Written by Kayla Burt|
Photos by Kayla Burt, Steady Photography, Morgan Pawprint, Amber Vuilleumier|

For the past four years, the Class of 2016 has worked very hard to get to where they are now. In about two months, the Class of 2016 will turn into the Class of 2020. These students have given numerous hours of their time to complete homework assignments, projects, and to participate in extracurricular activities and sports. Their motivation and dedication to their social and academic lives is outstanding. They truly are the up and coming leaders of this world. Due to the competitive nature of this class, it was very difficult to make the top ten ranking. However, the students that did make it, truly deserve it. They have demonstrated the qualities of leaders and dedicated workers throughout their years here at The Morgan School.

The Top Ten students of the Class of 2016 are Micheal Baker, Kayla Burt, Jamie Corcoran, Catlen Goss, Meghan Lindsay, Kate Mozzochi, Nola Neri, Emily Popp, John Micheal Van Ness, and Amber Vuilleuimer. This list is in alphabetical order, not in order of rankings.

These students not only have the highest GPA in their class, but they are all well-rounded people. Many are participants of extracurricular activities and sports, yet somehow they maintain their grades. Here are some mini bios of the top ten. Each and every one of them embody what all students at Morgan should strive for.

Micheal Baker is in charge of many clubs here at Morgan. He feels that it is his job to “keep everybody united as a family,” and he likes “to get as many people involved as possible” because he is our Senior Class president. “It is always great to see how well everybody does cooperate,” he explains. He is very happy to be in the top ten; he feels very accomplished. His motivation and individuality is what has brought him to where he is now. Micheal will be attending the honors college at Boston University in September.

Kayla Burt is part of the National Honors Society, Spanish NHS, Morgan musical theater, Morgan cheerleading, and she also dances outside of school at the Audrey Ward School of Dance. She has been participating in this for 14 years. “I am very happy and relieved that I have accomplished what I have. I struggled to keep a balance between my academics and extracurriculars. It is nice to see that my hard work has finally paid off.” Kayla will be attending Salve Regina University in the fall to major in nursing.

Jamie Corcoran is on the field hockey and tennis team at Morgan. She is involved in GSA, Lit Mag, Interact, and the STEP program. She is happy and proud to be in the top ten because “our class is so competitive”. She attributes her success to her supportive parents and her own work ethic. She also was one of the few of this group to not get too stressed about her work. She stayed calm and collected all four years, which is something extremely important to being successful. Jamie will be attending the University of Connecticut in the fall.

Catlen Goss has been very active in the athletic community at Morgan. She played soccer her freshman year and then ran cross country the past three years. Her senior year she became captain. She ran indoor track all four years, and her senior year she was captain as well. She is very happy to have made top ten because she feels that all that hard work was worth it. “I attribute my success to my motivation and determination to do something great/different with my future.” Catlen will be attending the Naval Academy, which is something we are all very proud of her for doing. She is the definition of the well known phrase: small but mighty!

Meghan Lindsay has been very involved in the Morgan community all four years. She participated in many sports such as field hockey, lacrosse, and indoor track. She has been a member of student council all four years, and she has also been a part of many different clubs: Student Leadership Society, National Honors Society, French National Honors Society, and Peer Advocates. “I am extremely thankful that I was able to make top ten. I have worked really hard the past four years so finding out that my hard work has paid off was a huge “feel-good” moment for me”.  Meghan will be attending the University of Connecticut this coming September.

Kate Mozzochi has been part of the Morgan soccer team, indoor track team, and outdoor track team. She is a member of the Student Leadership Society, Interact Club, Peer Mentoring, National Honors Society, Spanish NHS, and Technical NHS. “I am so thankful, humbled and proud to be a part of the top ten,” she explains, “and I am so proud of all my classmates who have made top ten because I have seen how hard everyone has worked and it is such a great feeling to see that hard work pay off for people who are so driven and and dedicated.” Kate will be attending Lafayette College in the fall.

Nola Neri has been a part of the Morgan soccer, fencing and track&field teams during all four years of her high school career. She was captain of the fencing team and track&field team this year. She is in interact, environmental club, and she was in the Student Leadership Society for two years. “I attribute my academic success to the hours and hours of work that I have put into my classes and into homework. Although some nights I may have received little sleep, I was able to learn the information well and achieve good grades.” She is going to continue her success at Wesleyan University this September.

Emily Popp is a participant in Morgan volleyball and softball. She is also in NHS, Spanish NHS, Environmental club and Interact club. She is extremely grateful for all the people that helped her through this process. She attributes her success to her hard work, “It takes a lot to be in the top ten. You need a lot of determination”.  Emily plans to continue this hard work at Skidmore College this coming fall.

Micheal Van Ness is a member of the Morgan golf team, Morgan band, the Frisbee club, and the mentoring program during advisory. He is also a representative for the Morgan body at the Board of Education, and he is a participant in the Professional Development Day at Old Lyme which is geared towards the improvement of student life. “My work ethic is the single most important thing to my success. Although work can sometimes be stressful or even boring, I know that if I try my hardest on all my assignments I will be successful.” He feels very proud and happy to be in the Morgan’s top ten. Mike will be attending Lafayette College in the fall.

Amber Vuilleumier has been very involved all four years of her high school career. She is on the Morgan volleyball team and is part of NHS, French NHS, Student Leadership Society, Art Club, Interact, and the STEP program. She attributes her success to her family, friends, coaches, teammates, and older students for encouraging her throughout the school years. “I am very relieved because all of my hard work has paid off,” she explains, “I’m happy to know all those long nights were worth it!” Amber will be attending Endicott College in September.

Each and every one of these students should be very proud of what they accomplished. They have worked long days and night to be where they are now. We wish them the best of luck in their new lives they will begin outside of the Morgan School. Congratulations Class of 2016!