WARWICK, RI (June 7, 2023) – The School Leadership Team is proud to announce the Class of 2023’s Valedictorian and Salutatorian: Atul Thyvalappil ’23 and Hunter Robbins ’23, respectively. Both students will offer remarks at the 62nd Graduation Exercises on Monday, June 12, 2023 at 5pm in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.
“Atul and Hunter are tremendous scholars and even better people,” said Mark DeCiccio ’03, Principal. “Both have pushed themselves, and one another, to be the very best they can be in and out of the classroom. Their accolades have been earned through sacrifice, adversity, and a lot of hard work. I can’t even begin to imagine what they’ll accomplish moving forward.”
Ranked first in the graduating class, Thyvalappil carries a 3.99 GPA and has amassed an academic profile that has included a President’s List distinction every semester while taking a full Honors and Advanced Placement course load. Thyvalappil is a National Merit Scholar Finalist and member of the National Honor Society, Rhode Island Honor Society, National English Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, and Mu Alpha Theta National Mathematical Honor Society. He has earned two gold medals on the National Spanish Exam; is a 3-time American Invitational Mathematics Examination qualifier who has scored in the top 146 nationally; and won the Rhode Island Scholastic Chess Tournament in 2021 where he went on to represent the state at the national high school tournament in Philadelphia. In 2022, Thyvalappil received the Harvard College Book Award and the University of Rochester’s Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award.
Outside of the classroom, Thyvalappil is a member of the Math Team, Chess Club, Hawk’s Writing Center, Gardening Club, and math peer tutoring. A talented musician, he is a member of the Arts Academy’s Band concentration, and in previous years has been a part the Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and show choir pit band. Thyvalappil was a member of the soccer team for two years and ran cross country his junior year.
Thyvalappil will study in the Mellon College of Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the fall.
Robbins boasts an equally impressive resume, including a 3.99 GPA and President’s List distinction every semester while taking a full Honors and Advanced Placement course load. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Rhode Island Honor Society, National English Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, and Mu Alpha Theta Mathematical Honor Society. Robbins has also earned the Rhode Island Department of Education’s Seal of Biliteracy and was a Man of the Year finalist which earned him the Principal’s Leadership Award. On top of his acceptance and full scholarship to Yale, Robbins was accepted to three other Ivy League schools, including Brown University, Princeton University, and the University of Pennsylvania. In 2022, he received the St. Anselm College Book Award and the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s Civic Leadership Award. In 2021, he won the Write Rhode Island Short Story Competition for his story, “The Boy and the Hidden Truth.”
Robbins has been actively involved on campus as president of The Brotherhood (previously called Born to Stand Out), president of the Youth Force Leadership Club, and member of Hawks for Her and the Ambassadors Club. Robbins is also a talented trumpet player, member of the Arts Academy’s Band concentration, Academic Decathlon, and a Peer Minister.
Robbins will study Psychology at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut in the fall.
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