By:AL Wicklund
MONROE — Being a high school senior can mean being able to help others, three members of the Monroe Township High School Class of 2001 said earlier this week.
Lauren Reynolds, Joe Valenti and Megan Ciancia have achieved the three-year climb to senior-class status and, as they enter their final year in the Monroe School system, they are looking forward to a year of helping others.
Joe, who lives on Spotswood-Englishtown Road, said his high school experience has shown seniors to be people who “know how to make things happen.”
“Generally, Monroe seniors are there for you. They are there to help,” he said.
Megan, a resident of Route 33, served as a peer mediator and, as a National Arts Society member, worked with the society’s teaching program.
“Mediators are assigned as advisors to freshmen. We provide them with a friend. We can help answer simple questions or help in a more significant way, such as getting a freshman tutorial help if he or she is falling behind in a class,” Megan said.
Last year, she said, National Arts Society members helped teachers with instruction in art classes at the Barclay Brook School.
An artist with an interest in drawing and painting, Megan said she looks forward to helping in elementary classrooms again this year.
“This is the year for us to do more for the school and get more from it. I believe most of us will be more involved,” she said.
Lauren, of Lower Matchaponix Road, is about to start her second term as Student Council president. Because younger students tend to look up to older ones, she said an upperclassman has a responsibility to set a good example.
With the addition of a driver’s license, they also look forward to a bit more independence. Lauren, Megan and Joe all will be licensed drivers this year. The young women are looking forward to driving to school. As for Joe, “I’ve been driving for a year,” he said.
Lauren and Megan said driving will give them greater leeway in scheduling their days.
“It will be nice to have more control of my time. With a car, I can stop occasionally at Dunkin’ Donuts for breakfast. If I want to get in early to talk to teachers before class, I can do that.
“I’ll also be able to drive friends to school,” Lauren said.
Megan seems equally eager. “I won’t have to wait for a ride,” she said.
The 2000-2001 school year also will be a year decision for the three as they prepare to apply for college.
Joe said he has his list of colleges down to six, including Harvard and Columbia.
“I’m interested in majoring in political science or public policy,” said Joe, whose experience in high school has included three years on the Student Council — he’s vice president this year — and work in the Model United Nations Program and the YMCA-sponsored New Jersey Youth and Government program. He has been to North Carolina to take part in the Model UN nationals and participated in the youth program in government’s mock state legislature in Trenton.
Lauren is still deciding on a college. At this point, she Monmouth University is her top choice.
“I’ll probably major in business. Monmouth has a well-regarded business program. It’s also only a 40-minute drive away, close enough for comfort,” she said.
Lauren said she expects to have applications in the mail before the fall semester is finished.
Megan said she is looking at a number schools in New Jersey, including Rutgers, Monmouth and Rowan universities and The College of New Jersey. She is considering a major in human resources.
Megan’s first year in high school required an adjustment different from that of the typical Monroe student.
“I started high school in Vermont. We moved here in my freshman year. My Monroe freshman class (more than 250 students) was bigger than the whole high school in Vermont,” she said.
She adjusted quickly, however, and besides being a peer mediator and arts society member, is on the Student Council and plays soccer.
Lauren is one of Megan’s soccer teammates and is a National Honor Society member.
The trio is anticipating a busy last year in what already has been a busy high school career.
Joe said becoming a senior this fall is a reminder that soon high school will be over.
“There are so many opportunities to do things in our high school. This will be our last chance to do them,” he said.
