In step with tradition, the achievements of graduating seniors at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) were honored at the Annual Awards Program recently.

The June 6 ceremony was kicked off with valedictorian recognition being conferred on Colin Courchesne and Jack Padovano by RFH Principal Tracy Handerhan. The two will be featured speakers at tonight’s graduation at Monmouth University.

Colin Courchesne is a National AP Scholar and a member of the National Honor Society, Chinese National Honor Society, and Spanish National Honor Society. He received the Rensselaer Medal Award and Scholarship, Frederick Douglass and Susan P. Anthony Social Justice Award as a junior at RFH.

At the Annual Awards Program for RFH seniors he received the RFHRHS Superintendent’s Award and the Helen L. Poka Award.

He attended the prestigious New Jersey Governor’s School of Engineering and Technology as well as the Program in Algorithmic and Combinatorial Thinking (PACT) at Princeton University.

His extracurricular activities at RFH included founder and president of the Theoretical Math Club, Moody’s Mega Math Challenge, Fed Challenge, Science Challenge, Euro Challenge, and Future Business Leaders of America.

He was a member of the RFH Varsity Ice Hockey Team and volunteered as a Marketing Researcher for Wealthy Habits, a nonprofit organization educating the impoverished and underprivileged on financial literacy.

Courchesne will attend the University of Virginia as an Echols Scholar in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Jack Padovano is a National AP Scholar, MENSA Member, and National Merit Commended Scholar. He earned the RFH 2016 Juried Art Show Owl Award at the RFH Spring Concert and Art Show on June 8th.

As a junior, he received the Villanova University Book Award and the Rochester Institute of Technology Creativity and Innovation Award. At the Annual Awards Program for RFH seniors he received the Presidential Education Gold Award in addition to the following scholarships – George Walter Davis Scholarship, Bill Farnan Scholarship, and Rensselaer Leadership Award.

Padovano is a member of the National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and Science League. He competed in the IEEE Robotic Challenge and was a member of the RFH Crew Team. He is a Teacher’s Assistant at Canvas Art School and a summer research intern at the Department of the Environment in the Cayman Islands. He currently owns an online business selling t-shirts featuring original designs.

He will attend Brown University in the fall to study Cognitive Neuroscience and Visual Art.

Graduating seniors Christopher Fahey and Keira McKay were recognized by Handerhan for attaining the rare achievement of receiving National Merit College Scholarships. Only National Merit finalists, representing one percent of students across the nation, are eligible for this award.

National Merit finalists must attain extremely high scores on qualifying tests (PSAT/NMSQT) and present a record of very high academic performance. National Merit college scholarships are sponsored by colleges and universities. Students must attend the sponsoring institution in order to receive the scholarship.

Fahey will be attending Boston College in the fall, and McKay will attend the College of William and Mary.

Also honored were members of the Class of 2016 who attained National Merit Commended Scholar status: Lindsey Corydon, Colin Courchesne, Bridget Fitzgerald, William Freeman, James Hallisey III, John Christian Liang, Nicole Meickle, and Jack Padovano.

The Annual Awards Program featured a number of scholarship awards presented to deserving RFH seniors in the categories of Departmental Achievement Awards, Student Life Awards, and Honorary Awards and Scholarships. These were presented by members of the RFH administration, staff, and community.

In a separate ceremony, 140 members of the Class of 2016 were recognized for receiving Gold and Silver award certificates from the President’s Education Awards Program.

To qualify for the Gold award, students must maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 4.0 or higher through their seventh semester of high school. The Silver Award requires a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.67.