Saint John’s Prep Announces the Top Ten Graduates of 2017 Posted on May 24, 2017 in Press Releases, Student News Saint John’s Preparatory School in Collegeville will hold its 160th commencement ceremony Saturday, May 27, 2017 at the Saint John the Baptist Abbey Church, beginning with a 10 a.m. with a Baccalaureate Mass, followed by the presentation of diplomas to fifty graduates. Seniors selected Mr. Charles Miller, a Saint John’s Prep Physics instructor, to deliver the commencement address. Salma Muftah, daughter of Dahlia Elkadi of St. Cloud, will give the senior address. Students and their families will gather for socials before and after graduation in the Saint John’s Great Hall. The 2017 Top Ten Seniors for Saint John’s Preparatory School in alphabetical order are: Amelia Broman Amelia Broman is the daughter of Evelyn Erickson and Bruce Broman of St. Cloud. She will earn an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Saint John’s Prep. She will attend Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and will major in either physics or chemistry. Amelia’s favorite activities at Saint John’s Prep were girls’ swimming and Knowledge Bowl. Her most influential teacher at Saint John’s Prep was Physics teacher Charles Miller. Hobart Chen Zehao “Hobart” Chen is the son of Hang Chen and Qing Lan of Shanghai, China. He will attend Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and major in either mathematics or a science. While at Saint John’s Prep, he was very proud to write for the literary publication, The Triangle. His latest essay was “The Invaluable Wild Nature.” Hobart also competed with the Saint John’s Prep Math and Envirothon teams. Hobart placed in the top ten percent of the St. Cloud State University MathCounts competition. Eena Cheng Yinan “Eena” Cheng is the daughter of Xiaoming Cheng of Shanghai, China. She will earn an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Saint John’s Prep. She will attend Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. While at Saint John’s Prep Eena studied piano at Saint John’s University with Fr. Robert Koopmann, OSB. She won the second place in the Senior Young Artist Piano Competition in St. Paul, MN. Eena also competed with the Saint John’s Prep Math and Envirothon teams. Risa Fines Risa Fines is the daughter of Steve and Bonnie Fines of St. Cloud. She will earn an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Saint John’s Prep. Risa will attend Carleton College in Northfield, MN after taking a gap year in 2017. She is leaning towards majoring in mathematics. Risa’s most memorable experience with her classmates is traveling to London in February 2017 as part of the SJP Interim Trip. Alex Holt Alex Holt is the son of Glenn Holt and Pam Bacon of Sartell. He will earn an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Saint John’s Prep. His favorite experience at Saint John’s Prep was qualifying and competing in the state VEX Robotics competition. Alex will attend Carlton College in Northfield, MN. He is undecided on his major. His most influential teachers at Saint John’s Prep were German teacher Matt Beck and Chemistry teacher Eric Yanke. Lauren Kissela Lauren Kissela is the daughter of Marcia Allard and Chad Kissela of St. Joseph. In the fall of 2017, Lauren will attend George Washington University and major in Public Health and French with a minor in Spanish. She would like to pursue a career in the medical field and be able to use more than one language in her work. While attending Saint John’s Prep, she loved being a part of the cross-country team because she loved spending time outdoors with runners of all ages and grades. Alexandra Lee Alexandra “Alex” Lee is the daughter of Melissa Jansen and Michael Lee of St. Cloud.She will earn an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Saint John’s Prep. Her favorite subjects are biology and math. She will attend the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where she will pursue health promotion and disease prevention studies. She would like to eventually become a neonatal surgeon or an obstetrician. Besides competing in track and cross-country, Alex is also president of the Saint Cloud Hospital’s Junior Volunteers Advisory Board. Jennifer Lee Jeong Soo “Jennifer” Lee is the daughter of Sang-Kyu Lee and Seong-Eun Cho of Seoul, Korea. She will earn an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Saint John’s Prep. Jennifer will study either chemical and biomolecular engineering or material engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Her favorite experiences at Saint John’s Prep include competing in the Vex Robotics state competition, participating in International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge discussions and creating artwork for her International Baccalaureate art classes. Vincent Pan Vincent Pan is the son of John and Angela Pan of Taichung, Taiwan. He will earn an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Saint John’s Prep. He will attend the University of California in Davis, California and major in Zoology and Botany. Vincent would like to be a botanist and work as a researcher. His favorite teacher at Saint John’s Prep was biology instructor Mary Ellenbecker Johnson because she became more aware of his ecological responsibilities and his passion of the natural world. Lilly Xie Lilly Xie is the daughter of Ying Zhou and Kevin Xie of Sartell. Lilly will attend the University of California in Berkeley where she will begin pre-medical studies and minor in music. Her most memorable experience at Saint John’s Prep was to perform George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at her senior Spring Concert. She also enjoyed performing with friends at the SJP Coffeehouse talent shows. Her favorite teacher at Saint John’s Prep was orchestra director Jeff Engholm.
