Crestwood Middle School students participated in a recent peace poster contest sponsored by the JLW Mountain Laurel Lions Club. The theme of the contest was ‘Bringing Peace To the World, Through One Child at a Time.’ Students expressed the theme by creating a poster without words. Participating students, first row, are Zach Taney, Kelli Mickowski, Marissa Surdy and Nicole Jankowski. Second row: Kira Hoch, Kristi Bowman, Taylor Dean and Jessica Clifford. Third row: Olivia Jankowski, Stephanie Maichin and Christine Maichin.
French and Spanish and Latin, too — with American Sign Language thrown in for good measure. Mary Jeanne Brenholts has studied them all, and loved every minute of it. With award-winning language skills and a desire to teach her native tongue after she leaves Holy Redeemer High School, Brenholts is Best & Brightest in Foreign Languages.
Foreign languages are Baran’s forte
Habersky takes global approach to learning
The study of Spanish extends beyond the
Anastasia R. Baran
Mary Jeanne Brenholts
Elena M. Habersky
Jennifer Perillo
Gina Sabatini’s writing proficiency isn’t heralded by essay contest wins and awards. It shows in the way she expresses herself and the way she intends to use her abilities when she leaves Wyoming Area Secondary Center. For recognizing the power of the written word, Sabatini is Best & Brightest in English & Literature.
Heil’s tale of success is pure poetry
Van Leuven writing her own success story
Chellsie Heil
Gina Sabatini
Holly Van Leuven
“My favorite quote is: ‘Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one’,” said Crestwood High School’s David Waskie. “I like this quote (from Bill Gates) because I feel that the stereotypical nerd is no longer so, rather today’s ‘nerds’ are the highly educated, intellectual leaders of tomorrow’s business and industry.” By that definition, Waskie will soon be the nerd for whom others labor. With great grades and his passion for designing things that work, Waskie engineered status as Best & Brightest in the Computers & Technology category.
Diefenderfer gears career towards robotics
Webmaster Wood excels
Philip Diefenderfer
David Waskie
Ryan Wood
School: E.L. Meyers High School
Gilligan wants to lead through politics and teaching
Junior leader Carlson has a White House wish
Merryman’s got a passion for peace
Ziobro prepares for historical career
Eric Bella
Erik Carlson
Jillian Casey
Kathryn Corgan
Mary Kathryn (Molly) Gilligan
Claire Gothreau
CIVICS: Lisman epitome of model citizen
Alexandra Mazaleski
Juliann Merryman
Justin Michael Pierce
Bryan Poepperling
Leann Ziobro
A first-grader’s picture was the earliest clue to Jacqueline Nowakowski’s talent and passion. The picture featured a rooster in the foreground and a small, bright red barn in the background with a long winding road between the two. From her first days in the Wyoming Area School District, Nowakowski drew in perspective, and her perspective and passion made her Best & Brightest in Art.
Lange finds beauty in every moment
Taylor draws closer to her goal
Erica Lange
Ryan Jeffrey Leas
Jacqueline Nowakowski
Stephanie Price
Emily Taylor
The Entrepreneur — that’s what Linnae Aufiere’s Wyoming Area Secondary Center classmates call her. They’ve seen her working her own business, keeping the books for another and enthusiastically taking on the kind of accounting and business classes from which many kids run. Aufiere isn’t just planning for a career in business, she’s already started one, and the complete and enthusiastic way she’s setting the stage for her future made Aufiere Best & Brightest in Business Skills.
Dzugan has broken into the business world
Star business pupil Kocher shines brightly
Sacco profits from real-world experience
Langan makes hard work her business
Linnae Marita Aufiere
Jessica Dzugan
Amanda Kocher
Maria Langan
Carly Sacco
When Joseph O’Hara was just 8 years old, he went to Wyoming Valley West’s swimming pool for practice. Stuck to the locker room door was this quote: “Success requires the VISION to see, the FAITH to believe, and the COURAGE to do.” With vision, faith and courage, O’Hara went from the little boy at swim practice to a standout in the pool and Best & Brightest in Athletics.
Amy’s got a stick-to-it attitude
Kolojejchick taking her best shot
McGuiness melds academics, athletics
Perseverance pays off for McGinley
Kelsey Taylor Amy
Jessica Anderson
Candice Bittner
Eric Bogumil
James Bresnahan
Jordan Britt
Amy Cheesman
Tyler Cowman
Alyssa Flanagan
Shane Gavrish
Kyley Henry
Katrina Heintz
Bruno Iriarte
Jill Jackson
Kelsey Kolojejchick
Amanda Kuhl
Jill Kushner
Elyse Laneski
Jacob Lehnowsky
Rebecca Lipski
Thomas Lisofsky
Katrina Ashley Lynn
Gabriele Malishchak
Lauren McGinley
William McGuiness
Robert Micikas
Joseph O’Hara
Shauna Phillips
Alena Polenska
Grant Rowlands
Kayla Marie Rutkoski
Allison Scalzo
Kevin Sochovka
Laura Wingert
Rachel Zomerfeld
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: Hazleton Area High School
Amanda Shonk has been a bear for peace — literally. Part of her volunteer efforts with the children’s Peace Camp called for her to don a huge, furry Corduroy the Bear costume in the heat of summer and allow herself to be patted and petted by the young campers. It was a task she gladly performed and just one example of the efforts that made her a finalist in Service to the Community.
School: Dallas High School
School: Berwick, Area Senior High School
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: Crestwood High School
George Brady had one of the toughest possible introductions to science: he’s had to confront not one but two life-altering, chronic health issues. But the Wyoming Valley West standout took what others might have seen as handicaps and turned them into an impetus for learning, and he did it so well that he’s a finalist in Science & Environment.
School: Lake-Lehman Junior Senior High School
Many seniors want to be teachers, but not many know for a fact that they will love it and be good at it. Thomas Bassett does. That’s because he’s spent his time at Lake-Lehman Junior/Senior High School not just making music but teaching it as well. The way he’s improved his own abilities and those of his students made Bassett a finalist in Music.
Good journalists are usually thought of as strong writers, but Jennifer Naro knows there’s more to putting out a publication than writing. The behind-the-scenes work is what makes the writers’ work look good, and the level of responsibility she’s taken on for production of Wyoming Valley West’s school newspaper and yearbook made Naro Best & Brightest in Journalism.
School: E.L. Meyers High School
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: Wyoming Seminary
She’s a published poet and the winner of several essay contests, but for Nicole Pierson, it was Pittston Area High School’s Patriot Press that really gave her writing skills a work out. As president of the journalism club, it’s been her job to keep the paper running, something she’s done well enough to become a finalist in Journalism.
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: Holy Redeemer High School
School: Wyoming Seminary
School: Lake-Lehman Junior Senior High School
School: Lake-Lehman Junior Senior High School
Katilyn Viti really likes math and numbers. But once she gave journalism a chance, she found a new way to express herself — and a new area of expertise. In less than two years, she’s won honors for her skills with Hanover Area Junior/Senior High School’s newspaper and its yearbook and made herself a finalist in Journalism.
School: Berwick Area Senior High School
School: Hanover Area Junior/Senior High School
School: E.L. Meyers High School
School: Wyoming Seminary
Math confuses some people, but never Brian Miller. In his time at James M. Coughlin High School, he’s learned to count on it.
School: Hanover Area Junior/Senior High School
School: Greater Nanticoke Area High School
School: Greater Nanticoke Area High School
He’s been the captain of a number of high school teams, but Jonathan Schall and his teammates don’t lift weights to practice, they crack open their books. And under Schall’s leadership, his Wyoming Area Secondary Center teammates have racked up awards in challenging academic competitions across the region, the state and the nation. For leading his team to victory in dozens of science competitions over the last four years, Schall is a finalist in Science & Environment.
School: Pittston Area High School
Julie Zafia loves a challenge. That’s why she likes math. But it’s the way she’s taken on challenges in so many areas that made the G.A.R. Memorial High School senior a finalist in Mathematics.
School: Dallas High School
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: Hanover Area Junior Senior High School
School: Crestwood High School
In Nickolas Julian’s book, dedication + hard work = success. It’s a formula that led to success in so much of his Marian Catholic High School career, from academics to athletics to volunteering. He’s excelled in many things, but it was his exemplary efforts in math class that made him a finalist in Mathematics.
Science is both fun and the future for Geralyn Cross. After mastering all James M. Coughlin High School’s science courses in outstanding fashion, she’s planning a career that will make the pursuit of the sciences her life.
School: Berwick Area Senior High School
School: E.L. Meyers High School
For almost half her life, Stephanie Wilkie’s teachers have told her she’s a good writer. For the last six years, she’s put that talent to use on her school newspaper. Along the way, she’s racked up great grades and left her mark on James M. Coughlin High School in other ways as well. But her contributions to the school’s paper were groundbreaking and made her a finalist in Journalism.
School: Northwest Area High School
School: Marian Catholic High School
School: West Side Career and Technology Center
School: Greater Nanticoke Area High School
School: Marian Catholic High School
School: Tunkhannock Area High School
School: Marian Catholic High School
Alexis Kuzma wanted everyone at Dallas High School to enjoy dancing as much as she does. To that end, she drew on her nine years of dance lessons and established a dance team at the school. It’s just one of the accomplishments that made her Best & Brightest in Performing Arts.
Joshua Gallagher has been acting since he was in fifth grade. So when he learned Berwick Area Senior High School didn’t have a drama club, Gallagher got to work. Within a year, the school had a club — with Gallagher himself serving as a lead actor and director.
School: Marian Catholic High School
When a fidgety, restless Christopher Brozena couldn’t sit still, his first-grade teacher put him to work cleaning up the classroom and passing out papers. Now in the last days of his academic career at Wyoming Valley West High School, he still spends his free time usefully and earned a spot among the finalists in Service to the Community.
Just reading about Lauren Bilski’s week of dance lessons and practices is enough to make legs ache. She spends close to nine hours a week in dance lessons, not counting the classes she teaches. Then there’s an hour each morning with the E. L. Meyers High School marching band color guard, and twice a week rehearsals for Without Walls Modern Dance and the practice, practice, practice it takes to make all those routines perfect. With all those hours devoted to her passion, Bilski danced her way to finalist in Performing Arts.
School: Lake-Lehman Junior Senior High School
School: Tunkhannock Area High School
School: Wyoming Seminary
School: Northwest Area High School
He’s a forensics champion, captain of the E.L. Meyers golf team and class president. His excellence in these activities will serve John Lisman well in a future career in law, but it’s his participation in organizations such as Junior Leadership Wilkes-Barre and the Wilkes-Barre Junior City Council that made Lisman a finalist in the Civics category.
Gilligan wants to lead through politics and teaching
Junior leader Carlson has a White House wish
Merryman’s got a passion for peace
Ziobro prepares for historical career
CIVICS: Lisman epitome of model citizen
Erik Carlson
Juliann Merryman
Leann Ziobro
The Times Leader Best & Brightest awards event marks its 15th anniversary this year, celebrating the academic and community accomplishments of area high school seniors. Local students ranked within the top 10 percent of their schools compete for a Best & Brightest trophy as well as a $1,000 scholarship from the Times Leader within the following categories: Arts, Athletics, Business Skills, Civics, Computers & Technology, English & Literature, Mathematics, Music, Foreign Languages, Journalism, Performing Arts, Science & Environment, Service to the Community, and Vocational & Technical Skills. These students are our area’s finest, excelling within the classroom, as well as with senior projects, volunteer efforts in the community and in extra-curricular activities. They are honored for their achievements at an annual awards ceremony and within the pages of The Times Leader’s Best & Brightest special edition. The Times Leader is proud to present NEPA’s Best & Brightest area high school seniors of 2009.
Jennifer Kelly loves her school and wants others to love it, too. That’s why she worked hard on a recruiting video to show potential students all that West Side Career and Technology Center has to offer. Her dedication to documenting school life on film made her a finalist in Vocational & Technical Skills.
School: E.L. Meyers High School
School: Berwick Area Senior High School
School: Tunkhannock Area High School
School: Dallas High School
School: Hazleton Area High School
School: E.L. Meyers High School
School: Berwick Area Senior High School
School: Greater Nanticoke Area High School
School: Weatherly Area High School
School: James M. Coughlin High School
School: Lake-Lehman Junior Senior High School
Musicians and non-musicians alike know the prestige of playing in Carnegie Hall. John Prater did it — when he was 8 years old.
ART
School: Greater Nanticoke Area High School
School: Wyoming Area High School
School: E.L. Meyers High School
School: Dallas High School
School: Pittston Area High School
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: James M. Coughlin High School
School: E.L.Meyers High School
Anyone who thinks learning can’t be fun never worked with Amy Malishchak. In her years with Northwest Area High School’s Odyssey of the Mind team, she’s made a 20-foot castle and a mechanical cow that makes milkshakes. In a society that constantly seeks to be shocked or awed, Malishchak’s creative talents can take her far and made her Best & Brightest in the Vocational & Technical Skills category.
School: Riverside Junior Senior High School
School: Crestwood High School
School: Hanover Area Junior Senior High School
School: James M. Coughlin High School
School: Lake-Lehman Junior Senior High School
School: James M. Coughlin High School
Timothy Accurso recalls the day he learned he would represent Greater Nanticoke Area High School at the Pennsylvania Music Educators District Chorus for the first time. Not only had he made it as a piano accompanist, he had scored high enough on his audition to sing with the chorus as well. It wasn’t the last time his talent took him to districts and beyond, and now Accurso can add another note to his chorus of accomplishments: Best & Brightest in Music.
School: Crestwood High School
School: Crestwood High School
When people hear Joshua Niznik’s name, they immediately think of music. He’s been involved in music at Holy Redeemer High School in just about every way possible, and he’s excelled at it. From singing to playing an instrument to acting in school musicals, Niznik’s mastery made him a finalist in Music.
School: Crestwood High School
School: Elmer L. Meyers High School
She’s presented papers on bleach, adrenaline and twins. She’s studied genetics and heredity and taken tests to prove her mastery of those subjects. She’s scrubbed up to witness the birth of a baby by C-section and put mice on glucose pumps. And she’s done all this before she’s even graduated from Crestwood High School.
School: Crestwood High School
It was an 11th grade physics class that stole Rachael Clark’s heart. While others might run from advanced math classes, Clark intends to make them part of her future. Her enthusiasm for the subject made the Berwick Area Senior High student a finalist in Mathematics.
School: Lake-Lehman Junior Senior High School
Matthew Boyle was leaving Lake-Lehman Junior Senior High School with a piece of furniture when a teacher stopped him and asked where he got it. Boyle told her he built the Amish-style cabinet but had done such a good job that the teacher didn’t believe him. The woodworking skills Boyle perfected have filled his home with beautiful projects and made him a finalist in Vocational & Technical Skills.
School: Hanover Area Junior/Senior High School
The Times Leader launched the Best & Brightest program in 1994 to recognize high school seniors who have excelled academically and contributed to the community. Here’s a look at how the program works:
School: Weatherly Area High School
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
He’s scored a perfect 800 on the math and physics portions of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and won a full scholarship for his problem-solving ability. But perhaps the main reason Wyoming Valley West’s Michael Pretko is a finalist in Mathematics is this: he solves problems even when he doesn’t have to.
School: E.L. Meyers High School
Celia Hottenstein can act. She can sing. She can play the cello, too. She’s represented Wyoming Valley West High School well at numerous prestigious competitions, but she’s also used her talents to help educate teens about the tragedy of suicide.
School: Dallas High School
School: E.L. Meyers High School
At some point during his days at Wyoming Valley West, Justin Roote discovered he was a jack-of-all-trades — good at math, good at science, good at just about anything he tried.
School: Berwick Area Senior High School
School: Wyoming Seminary
School: Wyoming Seminary
School: Crestwood High School
School: Mount Saint Joseph Academy
Becoming the co-editor-in-chief of the longest continually published high school newspaper could have been intimidating. Instead, Amanda Moorhead stepped up to the challenge and helped make James M. Coughlin High School’s Journal the best it’s been in it’s more than 110- year history. For her publishing leadership, Moorhead is a finalist in Journalism.
School: Pittston Area High School
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: Lake-Lehman Junior Senior High School
School: Lake-Lehman Junior/Senior High School
School: E.L. Meyers High School
School: Holy Redeemer High School
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School: Wyoming Valley West High School
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School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: Dallas Area High School
School: Wyoming Seminary
School: G.A.R. Memorial High School
School: G.A.R. Memorial High School
School: Wyoming Valley West High School
School: Dallas High School
School: Hanover Area Junior/Senior High School
Jillian Dunn has been an Irish step dancer most of her life and worked hard enough at it that, for the last four years, she’s taught others. And when one of her fellow dancers and friends fell seriously ill, Dunn organized a benefit performance, dedicating months of work to the project. It was just one of the many volunteer efforts that made Dunn a finalist in Service to the Community.
School: Holy Redeemer High School
School: Holy Redeemer High School
School: Wyoming Seminary
Jeffrey Hamilton doesn’t miss too many opportunities to do good for his community. His determination to serve those in and around the Holy Redeemer High School community made Hamilton a finalist in Service to the Community.
ASHLEY – Most high school seniors learn about other cultures through the Internet or books.