Freehold Regional High School District students honored by the American Association of University Women were (l-r) Meredith Ross, Sara Kallish, Rosanna Chin, Ekaterina Mamyshev and Christina Rourke. The senior girls with the highest average from each of the six Freehold Regional high schools were recently honored by the Freehold Area Branch of the American Association of University Women with a plaque and a monetary award. Each of the six girls took advantage of the district’s learning centers in various fields of study to pursue her particular interest, often attending a school that was not in the town she lived in. The awards are given in memory of Rose Fishkin, a life member of AAUW who left money to the branch in her will.
The girls have been active in a number of things in and out of school, including music, dance, sports and volunteer programs. Each girl spoke about what was particularly meaningful during her high school years. Often the influence of their families who immigrated to the United States has motivated them.
Colts Neck High School — Christina Farah, a resident of Marlboro, studied at the Global Language and Culture Learning Center at Colts Neck High School. Christina was a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish Honor Society and served as vice president of the Math League. She has been particularly active in music, drama and dance — she could not attend the AAUW meeting because she was playing the tuba with the concert band that night. Christina will attend Princeton University to study Spanish and Russian, with which she is familiar, as well as Arabic and French. She would like to work as an interpreter, possibly at the United Nations.
Freehold High School — Sara Kallish, a Freehold resident, was a member of the Medical Sciences Learning Center and says her opportunities for leadership have been a positive learning experience. During her senior year, she was captain of the varsity swim team and the varsity tennis team, as well as president of the National Honor Society. Her activity at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, has been very helpful in setting her goal of medical school after she majors in biological sciences at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa.
Freehold Township High School — Meredith Ross, a resident of Marlboro, was enrolled in the International Studies Learning Center and says studying history and international relations has sparked her interest in travel in this country and in Europe. Among her honors are valedictorian, Freehold Township High School Youth of the Year for 2005, Asbury Park Press Academic Leader, and the New Jersey Governor’s School of Public Issues. Tap dancing has been a focus outside of school. Besides competing with a dance company that won a national team championship, she and another student created and instructed a tap class at the Freehold Township Senior Center. Her paternal grandparents are Holocaust survivors, and she attributes her interest in books and business to her maternal grandparents. At the University of Virginia, she will study accounting and finance and hopes to enter the field of investment banking.
Howell High School — Christina Rourke, a Howell resident, was valedictorian of her class and studied at the Humanities Learning Center. She was recognized as one of News 12 New Jersey’s scholar-athletes of the week, having participated in lacrosse, track and field, and served as captain of the soccer team. She also was named the Dr. Norman Field Student Achiever of the Year and the Noontime Optimist Club of Freehold Youth of the Year. One of her most satisfying volunteer activities was running a soccer camp for local youth players. She will attend Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., to study finance and business with the aim of being a chief financial officer for an international organization.
Manalapan High School — Ekaterina Mamyshev is a resident of the Morganville section of Marlboro whose interest in science, particularly physics, led her to choose the Science and Engineering Learning Center at Manalapan. She was born in Russia and came to the United States when she was 4 years old. Her senior project involved examining laser nonlinear propagation through optical fibers. In addition to winning awards in chemistry, physics and math, she has devoted much time to music. She feels science is a quest for truth and beauty, and that music, art and literature supplement science. At Princeton University, she plans to major in physics and hopes to attend MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Cambridge, for graduate study.
Marlboro High School — Rosanna Chin, a Freehold resident, decided to attend the FRHSD’s Business Administration Learning Center in pursuit of practical business knowledge because she had always wanted a successful lemonade stand when she was younger. Rosanna found the transition to a new school difficult at first, but managed to smooth it out once she became active in student council, being elected homeroom representative, class assemblyman and class president. She also was involved in the Future Business Leaders of America Association, being elected vice president and advancing to the FBLA state competition for two years in business math and business law. Rosanna maintains a strong pride in her heritage and performed a Chinese fan dance in Marlboro High School’s “Asian Show” annually and attended Chinese school for eight years. Her main hobbies are the piano and Chinese brush painting. Rosanna will study international relations at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, with plans to earn a second degree at MIT. She would like to work in the areas of law and international politics.