The school’s 162nd commencement ceremony was scheduled to take place, as it has for decades, on the first Saturday of June. Prep hopes to eventually have an in-person
ceremony. Photo courtesy of St. Francis Prep
St. Francis Prep class of 2020 celebrates
college acceptance, merit scholarships
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
St. Francis Prep is celebrating
the class of 2020 as more
than 600 seniors graduate
with prestigious college offers
and merit scholarships.
Despite challenges set forth
by the coronavirus pandemic,
St. Francis Prep seniors have
been attending classes and
events virtually, including
their final senior assembly.
The school’s 162nd commencement
ceremony was
scheduled to take place, as it
has for decades, on the first
Saturday of June. Prep hopes
to eventually have an in-person
ceremony, but there is no
guarantee.
In recent weeks, Prep President
Brother Leonard Conway
reached out to families advising
them that no student would
be asked to leave if their family
was suffering hardship due
to the impact of the pandemic.
On May 5, Conway and Prep
launched the TerrierSTAR
Program, or Student Tuition
Assistance & Relief, with
a heartfelt video plea. The
school, whose beginnings go
back to 1858, saw alumni start
to reach out to offer any assistance
they could.
One alum was TV personality,
Julie Chen, from the class
of 1987, who promised to match
every single donation made to
the TerrierSTAR fund.
Despite the current circumstances,
Prep’s seniors have
established themselves with
the broad array of colleges
they will attend, along with a
sheer amount of scholarship
money they have earned.
Prep seniors, who along
with the entire school community,
have adopted the phrase,
“Terrier Tough,” have received
acceptances from among other
schools such as New York University,
Cornell University,
Macaulay Honors College, the
Sophie Davis School, McGill
University, Dartmouth College,
Villanova University and
Lafayette College, where a set
of triplets were all offered a
scholarship.
TIMESLEDGER | 10 QNS.COM | JUNE 5-11, 2020
One student received a
full, named scholarship from
Columbia University, and five
students received full scholarships
from New York University.
Three female students will
be attending West Virginia
University, Xavier University
and Howard University to play
Division-I basketball, all on a
full scholarship.
As in past years, seniors
had the opportunity to have
on-site interviews, which always
results in significant
scholarship offers. Currently,
Prep’s College Office is preparing
statistics on scholarships,
and even with institutions “on
pause,” this year’s senior class
is well within reach of previous
year’s scholarship totals.
The average total merit
scholarship total for Prep seniors
over the last five years is
nearly $150 million.
Robyn Armon, longtime
award winning director of
College Counseling at Prep,
as well as the chair of Guidance,
credits her involvement
as a major reason Prep’s College
Office is able to provide
as much as they do to their
students.
“If I won the lottery, I’d still
do what I do, and no differently.
Changing the trajectory
of children’s lives is the most
important thing we can do,”
said Armon, who is a member
of numerous national boards,
including the National Association
for College Admission
Counseling, and is a voting
member of the College Board.
Armon cited Prep’s Senior
College Process Symposium
as a major resource for rising
seniors.
The symposium addresses
numerous elements inherent
to the college application process,
including the application
process, the college essay,
scholarship opportunities and
new financial aid information,
SUNY and CUNY applications,
the Common Application, and
the student resume.
St. Francis Prep is recognizing
the need for specialized
attention for its current junior
class in the college process.
“SFP is focusing our time
and energy on adapting to the
changing landscape with our
only goal of supporting you as
we work together to navigate
this process,” Armon wrote to
the junior class. “We are here,
and we are available to help!”
Prep’s Guidance Department
has been recognized with
the Middle States Association
of Colleges and School’s Program
of Distinction in School
Counseling, after a self-study
and visit by multiple representatives
from the Middle
States.
A major part of the Prep’s
Guidance department is college
counseling. Prep has
traditionally boasted a college
attendance rate of over 99
percent, with the remaining
students enlisting in the country’s
armed forces, or entering
the workforce to save for college.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or
by phone at (718) 260–4526.
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