Londonderry High School recently announced the top 10 seniors based on academic performance. In addition to academics, this group contributed to the school community in many other ways including leadership, music and athletics. Their intended college majors vary, but the majority are interested in science and technology.
All of them have weighted GPAs over 4.4 on a 4.0 scale. At the high school, honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses have one point added to the grade to reflect their greater difficulty. For example, earning a B+ in a standard college prep course equates to a 3.3 GPA, whereas the same grade in an accelerated class yields a 4.3 GPA.
Heather Ricker – Valedictorian. Heather is headed to Skidmore College in New York to double major in Environmental Science and Mathematics with a concentration in Analytics. She also considered going to Northeastern University.
She was a Class Representative and in National Honor Society, where she was treasurer this past year. Also, she rowed for the LHS Club Crew team and was a member of the Quiz Bowl team. She helped with Heal the World, an LHS club that assisted in raising money to build a school in Ahero, Kenya. Twice she donated ten inches of her hair as part of Pantene Beautiful Lengths program that makes wigs for cancer patients.
Caroline Hayes – Salutatorian. Caroline will attend Tufts University in MA after choosing it over College of the Holy Cross and St. Anselm College. She is leaning toward a pre-med major but plans to explore that and other options before making a final decision.
She is a competitive fencer who trains at the Seacoast Fencing Club. In February, she competed in the National Junior Olympics. She started with fencing when she jokingly replied “slaying dragons” to her mother when asked what she wanted to do for a non-school activity. She was also the treasurer of the LHS Rocketry Club and teaches violin to kids.
Jeff Cieslikowski – Third Honors. Jeff is headed to Yale University in CT after choosing it over Dartmouth College. He is considering majoring in physics. Jeff was the senior class President. He played trumpet in the marching band and ran track and cross country for the Lancers. In addition, he helped with the unified track team and was a Big Buddy mentor to an elementary school student.
Richard Chen – Fourth Honors. Richard will attend Case Western Reserve University in OH to study Computer Engineering. He chose that option over being in the Honors Program and the University of Connecticut. At LHS, Richard participated in band, was on the Math Team, and swam for the Lancer varsity swim team.
Jackie Baumann – Fifth Honors. Jackie will enroll at Elon University in NC where she will be one of only thirty in the Business Fellows program. She is leaning toward a Business or Communications major. She played lacrosse and soccer for the Lancers. She was the Prom Chair for the senior class and Historian for National Honor Society. Jackie was also a member of the Math Honor Society.
Carina Pento – Sixth Honors. Carina will be in the nursing program at the University of New Hampshire, where she will also be in the Honor’s Program. She was the class Vice President for four years. Additionally, she was on the Lancer volleyball team.
Joey Hernandez – Seventh Honors. Joey plans to study evolutionary biology at Brown University in RI, but he is also interested in ecology, geology, and genetics. Eventually, he plans to go to medical school. He chose Brown over Duke University. He is a senior class officer, serving as Activities Coordinator.
He was very active in music at LHS including being the Marching Band Drumline captain and a member of the school jazz ensemble. He also gave back to the community as a Big Buddy to an elementary school student and as part of National Honor Society.
Andrew Liu – Eighth Honors. Andrew plans to attend Boston University.
Meghan McCudden – Ninth Honors. Meghan will be going to Worcester Polytechnic Institute in MA to study Environmental Engineering. Meghan also considered Northeastern University before settling on WPI. At LHS, Meghan was active in music as a member of the marching band and concert band. She was also a member of the Math Team and the Math, Music, and French Honor Societies.
Carolyn Hill – Tenth Honors. Carolyn plans to double major in English and secondary education at St. Anselm College. At LHS, she was a four-year member of Student Council, serving on the Executive Board for two years, as the representative to the School Board her junior year, and as President her senior year. Carolyn was in the marching/symphonic band for three years, the Community Service Club, National Honor Society, and the Math Honor Society.