The senior class at Classical Magnet School is small, but mighty.
“We have a class of 45 seniors and every student that applied somewhere, were accepted,” School Counselor Kenneth Montero said.
On May 1, also known as National College Decision Day, the 2023 graduating class was celebrated after all students were accepted either to a two-year college or four-year university.
“I’m really excited. I always loved art, so working with digital art makes me really excited,” senior Sabrina Ferreira said.
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Montero, a 12th-grade counselor, said the key to getting 100% of students enrolled in college was simply getting to know them.
“Because that is what helped me, help them. You fit in this college, what majors they are interested in and help guide them along the way,” Montero said.
According to the most recent data by the State Department of Education, enrollment in college and universities declined by about 5% during the Covid Pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
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Dwight Biggs, a freshman at the time, said it was difficult to concentrate while learning from home, but nevertheless he preserved and is the class salutatorian.
Biggs’ motivation is his parents, who came to Connecticut from Jamaica.
“Just being able to choose a big school between UConn and Howard -- that's really exciting for me because that wasn’t even a thought in their mind,” Biggs said.
Valedictorian Gaanai Winn faced different hurdles. During her senior year, she underwent spinal surgery, which made it hard to move around the hallways.
“I had everybody to help me, with my stuff, my backpack and everyone was really understanding and helping out,” Senior Gaanai Winn said.
Winn will attend UConn in the fall as a linguistics major.
As for words of advice, the seniors had plenty to share.
“I would tell them to take it one day, one step at a time,” Winn said.
“I would tell them not to worry too much,” Ferreira said.
“Don’t let anybody tell you can’t do something,” Biggs said.
