1,039 service hours through her work for Dance Marathon over her four years in high school. She will be attending Florida State University in the fall.
Other HCES Best and Brightest Finalists were:
- Career/Technical: Cole Miller (Maclay)
- Drama & Performing Arts: Holden Crumpler (Maclay)
- English & Language Arts: Natalie Laywell (SJPII)
- Journalism & Media Production: Helen Bradshaw (Maclay) – Honorable Mention, Savannah Laywell (SJPII)
- Leadership: Rasee Bhoola (Chiles)
- Music: Alexis O'Rourke (Maclay) – Honorable Mention
- Technology: Chase Gray (Maclay)
Overall, 80% of the HCES Class of 2015 will graduate with honors from their respective high schools.
Statistics by School:
- Leon High School has 32 of our graduates; 27 are graduating with honors: 7 summa cum laude, 4 magna cum laude; 3 cum laude; 4 with honors and 9 with distinction.
At Leon High School, our HCES graduates represent only 6% of the Leon High School Senior Class, yet they represent 24% of those graduating summa cum laude and 20% graduating magna cum laude.
- Lincoln High School has 3 of our graduates: 1 is graduating cum laude.
- Chiles High School has 8 of our graduates; 6 are graduating with honors: 1 summa cum laude, 3 magna cum laude, 1 with honors and 1 commended scholar.
- Maclay School has 18 of our graduates and 15 will be graduating with honors. (Maclay does not distinguish summa, magna and cum laude graduates)
- John Paul II Catholic School has 3 of our graduates; 2 will graduate summa cum laude and 1 cum laude.
The list of college acceptances is long, but we know that the matriculation list includes, but is not limited to: Appalachian State University, Auburn University, Bryn Mawr College, Catholic University of America, College ofCharleston, Colorado School of Mines, Emory University, Florida State University, Furman University, Indian River State College, Loyola University Maryland, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Regis University, Rollins College, Santa Fe College, Tallahassee Community College, Texas Christian University, University of Akron, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of the South – Sewanee and Wake Forest University.
Congratulations to the HCES Class of 2015! We know that their formative years at Holy Comforter set them apart from their peers and inspired them to Be the Difference during their high school career.