Monday evening, Notre Dame Academy senior, Rosemary O’Neill, was awarded the Michael J. Petrides Student Award. The University of Pennsylvania-bound O’Neill is the third Notre Dame Academy student to receive the prestigious award since 2013--Eileen Macron ‘13 and Kathleen Coen ‘18. The Michael J. Petrides Award is given to a graduating senior who excels in math and science. Rosemary was chosen out of every Staten Island high school nominee. She not only excels in those subjects that interest her but is also dedicated to her own intellectual exploration in a multitude of disciplines. She is our top science scholar, having excelled in the four AP Science and Math classes she’s taken: AP Biology, AP Physics, AP Calculus, and AP Computer Principles.
Outside of the classroom, she is involved with several clubs, including Engineering Club and the Notre Dame Academy Forensics team. She personally entered into The Khan Academy Junior Video Challenge two years in a row. Her work on protein structure scored in the top 10% of the 12,000 international entries; her video on astrophysics and exoplanets scored in the top 20%. She is a member of the Notre Dame Academy Tennis team and as captain motivated her teammates by example and through the clear articulation of her thoughts.
Her teachers are continuously impressed by Rosemary’s inquisitive mind, asking the “right” questions to push those around her to explore topics deeper. Rosemary took AP Biology, a class normally taken by seniors, in her sophomore year--scoring the top in her class and receiving a 4 on the AP Biology exam. And she has always shown signs of intellectual prowess--impressing members of our community from her very first incoming 9th-grade scholarship application essay.
We are so proud of Rosemary and look forward to watching her grow as she attends one of the country’s most elite universities in the Fall.
Read more on silive: https://www.silive.com/news/2020/05/notre-dame-academy-senior-honored-with-petrides-award.html