Post-Graduate Plans for WHS Class of 2018

In just a few weeks, some members of Wilton High School‘s Class of 2018 will be heading off to college and other destinations. Below is a list of post-graduate plans for a portion* of the students that graduated at the end of June.

*Following the publication of an opinion column by one of our senior interns, Shelby Connor, about the pressures experienced by some high school seniors in identifying such post-high school plans, we took her advice and decided we would only print the plans of students who voluntarily provided us with the information.

UPDATE, 6 P.M.–We’ve heard from some parents (and other curious residents) about seniors who aren’t on the list. Here’s why they’re not:

In past years, shortly after graduation ceremonies, Wilton High School sent local media the list of post graduate plans for the graduating class, after offering students a choice about opting off the list before sending it to us. As we mentioned above, our intern from the Class of 2018 wrote a convincing opinion column about why she thought lists like these can be minefields for some graduates. She wrote that some graduating seniors feel the pressure of keeping up for fear of falling short in comparison to others; that they may not know their plans; and that even when given the choice of opting out, the absence of being on such a list speaks volumes in a competitive community like Wilton. We also thought that for privacy reasons, some grads might wish to keep their post-high school plans just that–private. 

So in conjunction with Shelby’s column, we announced we would compile our own list of graduates, and instead offered the opportunity to be included to anyone who wanted to opt in to publication, rather than the other way around.  We asked them to submit the info if they wanted by reaching out to graduates in several ways–via school email, on the Class of 2018 Facebook group page, and in Shelby’s column. We asked that they use their school email addresses to submit the info themselves. And we gave them a deadline by which to submit it. 

Shelby’s column was very widely shared and read. Between its June 15 publication date and the June 21 deadline, it was viewed more than 1,200 times. The original Facebook post for the column was ‘liked’ 185 times.

We did not receive a list of Class of 2018 post graduate plans this year from Wilton High School. So all we had to go on was what we received by the deadline–which is what we had announced we’d do anyway, in keeping with Shelby’s convincing argument.

We tried our best to get the word out. Despite multiple efforts on our part, it’s possible that some seniors didn’t know about our offer. Some parents may have read the original column but didn’t check with their graduates (who are presumably 18, and adults on their own now) to make sure the info was sent to GMW. Some kids consciously opted not to submit their info, which some parents were surprised to learn after the list below was published today. 

Next year, we’ll increase the effort even more to spread word of our offer to be included (at the risk of becoming annoying by asking too much). And if any Class of 2018 graduate who isn’t on the list below and would like to be included, we’re more than happy to add you now. (We want to hear from individual graduates directly, not parents, please. Because of privacy concerns, we can only accept first-hand information.) And while we may have disappointed some by running only a partial opt-in list, we still think we erred on the right side of what to do. After hearing from more than one grateful graduating senior, it’s a decision we continue to stand by.  

Julian Alber, University of Denver
María Alonso Álvarez, Universidad Pontificia de Comillas, Spain — School of Education
John Amato, University of Delaware
Tor Aronson, University of Pennsylvania
Matt Arrix, Miami University
Katherine Barbour, Denison University
Dylan Bayer, University Of Maryland
Andrea Benalcazar, Xavier University School of Nursing
Joshua Bender, Boston University
Cameron Berg, Yale University
Isabella Biegen, High Point University
Alyssa Bivona, University of Alabama
Julia Bonnist, College of the Holy Cross
Elizabeth Breslin, University of Dayton
Taylor Burke, University of California, Santa Barbara
Nicole Case, Amherst College
Isabel Casiraghi, Penn State University
Francesca Cawley, Bowdoin College
Eric Chubinsky, Penn State University
Christopher Colbert, Yale University
Kevin Connolly, University of Virginia
Julianne Cooney, Texas Christian University
Elizabeth Costello, College of Charleston
Maggie Cummins, University of Connecticut
Alexandra Curtin, Colgate University
Victoria Curley, Syracuse University
Adriana Curtis, University of Virginia
Andre Da Costa, Rochester Institute of Technology
Allison Danvers, Gap Year/International People’s College
Peter Delfeus, Providence College
Erin DelliSanti, University of Tampa
Jackson Dill, University of Miami
Richard Dineen, College of the Holy Cross
Nicole DiRocco, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Sydney Elia, University Of Maryland
Lacey Eller, Marist College
John Erardi, Temple University
Allison Farago, Endicott College
Maya Fazio, Bucknell University
Emily Ferencz, Lehigh University
Taylor Floyd, Ohio Wesleyan University
John Fung, University Of Maryland
Christian Haase, Sacred Heart University
Tate Harmon, College of Charleston
Robert Hermann, Union College
Jessica Highland, Georgetown University
Alexa Hirn, University Of Maryland
Caroline Hoffman, University of Colorado Boulder
Chloe Hornby, Loyola University Maryland
Michael Hueglin, Gettysburg College
Katie Jankowski, Hamilton College
Will Kalin, University of Alabama
Sophia Kammerman, University of Connecticut
Sophia Kaplan, Amherst College
Grace Keating, St. Lawrence University
Monique Kern, Purdue University
Emily Kesselman, Gettysburg College
Cara Kilmartin, University of Notre Dame
Grace Kirchof, Southern Methodist University
Olin Lancaster, Southern Methodist University
Zoe Lash, Colby College Lacrosse
Kelsey Locher, Central Connecticut State University
Elizabeth Lynch, University of Virginia
Megan Lynch, Bentley University
Lily Macdonald, Miami University
Johnny Maggio, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Lydia Manuel, Vanderbilt University
Caitrin Masone, West Virginia University
Emilie McCann, Tulane University
Emmerson McClintock, University of Maryland
Morgan McCormick, Yale University
Michael McElroy, University of Notre Dame
Haley McHugh, Eckerd College
Caleigh McMorris, University of South Carolina
Kendall Mellana, University of Colorado-Boulder
Megan Meyer, University of Delaware Cheerleading
Alyssa Murphy, Rollins College
Morgan Nadel, High Point University
Isabel Najah, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Kazuma Nobumoto, Virginia Tech
Madeline O’Brien, College of Charleston
Matt Olson, Dickinson College
Anna Onnerud, University of Connecticut
Madeleine Pagliaro, Gettysburg College Field Hockey
Madison Paradis, University of Dayton
Ella Paulson, University of Alabama
Covadonga Perez Pelaez, University of Michigan
Amanda Perry, Simmons College
Katherine Psaltos, Parsons School of Design
Brendan Quinlan, Loyola University Maryland
Vivian Quinlan, Quinnipiac University School of Education
Ethan Reichgut, University of Pennsylvania
Katie Reid, St. Lawrence University
Lauren Robertson, Wake Forest University
Kyle Saxon, University of Pittsburgh
Kyle Shifrin, University Of Maryland
Rithwik Shivram, University Of Maryland
Amanda Smith, Villanova University
Tyler Smith, Georgia Institute of Technology
Ryan Soltis, Purdue University
Christopher Sweeney, University of Michigan
Erin Sweeney, Ohio State University
Jelena Sypher, George Mason University
Jessica Tambascio, Chapman University
Addie Tanzman, University of California, Santa Barbara
Luke Terradista, Southern Methodist University
Mary “Molly” Thomas, Colby College
Gabriella Tomas, Quinnipiac University
Emily Torkelson, Bates College
Emily Tuin, Gettysburg College
Emily Tully, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Emily Underwood, Texas Christian University
Claire Vocke, Penn State University
Michael Wallace, Harvard University
Molly Ward, Clemson University
Elizabeth Wenman, College of Charleston
Caroline Wilson, Fordham University, Rose Hill