Future Is Bright and Diverse for Pierson Graduates

They will be attending vastly different universities in different regions of the country, but Pierson valedictorian Isabelle Caplin and salutatorian Chad Federico have one important characteristic in common: a clear sense of purpose when it comes to what they want the next chapter of their lives to look like.

Caplin and Federico are the top two academically achieving students in a Pierson Class of 2024 marked by its ability to not only endure a global pandemic but thrive and figure out unique ways forward as they enter a new chapter in their young lives.

Caplin will attend the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in the fall. While she is not exactly sure what she will major in just yet — English is likely, but math and history are on the table as well — she has had one dream career in mind since her early elementary years.

“I definitely want to be an author,” she said in an interview in June. “That’s one of my big goals.”

Caplin, who said she’s always had a love for learning, added that she’s interested in the idea of becoming a teacher or professor as well, but said she was first captivated by the idea of being a writer at a young age.

“In first grade, I said I wanted to be an author/illustrator, and usually that changes, but it never really did for me,” she said.

She credited her first grade teacher, Ms. Price, with sparking a love of reading in her, and added that she continued to have “amazing” English teachers during her time at Pierson, including Ms. Farrell, and added that middle school librarian Jaime Mott also helped continue to inspire her love of writing, through running the school’s literary magazine, Singularity.

Historical fiction and fantasy are two of Caplin’s favorite genres, and she’s a veteran of several writing programs for young and aspiring authors, including the Young Artists and Writers Project, sponsored by Stony Brook Southampton’s MFAs in Creative Writing and Film, as well as summer programs through John Jermain Memorial Library and through the University of Iowa.

In addition to finding time to excel academically, and keep up with her writing, Caplin had plenty of other impressive achievements on her resume throughout high school.

She went through the i-tri program, a multi-faceted female empowerment program, when she was in sixth grade, and then continued to volunteer with the organization as a teen, teaching swimming and biking and helping out with other aspects of the program.

Caplin was a captain for both the East Hampton varsity girls swim team this year — which combines with Pierson and Bridgehampton — and the East Hampton Hurricanes YMCA club team.

She worked with Ms. Mott to help reestablish the print edition of Singularity, publishing several short stories in the school’s literary magazine, and was also the president of the youth group at Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor.

Caplin plans to spend her summer writing, of course, and also working at the Maidstone Club in East Hampton giving swim lessons. After that, it will be off to UPenn, which was her top choice. She was accepted during the early admissions process, and said she can’t wait to get started, especially after having visited the campus and gotten a taste for what it’s like.

She was particularly intrigued by the Kelly Writers House during her visit. Founded in 1995 by a group of students, faculty, staff and alumni, the Kelly Writers House is a 13-room house on Penn’s campus that serves as a center for writers of all kinds from Penn and the Philadelphia region at large.

Each semester, the Writers House hosts approximately 150 public programs and projects — poetry readings, film screenings, seminars, web magazines, lectures, dinners, radio broadcasts, workshops, art exhibits, and musical performances — and about 500 people visit the House each week.

During her visit, Caplin sat in on a class and attended a reading, and fell in love.

“I felt like I really got a great glimpse into what it would be like there,” she said. “The Kelly Writers House is a phenomenal place, and that’s what drew me in originally.

“I’m really excited,” she added.

Mott met Caplin during her previous job as the children’s librarian at John Jermain, and said she considers herself lucky to have watched Caplin grow from an enthusiastic young library patron to a Pierson senior with big dreams.

“I honestly can’t imagine a young person making me feel prouder to be a librarian or more at home in a new career than Izzy,” she said. “She loved books about mermaids, she loved her family, her friends, and to read and write. She was a frequent library patron and was never without a bright smile and even brighter attitude.

“Now, as the Pierson Middle/High School librarian, I have had the great privilege of starting a new chapter of my career with this same shining light of a person as a student. From our work on the literary magazine to time spent during her library visits, she continues to be the same great human she was almost a decade ago.”

Federico, the class salutatorian, almost ended up at UPenn as well but said that not getting in early decision ended up feeling like “a blessing in disguise” after he visited Rice University in Texas, and made the decision to go there.

Federico plans to pursue a dual degree in sports analytics and statistics, combining his lifelong love of sports and his aptitude at math into a solid career plan. Rice is one of the premier universities for students pursuing a career in sports management, and he’ll be reaping the benefits of that reputation before his fall semester even begins.

Federico was chosen as one of several current and incoming Rice students to work at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, on July 11, as a “talent escort,” a dream gig that will allow him and his fellow students to be up close and personal with some of the best professional athletes in the world.

Any disappointment that Federico may have had about not getting into UPenn faded away quickly, he said, once he was accepted at Rice and learned even more about all the exciting opportunities the school’s sports management program has to offer.

“The program is even more exciting than I thought it would be,” he said.

While Federico isn’t sure yet what exact job he will want to pursue after college, he has a pretty good sense of what it might look like.

“I’m hoping in some way to be part of the world of pro sports, as one of those guys behind the scenes,” he said. “People who take this [education] path sometimes work in the front offices of teams and make big decisions and transactions.

“This field is so diverse and wide,” he added.

While Federico is generally a sports fan, his favorite has always been baseball, and he’s a diehard Yankees fan. He played baseball for Pierson and was also a four-year member of the school’s cross country team.

Baseball is appealing because of its close connection to math and statistics, and Federico said he’s always been a “math and numbers” kind of guy.

Federico has visited more than a third of all the MLB stadiums, hitting up whichever stadium was nearby when he went on various college visits.

In addition to playing sports at Pierson, Federico also did a lot of game-day operations for the Pierson basketball team, and has also served as the DJ for home games. He’s also worked as the sound engineer for the school’s theater program, putting his tech-savvy skills to work.

“I just love getting to know people and help out,” he said of those extracurricular activities. “I feel like we need ways to force connections with each other. It’s what made my own high school experience so rewarding.”

Federico credits his family for fostering that desire for connection.

“Most of my family lives in Sag Harbor, and that’s where my love for sharing myself with the community originated,” he said. “I’m really lucky to have cousins of similar age and older who really brought that out for me, and were part of similar clubs and organizations.”

Caplin and Federico aren’t the only members of the Pierson class of 2024 going on to do big things. Plenty of other seniors have big plans for next year as well.

One student, Lyra Aubry, will be very busy, pulling off the extremely rare feat of being a two-sport college athlete. Aubry will attend Bryn Mawr College, an all-girls college in the Philadelphia suburbs, in the fall, and she will be a member of both the girls volleyball and girls basketball teams.

Aubry admitted that Bryn Mawr wasn’t initially on her list of potential choices, but at the encouragement of Pierson Middle/High School Principal Brittany Carriero, she decided to check it out and ultimately, it emerged as the winner.

Aubry started playing basketball at a young age, following in the footsteps of her father, Jeff Aubry, who played basketball professionally for nearly 20 years overseas and in South and Central America, mainly in Puerto Rico. She didn’t start playing volleyball until she was in middle school, but became an adept middle blocker for the Pierson varsity team. Aubry said she has equal love for both sports, and would’ve had a hard time choosing just one to play in college. She said she’s grateful that now she doesn’t have to.

‘It’s something both coaches said they were okay with,” Aubry said of the coaching staff at Bryn Mawr. “They will support me through that, so I’m very thankful.”

She said the feeling of support and community is what ultimately sold her on Bryn Mawr, along with the fact that it fulfilled one of her initial important criteria during her search. She wanted a small, academically strong liberal arts college with no more than 5,000 students, with a bit of distance but not too far from home, and not in the New York City area.

Aubry will not declare a major right away, but said she’s interested in linguistics and languages as well as creative writing.

Aubry is one of several seniors who will play a sport in college, including Charlie McLean (basketball, Farleigh Dickinson), Alex Bitton (rowing, Marist), Eva McKelvey (field hockey, Trinity), and Ryder Esposito (soccer, Mount St. Mary’s). Several students are heading overseas for college, including Miles Barrowcliffe and Mario Cuomo (St. Andrew’s), Quinn Tanner (Universidad de Navarra) and Gillian Tanner (University of Winchester). Sebastiano DeFelice is headed to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Several students are graduating with a Career and Technical Education Endorsement for having completed coursework at the Eastern Suffolk BOCES Academy of Applied Technology, and are pursuing a wide range of different career options.

Anthony Amaguay will head to Stony Brook University to pursue a career in the HVAC industry. Ethan Bechard is heading into the audio/visual field at Suffolk County Community College. Samuel Buenoano-Ramos is pursuing a career as a nursing assistant. Lucinda Haynal wants to work in TV and film and is headed to the Savannah College of Art and Design. Raymond Quezada is headed to Suffolk to pursue a culinary career. Aidan Schmitz is studying barbering at Flagler College. And Mason Wheeler is headed to SUNY Maritime and wants to pursue marine and motorsports.

Principal Brittany Carriero said the Class of 2024 will always have a special place in her heart.

“I am filled with immense pride and admiration for every one of these students,” she said. “They are a standout class, not just for their academic rigor or diverse passions in the arts, sports, civil services, and trades, but for the remarkable individuals they have become.

“Their journey began under extraordinary circumstances, starting high school during the pandemic. Yet, they exceeded every expectation, demonstrating tenacity, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to their goals.”