
Penn High honors 16 Valedictorians and 3 Salutatorians
Posted on May 26, 2016Just like those of every other year, the valedictorians and salutatorians of Penn High School’s Class of 2016 have worked exponentially hard to earn the exceptional grade-point averages and class ranks they have today.
Penn’s valedictorians will be in the spotlight on Friday, May 27, during graduation ceremonies at the University of Notre Dame.
Below, in alphabetical order, are short descriptions of the high school careers of each of these outstanding students.
VALEDICTORIANS
JACK BAO, son of Leiping Lin and Wentau Bao, will be attending the University of Notre Dame in the fall and will be majoring in finance. Accomplishments include:
- MathCon 2016 National Champion
- Math Academic Super Bowl Captain and State Champion
- Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science (TEAMS) State Champion
- United States Presidential Scholar National Semi-finalist
- Indiana Academic All Stars Award
- Discover Math Counts Head Coach
- Tri-Star State Champion
CAMDEN BOHN, son of Sharon Bohn and Kevin Bohn, will be attending Harvard University in the fall and will be majoring in engineering. Accomplishments include:
- Football, Track, and Basketball
- National Honor Society
- IHSAA Eskew Mental Attitude Award for Football
- 1st Team All-Conference and MVP
RACHEL CASETTI, daughter of Jennifer Casetti and Alfredo Casetti, will be attending Purdue University in the fall and will be majoring in biomedical engineering. Accomplishments include:
- National Honor Society
- Key Club
- Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science (TEAMS)
- DECA
- Tennis
- Spanish Club
- Indiana Math League
- Freshman Mentor
- Dream Commission Society
MEGHA DEVARAJ, daughter of Kalyani Devaraj and Sarv Devaraj, will be attending the University of Notre Dame in the fall and will be majoring in finance and computer science. Accomplishments include:
- Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science (TEAMS)
- Debate Captain
- National Honor Society Vice President
- Penn Student Ambassador
- Freshman Mentor Executive Board Member
RAINA DE VRIES, daughter of Susan Park and Steven DeVries, will be attending the University of Chicago in the fall and will be majoring in mathematics. Accomplishments include:
- Orchestra
RUNYU DING, son of Xiadhong Ding and Derong Ding, will be attending the University of Michigan in the fall and will be majoring in computer engineering. Accomplishments include:
- Student Council
- Freshman Mentor
- Tennis
- Science Academic Super Bowl
- Chemistry Olympiad
- Indiana Math League
- Research at Notre Dame
NORMAN JIN, son of Evie Zhang and James Jin, will be attending the University of Notre Dame in the fall and will be majoring in business science. Accomplishments include:
- Band
- Science Academic Super Bowl
PETER JUNG, son of Kyu-Suk Kim and Sung-Kwon Jung, will be attending Purdue University in the fall and will be majoring in computer science. Accomplishments include:
- Spell Bowl
- TEAMS
- Student Council
JESSICA LEE, daughter of Ping Li and Lei Li, will be attending the University of Notre Dame in the fall and will be majoring in business science. Accomplishments include:
- Competition Poms Captain
- Student Council
- National Honor Society
- TEAMS
- Key Club
RIVKAH LEVINE, daughter of Qi You and Ilan Levine, will be attending the University of Michigan in the fall and will be majoring in statistics and minoring in Chinese. Accomplishments include:
- Chinese Club President
- National Honor Society
MORGAN LUDWIG, daughter of Dr. Jennifer Ludwig and David Ludwig, will be attending the University of Notre Dame in the fall and will be majoring in business science. Accomplishments include:
- Congressional Award Gold Medalist
- Varsity Tennis
- Handwritten Hearts Club President and Founder
- Symphonic Orchestra
- Kiwanis Youth Leadership Award
- Indiana Math League
- Piano ISSMA Gold Medalist
ABIGAIL McROBERTS, daughter of Roxanne McRoberts and Brad McRoberts, will be attending The Ohio State University in the fall and will be majoring in biology. Accomplishments include:
- Cheerleader
- Track and Field
- National Honor Society
- Key Club
- Freshman Mentor
- Spanish Club
- Kingsmen Against Cancer
- AP Scholar Award
- Indiana Math League
- Mock Trial
- Ohio State Distinction Scholar
OLIVIA MERCURIO, daughter of Lisa Mercurio and David Mercurio, will be attending the University of Notre Dame in the fall and will be majoring in engineering. Accomplishments include:
- Soccer
- Indiana Math League
- Key Club
- National Honor Society Secretary
- TEAMS
- Spanish Club
- AMC & Trigstar Participant
- Track and Field
- Freshman Mentor
- National Merit Scholar Finalist
- Kingsman Tutor
- AP Scholar with Distinction
- District 1 ISCA All-Academic Athlete
- Jr. Irish Soccer Club
- Elkhart County United Soccer Club
JEWON OH, son of Eunhee Park and Heungil Oh, will be attending the University of Notre Dame in the fall and will be majoring in pre-professional studies. Accomplishments include:
- South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestra
- Orchestra
- Tennis
- Indiana All-State Orchestra
- TEAMS
- National Honor Society
- Fischoff Honor
ERIC PFRENDER, son of Janet Pfrender and Michael Pfrender, will be attending Northwestern University in the fall and will be majoring in chemical engineering. Accomplishments include:
- Quiz Bowl Team Captain
- Science Academic Super Bowl
- TEAMS National Qualifier
- Key Club
- National Honor Society
- Student Council
- National Merit Scholar
CHRISTOPHER YUN, son of Minjung Yun and Hayong Yun, will be attending Cornell University in the fall and will be majoring in mathematics and economics. Accomplishments include:
- National Merit Scholar
- National AP Scholar Award
- Spell Bowl Captain and State Champion
- Econ and Fed Challenge Captain
- Model U.N.
- Fischoff Mentoring Group
- TEAMS
- National Honor Society
- Key Club
- Student Council
- Academic Super Bowl (Fine Arts, Social Studies, Math and Interdisciplinary)
SALUTATORIANS
AMANDA AHMED, daughter of Rebecca Ahmed and Arshad Ahmed, will be attending Indiana University in the fall and will be majoring in chemistry. Accomplishments include:
- National Honor Society
- Student Council
- Handwritten Hearts
- Penn Girls Tennis Team Captain
- Youth Group Leader at church
JULIA FORBERG, daughter of Mary Forberg and Jeffery Forberg, will be attending Indiana University in the fall and will be majoring in Spanish and early education. Accomplishments include:
- National Honor Society
- Student Council
- Handwritten Hearts
- Youth Group Leader at church
KATHRYN LAIMAN, daughter of Joan Laiman and Michael Laiman, will be attending Indiana University in the fall and will be majoring in economic consulting and pre-law. Accomplishments include:
- National Honor Society Public Relations Officer
- Student Council
- Key Club
- Freshman Mentor
- Big Brothers/Big Sisters
- Penn Girls Lacrosse Captain
- National Merit Scholarship Commendation
By ARIELLE KIRSCH, Penn High School Student Reporter
Last Modified May 26, 2016