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2012 extraordinary seniors' stories

Nasha Bell always loved math -- something about the stable simplicity of knowing there's one right answer.
"I felt like it was the only [subject] that made sense," he said. "Two plus two is always going to be four. That's never going to change."
But, for years, constant change and instability in Bell's life threatened to derail his academic talents -- and his grandmother's ambition that he finish high school and go to college.
Bell, 18, has been enrolled at 14 different schools since he started elementary, from the Bronx to Albany, staying with relatives and bouncing back and forth from Manhattan to upstate before settling in Brentwood in May 2010. On June 23, he will become the first male in his family to graduate high school and will have tacked on an Advanced Regents diploma and a $13,000 annual scholarship to Pace University's Westchester campus.
But at one point, the gifted student was cutting school and failing his classes.
Bell was 14, a freshman at <a href="/topics/Frederick_Douglass">Frederick Douglass</a> Academy in Harlem and living with his maternal grandmother, Gail Bell, the woman who he says raised him.
"It was the fast life," he said. "I was getting in a lot of trouble."
When Bell's grandma died unexpectedly at 59 in January 2009, he took it hard. "All she wanted us to do was go to school, me and all my cousins," he said. "She didn't care about anything else. So I figured I'd make her happy and finish school."
Bell moved back to Albany to live with his mom and younger siblings the next year. But at the end of his sophomore year, he decided to move to Brentwood to test out life in the suburbs with his paternal grandmother.
"Once I came to Brentwood I was focused," he said. "I knew what I wanted to do and I didn't want to be back and forth."
In guidance counselor Denise Fasano's office at Brentwood High School, Bell insisted on graduating on time and told her he wanted to earn an advanced diploma. It would mean night classes and a heavy load his senior year, Fasano told him.
"A lot of people say 'I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that and get it done and graduate,' " Fasano said. "But Nasha put his action to his words and he got it done -- and then he took extra classes."
His junior year, Bell went to school, worked in the district's administration building for a few hours every afternoon and attended his three-hour English class two nights a week. Despite the grueling schedule, he calls that year the high point of his high school career. His senior year, he joined the varsity football team as running back but broke his ankle during practice before homecoming weekend, an injury that required four surgeries.
He hasn't fully recovered, but Bell said he plans to walk on to Pace's football team in the fall, when he starts his college career in business marketing. He said mostly, he's looking forward to being in a new environment and getting a chance at a new beginning.
Now three years later, he still thinks of his grandmother and the promise he made.
"She would be happy," he said. "She would tell me, 'It ain't over yet -- it's just starting.' "

Suffolk

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Extraordinary senior: Nasha Bell

Nasha Bell - cropped

Some cultures are painted in broad strokes, according to Rausan Borujerdi, but the act of painting itself can help shatter stereotypes, she believes.
The young artist said she feels most compelled to portray <a href="/topics/Iran">Iran</a> as the vibrant country she has come to know through family visits.
"I'm Iranian-American, and I have a profound knowledge of the political and social tensions between Iran and America," said Borujerdi, 18, of <a href="/topics/Locust_Valley%2C_NY">Locust Valley</a>. "I want to promote understanding of an Iran that seems inaccessible and really try to show it through art."
Borujerdi's work includes portraits of Iranian women.
"Iran is totally different than what anyone could anticipate," she said. "People are obsessed with Western culture. All the kids are obsessed with America and <a href="/topics/Justin_Bieber">Justin Bieber</a>."
At Locust Valley, Borujerdi is an International Baccalaureate diploma candidate with a 103.64 GPA, an avid reader who volunteers at her local library, and art and photo editor of her high school newspaper.
Her determination to build bridges between cultures fuels her political ambitions, though she said she prefers to become an ambassador rather than a lawmaker. She has campaigned for Assemb. Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove) since childhood, she said.
"If you aren't active in your community, you have little control of what's going on," Borujerdi said. "You lose the ability to contribute to the betterment of your community."
HER PLANS: Borujerdi will attend Macaulay Honors College at CUNY at the City College campus and study international relations.
AT COLLEGE I'M MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO: Taking advantage of Macaulay's Opportunities Fund [a grant] and City College's <a href="/topics/Colin_Powell">Colin L. Powell</a> Center for Leadership and Service. "What I'm trying to do is not just serve people locally, but internationally . . . to provide for greater populations."
HIGH SCHOOL HIGH POINT: "Taking on the IB diploma and all those courses. . . . I learned to balance doing community work and what I love as an artist while maintaining high grades."

Nassau

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Extraordinary seniors: Rausan Borujerdi

2012 grads - Borujerdi

As soft-spoken as Juliana Brisco is, her wispy voice belies her willpower and determination. 
 And that same voice loves to belt out Broadway show tunes, especially from her favorite musical, "<a href="/topics/Wicked_%28Broadway_Show%29">Wicked</a>." Brisco, 18, sings alto in two choirs at <a href="/topics/Eastport%2C_NY">Eastport</a>-South Manor Junior-Senior High School in <a href="/topics/Manorville%2C_NY">Manorville</a>. 
 Scholarships in tow, the honors student with a 3.75 GPA is headed to <a href="/topics/Adelphi_University">Adelphi University</a> in <a href="/topics/Garden_City%2C_NY">Garden City</a>, where she intends to study music education. Brisco said she hopes to inspire the next generation to love music as much as she does. 
 "It's really a good <a href="/topics/Atmosphere_%28musician%29">atmosphere</a>," she said of why she loves her choir classes. "It's a very enjoyable experience." 
 When Brisco and her twin sister, Brittany, were born, each was diagnosed with <a href="/topics/Cerebral_Palsy">cerebral palsy</a>, a movement disorder that impairs brain and nervous system functions. 
 Brittany's condition is severe -- she has multiple disabilities and is not fully verbal. The twins are close friends, and Brisco said she'll miss her sister the most when she heads to college. 
 Brisco, of <a href="/topics/Mastic%2C_NY">Mastic</a>, had to be strong from a very young age. She started walking when she was 3 years old, with the aid of leg braces. 
 "She took her first steps on Christmas," said her mother, Linda Brisco. 
 She moved on to a walker, then canes. By the time she was 7, Brisco was walking unassisted and has done so since. That's no surprise to her mother, who says Brisco is "a go-getter." 
 But getting around her school is especially difficult because the building spans 350,000 square feet, guidance coordinator Christine Duffy said. 
 "I get tired very easily," Brisco said. "I can't stand for a long time. It's difficult with my choirs because I have to sit occasionally. It's a challenge to get up the stairs because I have to hold on to the railings." 
 Still, she eschews the elevator and walks to every class on her own. 
 Her perseverance has inspired scores of her classmates and even the faculty, her theater teacher, Joseph Minutillo, said. 
 "She has never, ever let her disability get in the way of her work, and she's just been a hero to everybody in the class," he said. 
 Besides belting out songs in choir, Brisco recently reached her latest high school high point -- making her acting debut in the school's senior showcase in May. She is also involved in the Green Team environmental club and the Key Club. This year, she was historian of the music honor society Tri-M. And as a member of the National Honor Society, she helped create a day for her school focused on disability awareness. 
 Brisco is excited for her college career to start, and was recently placed on a waitlist for a companion dog that will go to school with her. 
 "She can't wait. It's going to be so different for her," her mother said. "I've always looked out for her, but now I've got to let her go." 
 When Brisco arrives, one of the first things she plans to do is join the choir.

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Extraordinary seniors: Juliana Brisco

2012 grads - Juliana Brisco

Lifeguard Jessica Campo was terrified when she saw her longtime swim coach collapse poolside late last year at Sachem High School North. 
 Witnesses feared Al Scott wouldn't survive -- he'd passed out because of a heart condition and wasn't breathing. 
 He quickly started turning blue. 
 Though stunned, Campo put her fear aside and took command. She teamed up with a visiting parent to administer three rounds of CPR to her mentor of six years. It was the first time she had performed the emergency procedure. 
 "I felt like I owed that to him after all of those years of coaching," said Campo, 18. "He's a great guy. Everybody loves him. He has helped me so much with my swimming career." 
 Campo started swimming in middle school. She has been on the varsity swim team throughout high school. But on the day she came to her coach's aid, she was acting as a lifeguard, not a member of his team. 
 So poised was the graduating senior during the crisis, which Scott survived and which happened the day before <a href="/topics/Thanksgiving">Thanksgiving</a>, that staff at the <a href="/topics/Lake_Ronkonkoma%2C_NY">Lake Ronkonkoma</a> school mistook her for someone much older; some were shocked to learn she's a high school student. 
 "I remember thinking, 'This girl is at the top of her game,' " guidance counselor Edward Manly said. "She was mature, articulate. I was so impressed by the way she was keeping everybody calm. She was more together than I was." 
 As for Scott, he doesn't remember passing out. It was only after he came to days later that he learned of Campo's heroism. 
 "She is the greatest -- very low-key," Scott said of Campo. "She saved my life, and it was like she didn't do anything. I am extremely proud of her." 
 Campo said she always feared she would freeze up in a crisis and forget her training. And while she looked unaffected at the time, she was shaken up and cried to her mother when she returned home to Lake <a href="/topics/Ronkonkoma%2C_NY">Ronkonkoma</a> that night. 
 She teared up again -- this time out of joy -- when she saw a healthy Scott for the first time after his hospitalization. The two shared a warm hug near the pool. 
 For her efforts, she was given the <a href="/topics/American_Red_Cross">American Red Cross</a> Lifesaving Award for the Professional Responder, one of the organization's highest awards. 
 Campo, who is headed to Oswego in the fall to major in psychology, said the incident has built her confidence. 
 "I wasn't holding back," she said. "I did what I had to do. If I can get through this, I can get through whatever else is thrown at me." 
 She said she is excited about moving on to the next phase of her life, proving she can live on her own. 
 "I can't wait," the A student said. "I'm looking forward to making new friends . . . and having all of that responsibility. And I hope I find my passion in psychology when I'm there." 
 Campo took psychology as a junior and "fell in love with it." She eventually wants to earn a doctorate so she can become a psychologist. 
 "I really like to find out how people work," she said, noting she is particularly interested in how the mentally ill are treated in impoverished nations. 
 A school project revealed abuse and neglect in many countries -- a stark contrast, Campo said, to services offered in the United States -- and she would like to help, perhaps focusing on <a href="/topics/Latin_America">Latin America</a>, where her father was born. 
 "I know they are not being treated the way they should be," she said. 
 If saving the day is in order, she's got experience.

LFCAMPO10

Sachem North student saves coach's life

2012 grads - Jessica Campo

She may only be president of the <a href="/topics/Syosset%2C_NY">Syosset</a> High School <a href="/topics/U.S._Senate">Senate</a> now, but educators there said they wouldn't be surprised to see Allison "Allie" Cohen become a prominent leader on the national stage someday.
She's already interned with <a href="/topics/New_York_%28state%29">New York</a> State's senior U.S. senator, <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> <a href="/topics/Chuck_Schumer">Charles Schumer</a>, and she has held elective office all four years she has been in high school.
"She is the ultimate leader and one of the most genuine and compassionate students," guidance counselor Beth Waschitz said. "She is always looking for ways to make the school a better place."
Cohen, 18, of <a href="/topics/Woodbury%2C_NY">Woodbury</a>, said she is the type of student who loves being busy. She's a member of Peers as Leaders, Model <a href="/topics/U.S._Congress">Congress</a>, the SADD Improvisational Club, the Association of Creative Thespians, Chamber singers, and she plays varsity volleyball.
Outside of school she volunteers at El Centro Comunitario de Educación, a program in a <a href="/topics/Deer_Park%2C_NY">Deer Park</a> church where she creates and presents lessons to help teach English to immigrants.
"I am definitely interested in being a part of helping people," Cohen said.
For example, she helped develop Syosset's first anti-bullying campaign to raise awareness and prevent bullying. She said her education in the Syosset district, where she has attended school since kindergarten, has helped prepare her for the future.
"I have developed passions here that I know I will continue," she said.
HER PLANS:Attending the <a href="/topics/Pennsylvania_Quakers_%28basketball%29">University of Pennsylvania</a> to major in political science and Spanish.
AT COLLEGE I'M MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO: "I'm definitely looking forward to learning about what I am interested in [political science]." She also is looking forward to "taking advantage of the University of Pennsylvania's Spanish Department."
HIGH SCHOOL HIGH POINT: "There is no one moment . . . I feel blessed to be a part of so many different things."

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Extraordinary seniors: Allison Cohen

2012 grads - Cohen

His bones may be fragile, but Maurizio Fabrizi is leaving high school stronger than ever.
Fabrizi, 18, of <a href="/topics/Franklin_Square%2C_NY">Franklin Square</a>, is graduating with an Advanced Regents diploma and the satisfaction of knowing he's no different from anyone else.
He considers himself to be "just another regular kid," so it's hard to believe that Fabrizi, who was born with Osteogenesis imperfecta, an incurable disease that causes brittle bones, was once treated differently because of his disability.
He attended the Henry Viscardi School in Albertson for severely disabled children until the second grade, when educators realized that his intellectual development was on track for his age. He then attended his local elementary school in <a href="/topics/Stewart_Manor%2C_NY">Stewart Manor</a>, where his family was living at the time.
Fabrizi worked his way through mainstream classes -- excelling in math -- and wove through the hallways at his high school in Franklin Square in a wheelchair.
Bethann Lestrange, his guidance counselor, said he is often seen "giving high-fives to both the faculty and his peers."
In his free time, Fabrizi, who speaks Italian, enjoys playing video games and hanging out with his friends.
His positive attitude toward life makes him a great role model, school officials said.
Fabrizi, however, is modest.
"I'm taking it day by day and just having fun," he said.
HIS PLANS:To attend <a href="/topics/SUNY_Old_Westbury">SUNY Old Westbury</a> to study accounting and business.
AT COLLEGE I'M MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO: "I hope to figure out my career <a href="/topics/Path.com">path</a>. I'd like to be successful in the business world."
HIGH SCHOOL HIGH POINT:"The friends I've made and the fact that everyone treats me like everyone else."

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Extraordinary seniors: Maurizio Fabrizi

2012 grad - Fabrizi

The <a href="/topics/West_Babylon%2C_NY">West Babylon</a> High School Robotics Club was looking for new members in 2008 who were interested in design and computer programming to build a robot during the school year, and someone was needed to pilot it in the year-ending competition against other schools.
Gerard DeSimone, the club adviser, turned to Vincent Ficarrotta, a freshman he'd seen navigating the school hallways in a joystick-controlled motorized wheelchair. "You're a natural at it," DeSimone said. "I want you to drive."
So began months of lunch-period practice sessions. Four years later, Ficarrotta, 17, of West Babylon, is still with the team.
"Robotics brought me into the tech field and put a focus on my interest," he said. "I fell in love with it."
High school hasn't always been easy for Ficarrotta, who was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, a condition that results in stiff joints and abnormally developed muscles.
"Everybody knows me as the kid in the chair," he said. "I try to be as open as possible about it; I'll joke about it with my friends."
After years of exercising after school with a hand-cycle and lifting weights, Ficarrotta said, doctors have told him he may have reached his body's limits. 
It's still hard to write fast enough to take notes in class. It's impossible to shoot baskets by hand, a task he performed with the help of a robot at this year's club competition when he led West Babylon to a 21st-place finish out of a field of 50 <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a> teams.
DeSimone is eager to see what the next four years will bring for the student he calls the "quarterback" of the robotics club. "I don't think I ever heard him say, 'I can't do this.' "
HIS PLANS: To attend <a href="/topics/Farmingdale_State_College">Farmingdale State College</a> and major in computer systems.
AT COLLEGE I'M MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO:Having to do everything on my own.
HIGH SCHOOL HIGH POINT:Finding out I was going to graduate and getting into a great school.

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Extraordinary senior: Vincent Ficarrotta

2012 grads - Ficarrotta

Alexis Geiger had faith that succeeding in school would be her way out of a troubled family life, which included living in a motorcycle shop owned by her father and bouncing from home to home until a schoolmate's mother welcomed Geiger into hers.
In her senior year of high school, Geiger's faith has been rewarded. She has been accepted into Binghamton University -- her first step toward a dream of becoming a doctor.
School staff and members of the <a href="/topics/Seaford%2C_NY">Seaford</a> family who took Geiger in last year describe her academic career as a monument to will.
Geiger, 17, said what it really took was focus -- on schoolwork, sports and clubs, and not on her difficult family life. She kept herself busy in high school as a member of the Key Club, the National Honor Society and the drama club, by running track and by playing the French horn in the marching band. She also tutors peers in German and biology.
"I just thought that the only way I could get out of that situation would be if I kept up my studies and pushed myself the best I could to get into a really good college," said Geiger, who will graduate with a weighted average above 100. "That was my main focus, no matter how bad my day was."
Geiger was born in Stuttgart, Germany, and immigrated to America with her family when she was 5. Her parents separated shortly after, she said.
She lived with her father until starting her junior year, spending several years using the parts and inventory area of his <a href="/topics/Mineola%2C_NY">Mineola</a> motorcycle shop as a bedroom, she said. The Geigers later moved to a machine shop in <a href="/topics/Freeport%2C_NY">Freeport</a>. There was an apartment above it, but conditions were less than ideal, and there was still strife in the family, she said. Geiger eventually left, living with an aunt and then a friend.
In December, Patricia Nicholson, a single mother whose son attends Seaford High, learned of Geiger's situation and took her in.
"I found out she was a great kid and needed a place to be until she goes away to college," Nicholson said.
Now, with the help of grants, loans and scholarships, Geiger is poised to begin Binghamton in the fall as a double major in German and biology.
She said the high point of her high school career was transferring from Freeport High School to Seaford High, because it was "where people started caring." In college, she said, she is looking forward to pushing herself academically and preparing for medical school.
When she comes home for breaks, it will be to Nicholson's house, Geiger said.
"It has been like a blessing, and they've given me that extra push I've needed to get into college," she said. "I'm pretty much one of their own."

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Extraordinary senior: Alexis Geiger

2012 grads - Alexis Geiger

For the past two years, Benjamin McLaughlin has been working to create a solar-powered classroom that would fit into a shipping container and would -- for the first time -- bring 11 computer terminals to a part of <a href="/topics/Fiji">Fiji</a> where students are so poor they don't even have paper and pencils.
A few weeks ago, he watched as the classroom was packed on a truck and sent on a trip halfway around the world. After it gets there, he and several classmates will go to Fiji to set it up.
"Everyone in school helped," he said, including drawing a globe on the shipping container along with the word BULA -- it means "hello" in Fijian -- in big red letters.
McLaughlin, 18, of <a href="/topics/Bridgehampton%2C_NY">Bridgehampton</a>, said he wanted to do a school project involving solar energy, and he chose Fiji because he wanted to find a place where there was a great need and where no one else was doing much. The solar classroom cost about $35,000. McLaughlin got a Lowe's Environmental Leadership Grant of $5,000 to help pay for it, sought donations from family and friends and picked up other donations from community organizations, including the <a href="/topics/East_Hampton%2C_NY">East Hampton</a> Rotary Club.
McLaughlin has also used his design skills to build a solar-powered irrigation system for a school greenhouse.
He said he has spoken to others about creating similar solar classrooms, but that it could take years for other districts to approve the project. "I'll have to pass the torch," McLaughlin said.
HIS PLANS: McLaughlin has applied to Arizona State, <a href="/topics/Oregon">Oregon</a> State and the <a href="/topics/University_of_Denver">University of Denver</a> to study environmental science.
AT COLLEGE I'M MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO:Getting involved in a hands-on program that will let him focus on things he finds interesting, not just going to regimented classes. "That would be 13th grade," he said.
HIGH SCHOOL HIGH POINT: Creating and shipping out BULA.

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Extraordinary senior: Benjamin McLaughlin

2012 grads - Ben McLauglin

For Lorenzo Nuñez, the best things in life are most definitely free.
As a freshman, Nuñez planned and created what came to be known as the Something for Nothing Store, a marketplace in Valley Stream of gently used goods that he gave away to shoppers at no charge.
The idea sprang from the 2008 stock market crash and a subsequent conversation in which Nuñez and his guitar teacher pondered the concept of how different people would be if everything in life were free. Nuñez, a member of the Baha'i faith, asked his religious community to donate a vacant storefront.
With the help of friends and family, he built shelving, made a window display and created a website to explain the store's concept. He stocked it with items from his home or those donated from friends, and ran the store on weekends and after school.
After giving away 4,000 items, the store closed in 2010 to make space for a community program for children.
"The store existed not only just to fill a material need or to keep money in people's pockets during tough times, it uplifted people emotionally, and gave them hope that they would pull through this economic disaster," Nuñez, 18, wrote in his college essay.
Nuñez grew up in <a href="/topics/Locust_Valley%2C_NY">Locust Valley</a>, where he was a three-sport athlete, playing basketball and lacrosse and running cross-country. He has won the scholar-athlete award every year since he was a freshman.
"I think the most notable thing about Lorenzo is that even though he has accomplished so much, he is so modest," guidance counselor Jillian Celli said.
One of the most meaningful relationships that Nuñez has is with his 16-year-old brother, Armando, who is autistic.
"I always feel like he is communicating with me," Nuñez said. "I fill in the words and he agrees with them. I kind of love it to hang out with him. As kids we were really separate most of the time, but now I know how to hang out with my brother -- it is a beautiful relationship."
Nuñez will graduate with an International Baccalaureate diploma and has been accepted to the <a href="/topics/Rochester_Institute_of_Technology">Rochester Institute of Technology</a>, where he plans to study mechanical engineering.
His favorite subjects are the sciences and social studies. Nuñez had an architecture internship a few summers ago and attended a pre-college program at <a href="/topics/Pratt_Institute">Pratt Institute</a> for architecture last summer. But he's not interested in building houses and skyscrapers.
"What I am really looking to do is, I want to go into the automotive industry," Nuñez said, adding that he would like to create a hybrid vehicle that gets energy from the wind. "I want to design and create a new generation of vehicles."

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Extraordinary seniors: Lorenzo Nuñez

2012 grads - Lorenzo Nuñez

Nothing gets in the way of Hope Reindl.
The avid athlete took a rare, near-fatal cardiac event and turned it into an opportunity to inspire others and unite her high school.
In May 2011, Reindl had a heart attack and collapsed on the court at Comsewogue High School during an intramural basketball game.
The otherwise healthy athlete survived, thanks in part to her coaches, Justin Seifert and Rick Miekley, and the school's AED (automated external defibrillator). She now lives with a pacemaker.
The incident was life-altering. Reindl, 18, had dreams of playing college softball but was suddenly told she couldn't play any contact sports.
She was crushed, but the game was not over.
"I hate losing, but I'm not going to be a sore loser," said Reindl, of <a href="/topics/Port_Jefferson_Station%2C_NY">Port Jefferson Station</a>.
So she channeled her determination into giving back to the organization she believes saved her life, the Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation, named after a <a href="/topics/Northport%2C_NY">Northport</a> lacrosse player who died in 2000 during his first high school game.
The group promotes awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and successfully lobbied to require all schools in <a href="/topics/New_York_%28state%29">New York</a> State to have an AED in their buildings and at athletic competitions.
"I wanted to give back and try to save another life," Reindl said.
She rallied her friends and they raised more than $5,000 over the past year for the foundation -- enough to buy five AEDs for athletic programs that could not afford them.
They sold bracelets that read "AEDs give us HOPE" and organized a wiffle-ball tournament called "Hits for Hope," among other things.
Reindl also spent the past year focusing on her other talents. One of the high points of her year was leading her varsity bowling team to league championships. She had a high score this year of 234.
And she also spent more time on her other passion -- photography. Reindl expanded her skills and became an editor for the high school's MSG Varsity organization.
She plans to attend <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Community College to study visual arts and photography. When the time comes, she is looking forward to transferring to SUNY New Paltz for a bachelor's degree.
Reindl wants to pursue a career in nature photography, which would include yet another of her passions -- camping and hiking. Her dream is to work for <a href="/topics/National_Geographic">National Geographic</a> or a similar magazine.
Her guidance counselor, Brenda Bell, has <a href="/topics/No_Doubt_%28musician%29">no doubt</a> Reindl will achieve great heights. She described Reindl as a strong and passionate person who "embraces every moment of her life."
"She has shown the strength of her heart in many capacities," Bell said.

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Extraordinary seniors: Hope Reindl

2012 grads - Hope Reindl

For Danielle Ripka, dance is more than an art; it's a way to connect classmates.
It's a bridge linking the worlds of special-needs students, who use dance as an outlet of expression, and those who want to be their mentors and role models.
Her efforts began four years ago when she started volunteering at Dancing Dreams, a Queens-based nonprofit for children with physical challenges.
Ripka took what she learned there and brought it last year into Jammin' Jayhawks, a program started by her older twin siblings that allows <a href="/topics/Jericho%2C_NY">Jericho</a> 's physically and mentally disabled students to play sports each week under the guidance of volunteer classmates. The program's five-week dance portion attracted 30 volunteers and 15 special-needs students this spring.
"It's not about ability," said Ripka, 17. "It's about having fun without being judged."
Ripka also created her school's Corner to Corner Book Club, which invites students to review non-curriculum books on a district website; it has about 100 reviews now. And she directed this year's school fashion show, which raised more than $10,000 for Cohen Children's Medical Center.
In addition, Ripka is the founder of Let's All Dance, a program that places bins at several local dance schools to collect gently used dance wear for underprivileged children.
"Danielle does not simply observe from afar," said her guidance counselor, Brian Deaner. "She is a leader who takes a hands-on approach in everything that she accomplishes."
HER PLANS: Ripka will attend <a href="/topics/Northwestern_University">Northwestern University</a> in <a href="/topics/Illinois">Illinois</a>; her major is undecided.
AT COLLEGE I'M MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO:"The freedom of being on my own. And the added responsibility."
HIGH SCHOOL HIGH POINT: "Being elected co-president of Student Council. It's an honor because the whole student body votes, so it feels good to be picked by your peers."

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Extraordinary senior: Danielle Ripka

2012 grads - Danielle Ripka

If you can someday enjoy a backyard barbecue or a hike through the woods without being bombarded by mosquitoes, you may have Ruchi Shah to thank.
But it wasn't just annoying bug bites that led her to develop a mosquito repellent. Shah, of <a href="/topics/Ronkonkoma%2C_NY">Ronkonkoma</a>, was moved when an uncle in <a href="/topics/India">India</a> was stricken four years ago with dengue fever.
The potentially fatal disease, which is spread by mosquitoes, is rare in the United States. But worldwide it infects 100 million people annually, according to the federal <a href="/topics/Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>.
Shah's uncle survived, but she couldn't forget her visit with him at that clinic in India.
"What really struck me was this line of people outside this tiny clinic," said Shah, 18. "There's such a disparity [of wealth] and such poverty that people can't afford mosquito repellent."
When she got back home, Shah built a chamber to study how mosquitoes respond to human perspiration. She theorized that the insects are drawn to people with a high ratio of certain compounds in their sweat.
"My goal was to find out what those ratios were and what makes some people more attractive to mosquitoes," she said.
After more than two years of experiments, she created an all-natural spray that scares off the bugs -- and costs less than other types of repellent. Shah, who is her school's valedictorian, won a $25,000 Axa Foundation scholarship for her project and is seeking to patent the formula.
Her guidance counselor, Kurt Baumiller, said Shah "gives me faith in humankind. . . . She's going to change the world."
HER PLANS: "I'm heading to the Scholars for Medicine program at <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook_University">Stony Brook University</a>," which gains her automatic admission into the college's medical school. She will major in biology and journalism.
AT COLLEGE I'M MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO: "Meeting students from around the world who are just as passionate about something as I am."
HIGH SCHOOL HIGH POINT: Volunteering at Stony Brook University Hospital, where she brought books and magazines to patients. "It was kind of my job to be a little ray of sunshine and brighten their days a little bit."

LFSHAH10

Extraordinary senior: Ruchi Shah

2012 grads - Ruchi Shah

Jacklyn Sullivan has spent years surveying her peers as well as parents to better understand why we behave as we do.
"I think it's cool to see how humans interact on a behavioral level -- how there is a pattern to it," said Sullivan, 17, of Wantagh.
She was recently a semifinalist in the prestigious <a href="/topics/Intel">Intel</a> Science Talent Search, recognized for her work in assessing <a href="/topics/Girls_%28musician%29">girls</a>' body image. In May, she presented her research at the Association for Psychological Science convention in Chicago.
Sullivan gained recognition for another study focused on parents' attachment to particular children and presented her work at the American Psychological Association Conference in <a href="/topics/Washington%2C_D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a>, in August.
"It was interesting to see research being done by such influential people," she said.
Sullivan has also examined generational differences in views on <a href="/topics/Same-sex_Marriage">same-sex marriage</a> and homosexuality, a study she plans to continue in college.
<a href="/topics/David_Friedman">David Friedman</a>, science research coordinator at MacArthur, said Sullivan takes her work very seriously and is eager to help other students.
"She is always in the lab, missing her lunch period, coming in before school, coming in after school or for weekend competitions," he said.
But there's more to Sullivan, who has dyslexia, than research projects. She has spent years collecting food and gently used sports equipment for needy students around the world.
Her Old Cleats for New Feet program, which she started in 2003, has delivered more than 13,000 cleats, balls, jerseys and other items to children in Haiti, <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a>, <a href="/topics/Rwanda">Rwanda</a>, <a href="/topics/Uganda">Uganda</a>, the <a href="/topics/Dominican_Republic">Dominican Republic</a>, New Orleans, the Bronx and Philadelphia. The U.S. Soccer Foundation named her its National Volunteer of the Year in 2009.
HER PLANS: Sullivan will study psychology at Binghamton University.
AT COLLEGE I'M MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO: "Taking new classes that I might not have been able to take in high school."
HIGH SCHOOL HIGH POINT: "Going to science fairs and presenting."

LFSULLIVAN10

Extraordinary senior: Jacklyn Sullivan

2012 grads - Jacklyn Sullivan

Nicolas Sully suffered a stroke four years ago that left him partially paralyzed, but he refuses to let that paralyze his spirit.
He has transformed tragedy into triumph by making the school's honor roll, being a mentor to younger students and even recounting his road to recovery in a pending memoir. School officials describe him as "Elmont's finest."
Sully's success didn't come easy. The stroke left him in a coma for four days, and he remains paralyzed on much of his left side -- although he has regained some movement through <a href="/topics/Occupational_Therapy">occupational therapy</a> and daily stretching. He walks with a limp but without the use of a walker.
"We were playing basketball in a two-on-two tournament, and I started feeling a headache, but I continued to play because I love basketball," said Sully, 17, recounting the fateful day. At the time, he was an eighth-grader at William E. Grady Career and Technical Education High School in Brooklyn. "After the game, I tried to put on my left sneaker, but it felt like it weighed 1,000 pounds."
From there, Sully was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in Brooklyn, where tests revealed a blood clot in the back of his head, which he said has since disappeared. In addition to occupational therapy, Sully has undergone two surgeries to improve the movement in his left hand, but simple interests such as playing video games remain strenuous tasks.
Sully's hardships extended beyond the physical. Due to his paralysis, he said, many of his classmates were embarrassed to be around him, and his grades suffered as a result. The low point came when Grady administrators called his mother to tell her that he had failed five classes.
It was then that everything changed. Sully and his mother, Daniella, moved to Elmont after she bought her first house -- and that meant a new school for him. 
Sully cited the positive energy and passion of his new teachers with renewing his love of learning.
"He had the desire to do and want better for himself," guidance counselor Sanju Liclican said. "From the onset, Nicolas presented himself as humble, respectful and a determined student. He was very clear on his expectations for himself and lived up to them in a spectacular fashion."
Sully's achievements included making the school's honor roll and principal's list in his junior year and being active in the Big Brother Big Sister, Global Links, and Students Against Destructive Decisions clubs.
He plans to study health sciences this fall at <a href="/topics/Queensborough_Community_College">Queensborough Community College</a> and hopes to work eventually in a hospital as an anesthesiologist or psychiatrist, helping others who have faced challenges similar to his.
He is also penning a memoir in the hopes of raising awareness about strokes. It is being edited by his English teacher, Richard McAllister, who says Sully has "an aura of class that is few and far between."
Sully aims to lead by example.
"I just keep my head up and do what I gotta do," he said of his post-stroke attitude. "If this ever happens to someone else, I want them to be able to look at me as an inspiration."

LFSULLY10

Extraordinary seniors: Nicolas Sully

2012 grads - Nicolas Sully

LI's 2012 extraordinary seniors

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