Whiz Kids’ Names: Lauren Kawulicz, Christopher Kelly, Zoe Miller and Alexandra Willey Whiz Kids’ Ages: All four are seniors at Brookfield High School (BHS) Whiz Kids’ Accomplishment: Four Brookfield High School (BHS) students have been named Commended Students in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program Key to Awesomeness: Kawulicz, Kelly, Miller and Willey join about 34,000 commended students throughout the nation being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2012 competition for National Merit Scholarships, Commended Students placed among…
Whiz Kids’ Ages: Gus Koenecke, III, and Zach Koenecke are 15; Theresa DeFreitas is 16 Whiz Kids’ School: Zach and Theresa attend Brookfield High School. Gus attends Henry Abbott Tech in Danbury Whiz Kids’ Accomplishment: As representatives of BHS Robotics Team 1099, the DiscoTechs, they won the CT FIRST ShowBot design competition. Key to Awesomeness: CT FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an organization that works to inspire students to “discover the excitement and rewards of science and technology.” For the CT FIRST ShowBot Design Competition, teams must “…
Whiz Kid’s Age: 16 (17 on Friday) Whiz Kid’s School: Brookfield High School Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: Brian Coleman has been named co-section leader in the BHS band Key to Awesomeness: Brian Coleman and his family moved to Brookfield in 2004. That year, he picked up the trumpet, his first instrument. The trumpet is still his main instrument, but these days he can also be found playing the piano in the band room whenever he has a free moment in school. Brian has become so dedicated to his music that instead of saving to buy a car, he used his money to buy a Bach Stradivarius trumpet. After …
Whiz Kid’s Age: 10 Whiz Kid’s School: Home schooled Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: Elizabeth Booth traveled to Spain this summer as part of the advanced section of St. Mary’s Student Schola to sing at World Youth Day. Key to Awesomeness: Lizzy Booth began taking voice lessons at five years old under Margaret McKerrow at the Music Learning Center in Danbury. For the past two years, Lizzy has learned Gregorian Chant and Polyphony under the direction of David Hughes of St. Mary’s in Norwalk. She was part of the group of advanced students in the choir who were invited to sing at World Youth…
Whiz Kids’ Ages: Therese, 9; Kateri, 11; Maximilian, 12; Zacchaeus, 15 Whiz Kids’ School: The children are all home schooled Whiz Kids’ Accomplishment: The Lock children traveled to Madrid, Spain where they, as members of the Saint Mary’s Student Schola, had been invited to sing at World Youth Day. Key to Awesomeness: Six years ago, Ann Marie Mitchell offered to teach basic, traditional Gregorian Chant at Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys Church. Therese, Zacchaeus, Maximilian and Kateri Lock practiced with Ms. Mitchell three afternoons a week. In September 2008, the Lock children joined the Saint…
Whiz Kid’s Age: 18 Whiz Kid’s School: 2011 graduate of Brookfield High School (BHS) Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: Earned the Eagle Scout award in Boy Scouts Key to Awesomeness: To earn the Eagle Scout award, a Boy Scout must advance through six ranks, with each rank increasing in difficulty, and earn at least 21 merit badges. A scout must also be active in his troop, holding some leadership positions, and performing community service. All of this work culminates in an Eagle Project. For his project, Mark chose to improve the entrance to the community room at the Brookfield Library. Mark saw …
Whiz Kid’s Age: 19 Whiz Kid’s School: Brookfield High School (BHS) and Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: Zach Sorena’s artwork is on display at Brookfield Town Hall through September 30. The Brookfield Arts Commission is hosting a reception for Zach at Town Hall on Thursday, August 25 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. to officially open the show. The public is invited to attend this event. Key to Awesomeness: Zach creates his art primarily using colored pencils and markers, but has recently begun trying other mediums such as oils, acrylics, watercolors and charcoal. …
Whiz Kid’s Age: 18 Whiz Kid’s School: 2011 graduate of Brookfield High School Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: Tyler Appleby attained the Eagle Scout Award in Boy Scouts Key to Awesomeness: For his Eagle project, Tyler organized and spent over 200 hours cleaning up the Land’s End Cemetery, which is located on Route 25 just over the town line in Newtown. This historic cemetery was established in 1748. Reverend Thomas Brooks, who the Town of Brookfield was named for, is buried there. Today the cemetery is approximately four acres and over 1,000 people are buried there. The cemetery had become …
Whiz Kid’s Age: 21 Whiz Kid’s School: Graduate of both the University of Pennsylvania and Brookfield High School, class of 2007. Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: Erika was one of only four classmates to be commissioned by the University of Pennsylvania Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps this past May. Key to Awesomeness: In addition to being in the UPenn Naval ROTC, Erika studied nursing while in college. She is presently at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland as a Nurse Corps Officer. Erika gained a great deal of practical nursing experience during her time at UPenn. For …
Whiz Kid’s Age: 19 Whiz Kid’s School: New York University, Tisch School of the Arts Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: This past school year, Laura Fox was secretary of her residence hall, Third Avenue North, which is the largest freshman dorm in the country. Key to Awesomeness: At Tisch, Laura Fox is a Theater Major, with an Acting Concentration. In addition to being secretary of her residence hall, Laura was accepted into the National Residence Hall Honorary (HRHH). Laura was one of the top 11 graduates of the Brookfield High School (BHS) class of 2010. While at BHS she was CEO of the Student …
Whiz Kid’s Age: 18 Whiz Kid’s School: Northeastern University Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: Ryan Murphy placed third in the North American Irish Dance Championships in Nashville, Tennessee on July 4. This is an international competition with boys not only from the United States but from Scotland, England, Ireland and Australia as well. Key to Awesomeness: Ryan, a 2010 graduate of Brookfield High School, also placed 15th in the World Championships that took place in April in Dublin, Ireland. During that competition, the heel on Ryan’s dance shoe broke in the first round. He continued to dance …
Whiz Kids’ Age: Jackie Cookfair, a 2009 graduate of Brookfield High School, is 19. Elysse Yulo, a 2008 graduate of Brookfield High School, is 20. Whiz Kids’ School: University of Connecticut Whiz Kids’ Accomplishment: Jackie Cookfair and Elysse Yulo are working at Connecticut Repertory Theatre alongside Broadway legends Terrence Mann and Charlotte D'Amboise, as well as Eileen Fulton from As the World Turns this summer. Key to Awesomeness: The Connecticut Repertory Theatre is the professional theater arm of the University of Connecticut. The final show of the Nutmeg Summer Series is My Fair …
Whiz Kid’s Age: College junior Whiz Kid’s School: Cornel University Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: Bridget continues to be involved in empowering and educating girls while she majors in biological engineering, concentrating in environmental engineering at Cornel University. Key to Awesomeness: At Cornel, Bridget is a very involved member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). As part of SWE, Bridget has led science and engineering related activities at Ithaca’s Science Center, and at area middle and elementary schools. She has also led lab tours and hosted prospective high school students …
Whiz Kid’s Age: 17 Whiz Kid’s School: Brookfield High School Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: Winning the prose category of the Connecticut Young Writers Competition. Key to Awesomeness: Laura Simonson, recent Brookfield High graduate, won the prose category out of a record-breaking 806 entries. In addition to her writing, Laura is involved in many volunteer activities. At Brookfield High School, she participated in the Key Club and SOS. She also volunteers at her church’s coffee shop. She was treasurer of the Spanish Honor Society and as a member of DECA she won at the State competition. Laura …
Whiz Kid's Age: 18 Whiz Kid's School: Brookfield High School Whiz Kid's Accomplishment: Being an involved volunteer throughout his high school career. Key to Awesomeness: Austin served as one of two student representatives on the Brookfield Substance Abuse Coalition. The Brookfield Substance Abuse Coalition “is a volunteer organization deeply concerned about the impact of substance abuse on our community,” according to their website. Austin was also selected to be a member of the Peer Counseling group at the high school and he participated in the Big Brother/Big Sister program that takes …
Whiz Kids’ Age: high school seniors Whiz Kids’ School: Brookfield High School Whiz Kids’ Accomplishment: Chris and Kevin Peterson have both achieved their Eagle Award, the highest award in Boy Scouts. Key to Awesomeness: For their projects to complete their Eagle Awards, twins Chris and Kevin Peterson pursued their separate interests in ways to improve our community. Chris’ project was erosion control on a trail at Williams Park. Chris filled in the existing gullies and re-graded a 350-foot section of hiking trail at the park. He also installed six cedar water bars on the trail and used his…
Whiz Kids’ Age: Brookfield High School Seniors Whiz Kids’ School: Brookfield High School Whiz Kids’ Accomplishment: Three Brookfield High School seniors Deborah Frankel, Zachary Sorena, and Dena Virzera were awarded “Principal to President” scholarships. Key to Awesomeness: This past year, Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) awarded 23 “Principal to President” scholarships to Connecticut students, including three BHS seniors. This scholarship waived the tuition for Deborah Frankel, Zackary Sorena and Dena Virzera to take a course at Naugatuck and earn college credits while still in …
Whiz Kid’s Age: college sophomore Whiz Kid’s School: Western Connecticut State University Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: Tara is part of an ensemble cast which performed an off-Broadway musical review of Irving Berlin songs called “I Love a Piano” this past weekend at the TBG Theater in New York City. They will also perform “I Love a Piano” July 22 and 23at the Ives Concert Center on WestConn’s Westside campus. Key to Awesomeness: Tara Llewellyn graduated from Brookfield High School in 2009. During her high school career she sang in the Small Group of the Brookfield High School Chorus and …
Whiz Kid’s Age: High school junior Whiz Kid’s School: Brookfield High School Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: In 10th grade, David received the scholarship award for being the top first-year chemistry student in Fairfield County. David has also achieved a perfect 800 SAT score on the math section of the SATs. Key to Awesomeness: In addition to being a top honors-level student, who presently has a 4.3 GPA, David is a member of the BHS varsity basketball and football teams. He received a Honorable Mention in the SWC for football. David is also an active volunteer. He spends several hours each week …
Whiz Kids: The cast and crew of The Wiz Whiz Kids’ Ages: 9th through 12th grade Whiz Kids’ School: Brookfield High School Whiz Kids’ Accomplishment: Performing the musical The Wiz May 13 through 15 Key to Awesomeness: A large ensemble cast led by Coufee Goring-Wilson as Dorothy, Jackson Camp as the Scarecrow, Sebastian Aragon as the Tinman and Lou Levine as the Lion presented The Wiz at Brookfield High School (BHS). The play was directed by John LaMendola. Other principal roles were played by Zach Katz as The Wiz, Shea Westlake as Aunt Em, Krisa FitzGerald as Addaperle, Stefanie Sideman as …
