CTK grads garner millions in scholarships

Recent graduates from Christ the King High School racked up more than $12.7 million in scholarship and aid offers to colleges and universities, the school announced at graduation.
“That’s considerably higher than recent years, probably the highest in recent memory,” said Christ the King Principal Peter Mannarino on Tuesday, June 5.
The school’s senior class comprised of 343 students from throughout Queens and nearby neighborhoods in Brooklyn and the Bronx, earned acceptance to 131 undergraduate degree programs and were offered a total of $12.7 million in scholarships and tuition aid.
Mannarino said that that members of the graduating class - 92 percent of which is headed to college - earned spots at Ivy League institutions like Cornell and Columbia. The eight percent who have not immediately enrolled in school, are taking time to work, Mannarino said.
Local schools like St. John’s University, Pace University, Hofstra University, Molloy College, and the College of New Jersey proved to be popular choices for Christ the King students.
“They are really performing so well that they are getting a lot of offers, and it’s really nice because they get to go to the college of their choice instead of settling,” said Mannarino, who has served as the school’s principal for the past year. “They are really all over the place.”
During the graduation ceremony, held in the Middle Village high school’s auditorium on Saturday, June 2, Mannarino commended the graduating seniors, class valedictorian Jaclyn Verbil, who is headed to St. Joseph’s University, and salutatorian Christina Turcoane, who plans to attend St. Francis College in Brooklyn, for their hard work throughout the school year. Also on hand to cheer on the grads were over 1,000 parents and friends, Senator Serphin Maltese, the school’s Board of Trustees, administration, faculty and staff.
Pasquale DeSerio, who was inducted to Christ the King’s Hall of Fame in March and teaches Italian at the school, gave the ceremony’s keynote speech.
“Every year we are trying to make our standards higher, and so far, whenever we have done that the students have lived up to our expectations,” said Mannarino. “They are performing higher and higher every year.”