Darrow School Names Top Students for 2016
NEW LEBANON, N.Y. — Darrow School has named Kipling Papa Silveria, of Schenectady as valedictorian, and Ross Matican, of Tenafly, N.J., as salutatorian of the class of 2016.
The students have earned the School's top two academic honors, and will be recognized at Darrow's baccalaureate ceremony on Friday, June 3, and at the 84th commencement ceremony on Saturday, June 4.
"Kipling and Ross represent the best of what students can accomplish at Darrow," said Head of School Simon Holzapfel in announcing the selections. "I'm incredibly proud of their efforts and achievements during their time here."
Kipling Papa Silveria enrolled at Darrow as a freshman in 2012 and is the son of Maria Papa of Schenectady and Brandon Silveria of Los Gatos, Calif. He has been a resident assistant and video prefect, and is senior class president. He also earned athletic accolades over the past two years in cross country by coming in first place in multischool competitions on at least five separate occasions, representing Darrow in the New England All-Stars competition, and breaking several long-standing school records, including his own.
"But it was in academics where his driven, mature work ethic showed brightest," said his adviser, faculty member Joel Priest. "Kipling's capacity for intellectual pursuits, creative projects, and demanding workloads make him one of the highest-achieving students in our school. He has a voracious appetite for challenge and success. In 25 years of teaching, I have rarely seen a student who is capable of taking on so much and doing so well."
Kipling will attend the University of Southern California in the fall.
Ross Matican is the son of Jeffrey and June Matican.
"Ross has certainly left his mark at Darrow," said his adviser, faculty member Tom Tift, noting that Matican, who came to Darrow as a junior in 2014, immediately launched a successful bid for junior class president, despite being a new student in the class of 2016, and in his senior year, was elected Darrow's student body president.
"Ross immersed himself in campus life, serving as a core leader, student member of the Disciplinary Committee, and an enthusiastic player on the tennis team," Tift said. "As a student leader, Ross was a galvanizing force who organized thematic "town hall" meetings on race and diversity. He also launched and led the Darrow School Writing Lab, a peer-led program designed to provide writing assistance for all students. "
Matican will attend Carleton College in Minnesota in the fall.
Darrow School is an independent, coeducational boarding and day school for Grades 9 through 12. Established in 1932 on the site of the historic Mount Lebanon Shaker Village on the New York–Massachusetts state line, the School has been recognized as a pioneer in the field of "hands-on learning."
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