Hinsdale Central High School Class of 2021
Graduates in the Class of 2021: 672
Honors Orator: Katrina Geiersbach
Senior Speakers: Noor Mryan and Hari Rao
Class of 2021 Executive Board: President Gianna Dugan; Vice President Ava Loughlin; Secretary Cayden Torsberg; Jamie Pecilunas, public relations; Heather Raslan, school board liaison; Michael Bradly and Jimmy Draddy, social chairs; Sally Phillip and Kristen Bronke, sponsors
Summa cum laude: Sidh Leekha, Bilal Khan, Derek Song, Kaitlin Mrksich, Rei Hemmer, Aileen Yang, Ansh Shah, Katrina Geiersbach, Nithin Reddy, Matthew Hester, John Fakouri, Amer Goel, Eric Brugge, John Olsen, Luke Berg, Chloe Attlan, Katherine Wilson
Magna cum laude: Jay Amin, Linda Li, Alexander Jin, Emily Gottschalk, Amogh Mantri, Ethan Greenwald, Benjamin Newton, Elizabeth Gurland, Aryan Bahl, Noah Islam, Marit Ley, Heather Raslan, Qing Dang, Akshay Undevia, Christian Gambla, Rayaan Rauf, Zayn Bajwa, Thomas Kusak, Julia Cashman, Jessie Wang, Kaitlyn Zhu, Hari Rao, Dilan Garg, Jennifer Liu, Anirudh Raghuvir, Roslyn Tischke, Gianna Dugan, Anuha Parvataneni, Dov Chen, Kai Dubauskas, Paige Michal, John Tischke, Raina Jain, Rachit Das, Anna Pellegrino, Olivia Ostrowski, Sharika Kottapalli, Megan Michaels, Mason Giacchetti, Kritin Shanmugam, Anika Holur, Amelia Mo, Anna Coffey, Ajay Jejurikar, Gaia Quaranta, Amir Jawed, Elizabeth Sieger, Abigail Antinossi, Faith Drescher, Rebecca Blake, Cedra Jazayerli, Denys Pavlyk, Mikhail Essa, Zhiping Su, David Bynan, Krishna Hota, Emily Zhang, Lana Elzein, Sophie Burns, Xing Gao, Katerina Chess, Justin Tatooles, Emma Kavuliak, Elizabeth Farah, Lily McCain, Merwin D'Souza, Anastasia Chibucos, Skylar Penland, Maria Rivera, Apple Patel, Abigail Clark, Alec Schmidt, Akhilesh Pandravada, Kathleen Tobia, Jessica Miller, Luke Rosenblum, Leah Cecchini, Neel Donthamsetti, Arjun Krishnan, Allison Kinsey, Henning Ley, Victor Bouret, Sean Millman, Audrey Giltner, Lauren Oleferchik, Joseph Luo, Jake Adams, Grace Clopton, Margaux Bouret, Sophia Biancalana, Jack Doppke, Kyle Haggard, David Lacayo, Lais Najjar
Extracurricular achievements:
• Forensics (Speech team) placed 2nd at the IHSA State tournament
• Scholastic Bowl won both their IHSA Regional and Sectional finals
• BPA had 10 students compete and place in the National competition
• Solstice Magazine was awarded the Gold Crown by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA). The Gold Crown is the highest award offered by CSPA.
Theater productions:
• Musical - Theory of Relativity
• Fall Play - It's a Wonderful Life
• Freshmen Play - 10 Ways to Survive Life in Quarantine
Senior Class gift: A bench for the new fine arts entrance for students to hang out before and after school outside together.
What traditional events were adapted for the pandemic and how?
• Ethnic Fair was virtual with demonstrations rather than performances.
• All plays and musical were prerecorded and streamed to the students and community
• Prom was held at our school not a venue, but open to the entire Class of 2021 to attend.
• Clubs and activities met via Zoom and some in person this year. Competitions for IHSA Activities were all virtual this year - none in person, but we competed in all of them: Chess, Scholastic Bowl, Debate, Forensics, eSports, Math team, Mock Trial, Model UN, Poetry, Robotics, Science Olympiad, JETS/WYSE.
• The Variety Show as all virtual.
What were the most significant challenges faced by the Class of 2021 and how did they overcome them?
The most significant challenge was that they couldn't all be together all year. They are resilient and adjusted so well. They got involved in clubs and activities and made the most of the time they got to be together no matter what that looked like for them.
Principal's reflections on the Class of 2021:
I am so proud of the student voices that resonated this school year. While COVID-19 may have kept us 6 feet apart and often in isolation, you let your voice be heard. Whether you made your way to my office, counselors, deans, or your teachers classroom, you voiced your concerns and praise about Hinsdale Central. As you begin your ideal future, please take your experiences with you, share your voice, and be a difference in this world!
- Principal William C. Walsh