It is with great pleasure that I introduce myself to the Morristown High School community. My name is Sophia Kenny and I am the Director of Guidance and Program Development here at Morristown High School. I am honored to lead a talented and dedicated team of school counselors whose mission is to support the whole student - academically, socially and emotionally.   Establishing, nurturing and growing relationships with all stakeholders is of utmost importance to me. I look forward to maintaining the successful practices of our department while exploring innovations that help position each of our students for even greater success beyond high school. In this, my fifteenth year working in education, I am committed to creating opportunities for young people to discover their purpose and to help guide their choices along their educational journey. 

I was once asked, “What feeds your soul?” Initially, I found the question difficult to answer. However, upon reflection on my career as a counselor and a coach I came to the conclusion that helping students find their path and answer this deceptively complex question has always given me great joy. In my new role, I wish to continue that work and create opportunities for our students to succeed. I look forward to a successful school year. 

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Sophia Kenny 

Director of Guidance and Program Development 

Morris School District

by Nathanael Varghese

This summer I was fortunate to be one of the eight students who were selected to attend the American Legion New Jersey Boys State. It was a week at Rider University where around 850 junior boys across the state of New Jersey came together to learn about the responsibilities and privileges as citizens of America. We created a mythical fifty-first state and split it up with 8 counties and 16 cities, with around 40 statesmen in each city. We were handed different problems ranging from climate change to solving campus problems through different forms of government. My experience at Boys State was overall a positive and memorable one. I was initially hesitant on the first day if I would enjoy the program, but as the days went by I was able to have a lot of fun as I started to meet new people. Whether it was playing the numerous available sports activities, hanging out with juniors all over New Jersey, or even trying to run for different positions, it certainly was a “week that shapes the future.” Joining me from MHS were Alpha Oduro, Shriram Vasudevan, Noah Potian, Reed Donegan, Jonah Sulkin, Louis De Leon, and Oliver Rosenthal.

Governor's School in the Sciences (GSS) by Dylan Wigdahl

This summer, I participated in the New Jersey Governor's School in the Sciences at Drew University. During the program, I explored a wide range of scientific fields through three classes, a lab, and a research project. In the classes Biology of Cancer, Human Evolution, and Data Science, I learned how cells transform and multiply to become cancerous, the evolutionary path from early primates to modern humans, and how to use computers to process data sets; in the lab Cellular Automata, I learned how applying simple rules to a grid of values could accurately model how diseases spread; and in the lab Archaeology and Material Science: Decoding the Secrets of Ancient Ecuadorian Pottery Engineers, I learned techniques to analyze the composition of ceramics collected from archaeological excavations. 

Governor's School of Engineering & Technology (GSET) by Shriram Vasudevan

GSET was an amazing experience! For three weeks, I worked on a project to develop a glucose monitor for use in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the help of a project mentor. It was intense with long work days, but really rewarding, and I made some great friends who I'm still in touch with. In addition to the research, we took courses taught by Rutgers faculty ranging from Game Design to Physics. At the end of the program, we presented our projects, and were encouraged to submit to another research conference, where we'll be heading to present our work again. Overall it was an incredible opportunity! 

by Alexander Ruiz

My Massenberg experience was great. The Massenberg STEM Institute was held in July at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.  It allowed for a college-like environment where we could grow inside of the classroom and out. For two weeks, we had classes from 9:00 A.M to 4:00 P.M. where we were shown presentations, participated in hands-on building, and heard from many professors and other faculty including the Chancellor of UMass, the Dean of UMass, and Mr. and Mrs. Weir who created the Massenberg program. We had lots of free time outside of the classroom to explore around campus. On the weekends, we had field trips outside of UMass like Six Flags. As part of the program, we had a trip to Boston. In Boston, we gave a presentation to Google about one of their existing products. This was a group project where we stood in front of our peers as well as Google employees so they could see what to change with their products. Also in Boston, we went to the Museum of Boston which was amazing. The final day we had our parents come to campus and we re-presented our Google presentations. Overall, The Massenberg program was great. The campus was very nice, the food was good, the activities were good, and I really enjoyed my time with the Massenberg STEM Institute.  Other students from MHS participating in the event were Joseph Mejia, Genica St Agathe, Kadin Hackett, and Lailah Saint Juste. 

by Karen Wolf

We are pleased to announce that MHS has two National Merit Semifinalists, Sarah Carroll and Miles Gorman.  Sarah and Miles will complete their applications to be considered as Finalists with the potential to obtain merit scholarships from their anticipated college as well as corporations. There are more than 16,000 high school seniors who qualify as semifinalists and New Jersey has one of the highest cutoff scores.  Students had to obtain a PSAT score from 11th grade in the 99th percentile to attain this academic distinction.  Congratulations to Sarah and Miles!

College Board has a wonderful website, https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/ , with many wonderful resources for college and career planning as well as scholarships. In addition, you can try the 15-minute career quiz to get matched with potential careers based on your likes and dislikes:  https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/career-search/career-quiz?SFMC_cid=EM1240479-&rid=47560732

• Located in Colorado Springs, 70 miles outside of Denver

• Operates on a "block plan." Students take 1 course at a time for 3.5 weeks

• Allows for focus on a specific subject area

• Appeals to students who are academically adventurous

• Campus offers a good blend of city life and nature

• Students must live on campus for the first 3 years

• 2,500 undergraduate students

• AP credit accepted, but varies by subject

• Each student has 2 advisors

• Notable Alumni include: Liz Cheney

• 80% of students complete an internship before graduation

• 20% increase in applications last year

• 11-12,000 deferred from EA pool

• Business & Engineering are the most competitive majors

• 53% of students accepted applied test optional

• 49% had a unweighted GPA of 4.0 or better

• 55% of admitted students are from Colorado

• Fall preview days 9/21 & 9/22

• 1/3 of student go abroad

• Villanova = "New Home"

• 3 pillars guide the application review process: "Veritas" (transcript/ GPA/ Tests), "Unitas" (Activities), "Caritas" (Love or charity work)

• Housing guaranteed first 3 years

• 95% of students live on campus

• Business majors need calc, Engineering majors need physics and calc, Nursing majors need bio and chem

• Still test optional 50/50

• 1430-1520 SAT score

• 33-35 ACT score

• AP credit decided upon by each academic department

Beginning Monday, October 21st, and ending Sunday, November 3rd, students can apply to up to five SUNY campuses with no application fee. This includes all campuses, no matter which application vehicle the student uses. The SUNY 2025 application is expected to be available beginning August 1st.

Please remember you can submit your application during the free application week period, but supplemental materials such as transcripts and letters of recommendation may be submitted after November 3rd.

SUNY's virtual presentations, including how to apply to SUNY and financial aid information sessions are in full swing this summer and we will add many more events this fall. All student programming can be found at suny.edu/studentevents.