On Feb. 17, McNicholas High School will hold its 67th annual Mardi Gras Pageant and Ball, a tradition started by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Per tradition, this event will honor forty seniors as the court, 8 juniors as the honor guard, and 8 sophomores as the honor guard whom their respective classes elect. The full list of the court and honor guard can be found here. The two senior students who earn the second highest number of votes from their peers over the past four years are named as Maid of Honor and Captain of the Ball. For the Class of 2019, this honor falls to Jill Tore and Vinny Ramundo.
“It was a ginormous shock and honor [when I found out] … It’s the biggest honor I’ve ever received at McNick,” Tore said. She has been a part of several organizations throughout her time at McNick including, but not limited to, Student Council, National Honor Society, Service Club, Spirit Club, Ski Club, and Cooking Club. Tore plans to major in Biology is considering Miami University or Dayton University.
Sharing the stage with Tore is Ramundo. “When you hear your name called that second time, it’s just a big shock…You really don’t expect it,” he said. Ramundo is the President of the Rockets for Life Club, along with co-Editor-in-Chief of the McNicholas Milestone. He has also been a part of the Student Council, Service Club, and the Appalachian Service project. “It involves a lot of hard work, but in the end, it’s very rewarding,” Ramundo added.
Ramundo feels that being the President of Rockets for Life is his personal greatest achievement, and he is looking into either majoring in political science or communication is deciding among three: Northern Kentucky University, The Ohio State University, and Ohio University.
Both Ramundo and Tore agreed that the service projects, such as Appalachia, were the most rewarding parts of their high school career. Both were previously on the sophomore honor guard.
Ramundo’s advice to underclassmen is to “If you really want to get the best experience from high school, do as much as you can, really make the most of your time here.”
Tore added, “Be yourself, do stuff because you want to, not because everyone else is doing it.”
The McNicholas Milestone 