On May 21, BASD TV aired a “virtually live” program to celebrate the academic achievement of the top 10 students at Freedom and Liberty high schools. Viewers tuned in to Channel 67 on RCN, Channel 265 on Service Electric, or BASDschools.org to see which students finished on top and where they plan to matriculate in the fall. In previous years, this event was called “Academic Signing Day,” similar to athletic signing days held at many schools, and involved a luncheon for the honorees.

The district’s top administrators congratulated the honorees, with Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy noting, “These students took full advantage of the academic opportunities our district provided,” going beyond rigorous coursework to join and lead clubs and teams, dual-enroll at local colleges, and help the community through volunteer work.

Asst. Supt. Dr. Jack Silva added his hearty congratulations, charging the students, “Don’t let the COVID-19 closure take any luster off your achievements. You’ve done your high school and your school district proud.”

Freedom Principal Michael LaPorta Jr. told the students, “Your hard work and efforts over the last four years epitomize the senior theme of going further and doing more.” The Freedom list of top students includes an appointment to the US Coast Guard Academy (Lleyton Herb) and six students electing to remain in-state, from as close as Lafayette College (Ryann Carlotz) to as far as Pitt (Alec Bovec).

Liberty Principal Harrison Bailey noted, “The pursuit of academic excellence is the primary purpose of public schooling,” and told his top graduates, “You took on intellectual challenges and persevered at the highest levels.” Liberty’s top 10 students include three choosing Moravian College (Magda Yurchishin, Barbara Yurchishin and Casey Frank). National Merit Scholar Julia Swart will attend West Virginia University.

The top students from each school (ranked by GPA), along with their colleges of choice, are:

Freedom: Kenan Kanopka (Georgetown University); Joshua Konschnik (Duke University); Lleyton Herb (United States Coast Guard Academy); Sarah Healy (Kings College); Alec Bovec (University of Pittsburgh); Ryann Carlotz (Lafayette College); David Shively-Ertas (Vassar College); Breanna Frankenfield (Temple University, considering transfer to Lehigh University due to pandemic-related uncertainty); Isabella Scipionio (George Washington University); and Molly Williams (Messiah College).

Liberty: Magda Yurchishin (Moravian College); Julia Swart (West Virginia University); Delaney Sullivan (University of Delaware; Shivani Patel (University of Pittsburgh); Yulin Chen (University of Pittsburgh); Camryn Bortz (Swarthmore College); Barbara Yurchishin (Moravian College); Casey Frank (Moravian College); Robert “Robbie” James (Bucknell University); Erin Nguyen (University of Rochester).