Meet Brockton High top 10 students: Favorite memories, dreams, how they rose above it all
BROCKTON — This was no ordinary year for Brockton High School and these are no ordinary young people.
Brockton High School was thrust into the national spotlight amid controversy and division among the officials who run the school department.
Somehow, these kids founds a way to rise above it all and thrive.
Meet the top 10 students from the Brockton High School class of 2024. Here's a little about each student, their favorite memories and what's next for them.
As one of them put it: "My experience has been a mix of diverse friendships, strong bonds, and valuable lessons from supportive teachers."
"It is these memories that make me proud to be a Boxer. It has sustained me in the moments where BHS has been caught in the sensational media storm. These negative moments are fleeting, but my friends, the dedicated teachers and collaboration with my peers will forever remain with me," said graduating senior Elizabeth Akoh.
The following student biographies were submitted by Brockton High School.
Catherine Moyes
Catherine Moyes was captain of the indoor and outdoor varsity track team, captain in varsity cross country, varsity soccer, varsity swim team, NHS, student executive committee (junior year vice president), lifeguard at Brockton high school, snowboarding club, advanced concert band (flute).
“My favorite memory was outdoor track, senior night with my family and friends," Moyes said.
She will attend Rutgers University, majoring in biology on a pre-med track.
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Nicole Yabar
Nicole Yabar was a member of National Honor Society and Classical Modern Language Honor Society. She assisted in tutoring and teacher assisting and participated in science clubs and internships outside of BHS as well.
“My favorite experience was the lifelong friends I made and the bonds I made with a few teachers," Yabar said.
She will attend Boston College, majoring in biology.
Jason Wood
Jason Wood was a member of the boys volleyball team for four years.
Senior year, Wood served as captain of the varsity team, and was also team manager for the girls volleyball team. Wood was also a member of the National Honor Society,
"My favorite experience at Brockton High was my time spent in my I.B. History class. In this class, I developed many great friendships with my peers and formed a close connection with my teacher, Mrs. Arsenault. I loved engaging in discussions and learning more about the history of great nations around the world," Wood said.
Wood will be attending the University of Connecticut to major in biomedical engineering.
“I plan to specialize in prosthetic research and design,” Wood said.
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Jadagrace Vega
Jadagrace Vega was president and founder of the Nerd Club, president and founder of the Crochet and Knitting Club, vice president of the GSA, member of Classical and Modern Languages Honor Society, Law and Debate Club, ASL Club and Drama Club.
"My favorite experience from my time at BHS was my first FebFest show in my sophomore year," Vega said. "My freshman year was entirely online, so I didn’t have any experience with the BHS community and culture. I was extremely nervous, but it wasn’t because of the audition! I have always been very introverted, and I hadn’t met any of my classmates in person, so going into a club full of people I didn’t know in a school I wasn’t familiar with was definitely a challenge. Fortunately, I got to play a very fun and eccentric character, which gave me the freedom to not worry about what other people thought of me. I had to be weird for the show to work! I can still remember the feeling of the lights coming up on me for the first time and the amazing rush of seeing a full audience right in front of me. That’s when I knew that even though it’d been a hard several years at school, things were looking up. Signing up for and performing in the Drama Club gave me a space to get to know others, feel involved as a student, and feel confident in myself and my identity," Vega said.
Vega will attend Tufts University’s College of Arts and Sciences for anthropology or child development and psychology.
Tashnia Abedin
Tashnia Abedin was a member of the Math Club freshman year. She was an ambassador for the Pathways for eighth graders in Brockton field trip during her junior year, where she shared her experiences in the Computer Science program in BHS to the eighth graders. She was also a member of the Classical & Modern Language Honors Society, and National Honors Society.
“My favorite experience from my time in BHS was the field trip to Bridgewater State University during my junior year. My computer science teacher, Ms. Merritt, took some of my classmates and I to BSU to try out some of the equipments made by NeuroMaker. I was able to build the NeuroMaker hand, with the help of some of my friends. I was also able to test the NeuroMaker BCI, which is a type of headband that uses Bluetooth to connect to a laptop/computer, so the user can see and understand their brain activity. After that, I was able to test out how my brain activity can move a race car just by using the headband. Many people were using their phone in hopes to make their race car move faster. I found it fascinating that I only had to stare and focus on the race car for it to move really fast. This experience gained my interest and passion in how technology can be used to help the medical field and the patients. I love how field trips like this give us an opportunity to see how certain skills can help out the real world.”
Abedin will study radiography at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Kayden Silevicz
Kayden Silevicz was a member of the Swim Team, Color Guard, National Honor Society, Classical and Modern Language Honor Society.
Silevicz said, "My favorite part of my time at BHS was all the different people I've met. I loved learning from my teachers, mentors, and peers!"
Silevicz will attend Middlebury College.
Elizabeth Akoh
Elizabeth Akoh was a member of the Black Student Union, Tennis (captain senior year), National Honor Society (secretary) Volleyball, Boxer Outreach (Brockton High Service Club) and Classical Modern Language Honor Society.
"My experience has been a mix of diverse friendships, strong bonds, and valuable lessons from supportive teachers," Akoh said. "It is these memories that make me proud to be a Boxer. It has sustained me in the moments where BHS has been caught in the sensational media storm. These negative moments are fleeting, but my friends, the dedicated teachers and collaboration with my peers will forever remain with me. These experiences have shaped me in ways that go beyond what words can convey. So I just want to thank the individuals that have supported me in the start of this journey.”
Akoh will be attending Howard University, majoring in health science on the physical therapy track with a minor in pre-med.
Ella Silverman
Ella Silverman was a member of varsity soccer, Classical and Modern Language Honors Society and Boxer Buddies.
“My favorite experience was the holiday pool parties with the boxer buddies kids," Silverman said.
Silverman will attend Washington and Lee University, with a major in psychology and a minor in criminology.
Leon Luong
Leon Luong was involved in the Classical and Modern Language Honor Society.
“I liked the senior events like spirit week," Luong said.
Luong will attend UMass-Amherst for computer science.
Bianca Reynoso
Bianca Reynoso was captain of the varsity girls soccer team, ran indoor track, participated in NHS, CML, senior class secretary and student executive.
As to her favorite memory: “When my soccer team made it to playoffs my junior year," Reynoso said. "We played such a good game and also became really close as a team.”
Reynoso will be attending the University of Tampa, majoring in business management.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton High School top 10 grads: Memories, plans, what sustained them
