Somers students shine to finish school year

SOMERS, N.Y. - With graduation and summer vacation almost upon us, several Somers students left their mark and closed out the year - and in some cases, their high school careers - with extraordinary accomplishments.

Science Superstar

Senior Charlotte Wilke-Olsen was in a class all her own as the only finalist chosen from Somers to advance to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). ISEF is the world’s largest pre-college STEM competition, and was held in Columbus, OH, in May. There, Charlotte presented her research along with 1,400 students from more than 60 countries to a panel of elite scientists for judging.

Charlotte’s project, “Modeling Gravitational Wave and Dark Matter Signals with Autoregressive Time Series and Fourier Analyses,” identified a new model for the detection of Dark Matter. Earlier this year, she took 1st place in her category at the New York State Science and Engineering Fair (NYSSEF) to qualify as an ISEF Finalist. 

‘The Final Enrollment’

On May 29, senior filmmaker Curtis Dustin presented the premiere of his original film, “The Final Enrollment,” in front of a full house in the high school auditorium.

The film, featuring performances by SHS faculty members Mr. Ridgeway, Mr. Habib, Mr. Cleary, Mr. Varricchio, Mrs. Martin, Mr. Soni, and Mr. DeFilippo, and tells the story of a nearly abandoned high school with no students and no rules, where a new arrival sets off a chain of strange, chaotic, and darkly hilarious events.

“I’ve been making films nonstop since 4th grade, and The Final Enrollment has been in the works since September,” says Dustin. “As a senior heading to Hofstra University in the fall, this project felt like my farewell letter to Somers.”

To watch the film and learn more about Curtis Dustin’s work, visit linktr.ee/curtisdustin

Quiz Bowl Takes Chicago

The SHS quiz bowl teams headed to the national championship competition in Chicago earlier this month, taking on top competition from across the country. The JV team won a pair of matches, while the varsity squad went undefeated until finally being bested by the defending national champions from Russellville, AK. The performance meant that the Tuskers finished second in the nation!

Great Gallivan

Senior Jimmy Gallivan recently achieved a perfect score of 100 on his New York State School Music Association piano performance, making him a candidate for the NYSSMA piano showcase. Gallivan was also named as one of the Grand Prix Winners of the Concert Festival International Competition and was chosen to perform the Nocturne #3 by F. Liszt at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Sunday, June 15.

Global Citizenship Award

At the Somers High School Senior Convocation ceremony on May 29, Luke DeBellis was presented with the Global Citizenship Award. Established by Board of Education trustee Dr. Ifay Chang on behalf of his family trust, the new $500 scholarship was created to raise awareness of the importance of Global Citizenship as one of students’ elements of achievement.