Oxford Girl Ends Career as Salutatorian at Sacred Heart Academy

Sacred Heart Academy Salutatorian Tess Cersonsky of Oxford will be attending Columbia University this fall where she was accepted Early Decision in December. She plans to study biomedical engineering in the Fu Fountain School of Engineering and Applied Science and minor in French.

Tess was recently named a National Merit Finalist due to her academic record, a personal essay, and her scores on the SAT and the PSAT. In her senior year, she was awarded the Superintendent of Catholic Schools Summa Scholars Award and SCC Scholar-Leader award and was named Sacred Heart’s 2013 New Haven Register Youth of the Year. Tess was a finalist at the 2013 Connecticut Science Fair and winner of the 2013 Sacred Heart Science Fair for her project “Development of an in vitro model for implantation,” a laboratory research project that she worked on at Yale Medical School as part of the Discovery to Cure Summer Internship Program. Her college essay, “The Best Medicine,” was recently published in New Haven Magazine. In her junior year, she was named an AP Scholar and was awarded the Yale and Princeton Book Awards during Honors Convocation. She has been awarded with the Certificate d’Honour in the National French Contest for two years. She is also a Sister Antonine Signorelli Scholar.

As the choir manager of the Sacred Heart Academy Honors Chamber Choir, Tess was instrumental in planning the 2012 Honors Choir/AP French trip to Paris, France, as well as constructing elaborate concerts each winter and spring. She is a part of Concert Choir as well and has served as manager of both groups from 2011-2013. In addition to her work in the choir, Tess has held leading roles in White Christmas (2012) and The Wiz(2011), both of which were performed at the Shubert Theater. She also enjoys liturgical singing and is always a part of the singing for First Friday masses.

She is a member of the National Honor Society, French National Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, and Mu Alpha Theta Math National Honor Society where she served as communications director. She is president of French Club and a Key Club member.

Though she comes from a small town, Tess is ready to move to New York in the fall to begin her life at Columbia.

“Sacred Heart has made me who I am today. The amazing people at Sacred Heart have helped me reach new heights in academic achievement, musical accomplishment, and even personal development. The Academy will forever be part of who I am, and its influence will continue to help me to become a mature young woman."

Guidance counselor Patrick McAllister said: “Tess has excelled in so many diverse areas of endeavor, that it is almost incomprehensible how she does all that she does. Without doubt she is among the most accomplished science students that have ever walked our halls, and her focus on pursuing an education in science and engineering is as complete and thorough as could possibly be accomplished at her young age. What makes her unusually special, though, is that this interesting young lady seamlessly exchanges lab safety goggles for the make-up and costumes that she dons for featured roles in the annual musicals, belting out numbers that delight the audiences in our theatrical productions. Tess is a truly exceptional and grounded young lady for whom the sky is the limit.”

Editor's Note: This was written by Sacred Heart Academy and posted by Paul Singley. Also note that articles about Oxford High School's top two scholars will be posted later today.