By Whitley Sway and Sarah Marshall
Each year, McNick honors the Top 10 academic senior students. This year’s top ten students include everything from actresses to engineers who will span five states.
Natalie Cox will attend the University of Cincinnati. She will be majoring in environmental engineering. After receiving one of the institution’s highest scholarships, this helped her decide her future. Cox said she plans to continue her leadership and service work during college. “The ways I have gotten involved here at McNicholas is one of my biggest accomplishments,” Cox said.
Josephine Fortin will be attending Villanova University near Philadelphia with a major in exploratory arts. She is involved in theatre, president of Thespian Society, CREW leadership, and her youth group through St. Gregory the Great. She is looking forward to the Catholic opportunities and service Villanova has to offer. “The most important thing is finding something you enjoy learning about and look forward to,” she said. Fortin was also recently crowned prom queen and enjoys participating in service projects around McNick.
Sarah Hutchinson will be attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is planning to double major in AI and Data Science. “I hope to be involved beyond volleyball through service, clubs, and research,” she said. She will be continuing both her athletic and academic career at MIT by playing on their volleyball team. During her senior season, her team earned the first state championship for women’s volleyball in school history.
Grace McCafferty will be attending The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She will be studying international studies on a pre-law track to hopefully work in foreign diplomacy. She said she looks forward to the study abroad opportunities and the Big Ten atmosphere.
Lauren Radtke is going to University of South Carolina in Colombia, South Carolina. She will be majoring in Neuroscience and Political Science. “The USC Honors College is very supportive of having multiple majors or major/minors, so I feel a lot more comfortable studying two different subject areas,” Radtke stated. She will also be studying in their honors college which is the #1 ranked public university honors college. She is excited to be a part of the SEC conference and to be involved with things such as club volleyball or bible studies. “Find something that motivates and excites you, and doing your schoolwork well will come a lot easier with a bigger goal in mind,” she added.
Allison Runte will be attending the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She will be majoring in exploratory health and human services. “I wanted to push myself to grow in a new environment than what I’ve been accustomed to,” she said. Runte is looking forward to being involved in a fresh community and joining different organizations.
Addison Russo, who is also the salutatorian for the Class of 2026, is attending The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, to study biomedical engineering. “I chose Ohio State because I love the environment there. It is a big school that provides lots of opportunities for growth and meeting new people,” Russo said. She said that distance and school spirit also helped with her final decision. She said she plans to involve herself in the Women in Engineering Club and hopes to study abroad. Russo said she is proud of her accomplishments with the Cross Country Team and her advice for underclassmen included taking care of themselves. “School doesn’t get easier, but you become more used to the workload. Don’t stress yourself out by taking extra classes that you have no interest in just because they are weighted a certain way. Sometimes turning down a commitment helps you to fully give yourself to others,” Russo added.
Kaelin Timko is attending The Ohio State University and will major in aerospace engineering. He joins both the honors program and the LEAP community. Timko, an Eagle Scout, has volunteered with May We Help, building adaptive costumes for children with disabilities. Timko’s goal is to work in aerospace, ideally at NASA. “Pay attention to class,” Timko said as his advice to underclassmen.
Kennedy Trapp is attending the University of Dayton studying finance with a minor in prelaw. Trapp said she likes the supportive environment and pretty campus. “I chose somewhere that felt like home, and that I felt like they truly care about me as an individual,” said. She plans to attend law school after receiving her degree in finance to potentially go into corporate law.
Annemarie Wolfer is the valedictorian for the Class of 2026 and will be attending the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Her plan is to major in Mechanical Engineering and hopefully minor in Resiliency & Sustainability of Engineering Systems and Musical Theatre. Wolfer said she ultimately chose this school “because of their focus on well-rounded education and development of the whole person.” She added that Notre Dame encourages academic exploration and pursuing other areas of interest while centering learning around the pursuit of serving others. At McNick, Wolfer said she is proud of planning, organizing, directing, and hosting Murder at the Juice Joint, which raised over $2,000 for the theatre program. Her advice to underclassmen is the same advice she received when she entered McNick. “I want to share the same advice I received my freshman year that has stuck with me through all of high school: be a yes person. I don’t want to say I went into high school shy, [since] as a theater kid that’s definitely not true, but I was definitely very reserved and didn’t want to step out of my comfort zone. Over my four years, I’ve tried hard to ‘be a yes person,’ and it’s brought me all the way to China. Also, sleep is more important than you think!”
The McNicholas Milestone 