Clark University celebrates three greater Riverdale students

Three students from greater Riverdale were marked with outstanding academic achievements from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, as first and second honors.

To be honored, students must register for and pass at least three units of letter-graded courses in graduate or undergraduate courses.

In addition, students had to have received no grade lower than B- and maintain a grade point average of 3.8 or above for first honors or a 3.5 to 3.79 for second honors.

The following students were honored:

• Grace Dowling, a sociology student studying social issues such as housing and displacement. Before her arrival, she attended Bard College and received her associate of arts degree. After Clark, she intends to pursue a career in social services and visit her family here in the Bronx, the college said.

• Shoshana Hirschman

• Davin Moss, who graduated from the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School in Manhattan.

Founded in 1887, Clark is a private liberal arts-based research university.

There are more than 800 first-year students, and 85 percent of them receive financial aid.

The school gets its name from Jonas Gilman Clark, an American businessman and university founder, the first all-graduate school in the United States.

Clark’s history has shaped innovations from rockets to the birth control pill, the college states.

National merit scholarship finalists

This year, three schools in the northwest Bronx made the National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalists list, with 47 students in total.

The schools are:

• Bronx High School of Science – 43 students
• Fieldston School – two students
• High School of American Studies at Lehman College – two students

Merit scholarships have heavy competition as an organization hand-picks high school seniors around New York high school schools, private and public, city and state. The program honors individual students with exceptional academic ability and potential for success in college.

Last month, the organization reported more than 16,000 semi-finalists in the 69th annual Merit Scholarship program. These students can continue in the competition for some 7,140 national scholarships, nearly $28 million, that will be offered next Spring.

These seniors submitted a thorough application to acquire the distinction. First, their participation in school and community activities demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honor awards with an exceptional academic record.

From over the 16,000 semi-finalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to be finalists. They will find out in February if they become finalists.

In addition, candidates wrote an essay and earning SAT or ACT scores confirm student performance.

Saint Michael’s College grads

This year, two greater Riverdale students graduated from Saint Michael’s College, a selective Catholic college outside Burlington, Vermont.

Those graduates include:

• Ulysses Luciano a business administration and business management student. During high school  he played four years of varsity baseball at Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy which he eventually became captain.

• Felicity Rodriguez, a psychology and equity studies major who was employed at the college in various positions throughout her time at St. Mike’s. She began as an acquisition intern then became a staff member for the Center for Multicultural Affairs and Services.

Gerber latest to start college early

It’s not every day that students start college early, but this greater Riverdale resident is no ordinary student. This year, Max Gerber of Riverdale Country School joined the Fall 2023 class at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Gerber’s academic and personal achievements stood out, securing him a spot at Simon’s Rock.

The college is home to about 400 students who engage in a rigorous liberal arts and sciences curriculum and graduate from college one or two years ahead of their peers.

Bard College at Simon’s Rock is the only college in the country specifically designed for students ready to enter college after the 10th or 11th grade and begin working on their bachelor’s degree two years early.

Simon’s Rock offers a curriculum in the liberal arts and sciences. The college grants degrees in more than 35 majors.

Simon’s Rock is tied for No. 2 for Most Innovative School and tied No. 1 for Best Undergraduate Teaching by U.S. News and World Report (2023-2024) and The Princeton Review ranked Simon’s Rock among the Best Colleges in the Northeast. Simon’s Rock was named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S. Scholars for the 2022-23 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.

Lipskar gets big scholarship

Hannah Lipskar, of greater Riverdale, was named recipient of The Donald A. Hamilton Prize Scholarship at Hamilton College’s annual convocation ceremony on Aug. 23.

Lipskar, a junior majoring in government and religious studies, is a graduate of Horace Mann School.

Members of the administration welcomed students and new faculty, and academic achievement prizes were awarded to students at the ceremony officially marking the beginning of Hamilton’s 212th academic year.

The Donald A. Hamilton Prize Scholarship, established by the family and friends of Donald A. Hamilton, Class of 1924, is awarded to a junior who has displayed leadership, creativity, and determination in the classroom and in extracurricular activities, and who has improved in the past year.

Hamilton College, a leading liberal arts institution located in Clinton is where exceptional students explore passions through an open curriculum and robust research, internship, and off-campus study opportunities.

Students graduate ready to lead purposeful lives thanks to highly regarded faculty mentors, generous resources that support each student’s interests, and a loyal alumni network. The college’s need-blind admission policy ensures access for talented students with limited financial means.