MMI News

Aaron Harman, a member of the MMI Class of 2018, was selected as a WVIA Artist of the Week and will be featured in segments for the program beginning the week of July 1 on WVIA-TV and wvia.org. Harman, the son of Ronald and Yvonne Harman of Drums, was named a Performing Artist of the Week by WVIA and was recognized for the achievement during MMI’s Upper School Awards Convocation last month.

MMI Preparatory School’s team of Lauren Babinetz, Alexander Sessock, Kaitlyn McGeehan, Dominique Kline, and Grant Warren finished in fifth place at the Pennsylvania Envirothon state competition in Selinsgrove. Schools from across 65 counties competed in the event.

MMI Preparatory School will host its annual Summer Camps beginning June 25. The camps are open to all area school children and provide a fun-filled and educational experience. The camps will be offered in morning and afternoon sessions from the week of June 25 to the week of July 23. Topics include Asian and Spanish Cook and Craft camps, Ooey Gooey Science Camp, Sports Camp, Lego Robotics Camp, Messy Art Camp, Magnetic Levitation Camp, Cake Decorating Camp, Dance Camp, Musical Theatre Camp, and Chemical Magic Camp.

Twenty-four MMI Preparatory School students captured first place and 27 students placed second during the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) state competition, which was held from May 20-22 at Penn State University’s main campus.

Alyssa Sweda, pictured in the second row at right, was selected as MMI’s “Best of the Best” winner for the second semester of the 2017-2018 academic year following an assembly at the school, where ninth and 11th grade students delivered presentations. Sweda won for her presentation entitled “Legacy.”

MMI Preparatory School in Freeland conducted its 126th Commencement Exercises on Thursday, May 24, as seniors were awarded diplomas by John H. Hersker ’76, chairman of MMI’s Board of Directors. This year’s graduating class of 38 seniors amassed more than $8.1 million in merit scholarships and awards. The 2018 graduating class also attained an average score of 1225 on the Redesigned SAT. The Class of 2018’s average ACT score is 25. Members of the Class of 2018 were accepted at over 73% of the colleges they applied to and will attend 27 different colleges and universities this fall. 

MMI Preparatory School swept the top five positions and had an additional team finish seventh during the regional Envirothon competition. The winning team of Lauren Babinetz, Alexander Sessock, Kaitlyn McGeehan, Grant Warren, and Dominique Kline scored a total of 407 points during the event and will advance to the state championships on May 22-23 at Susquehanna University and Camp Mount Luther, where they will represent MMI and Luzerne County.

MMI Preparatory School honored students for their athletic performances during the annual Upper School Awards Convocation on May 16. MMI Head of School D. Scott Wiggins and Athletic Director Jason Tribbet presented the awards, along with coaches from each team.

MMI Preparatory School held its annual Upper School Awards Convocation on May 16 to honor students in ninth through 12th grades. MMI Head of School, D. Scott Wiggins, welcomed everyone in attendance and recognized Class of 2018 Valedictorian Gabriella Kupsho and Salutatorian Aaron Harman. Stephanie Shandra Swietnicki, MMI college admissions counselor, served as emcee for the program, where more than $600,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded to students.

Mallory Brown ’02 will give the Founder’s Day Address at MMI’s commencement ceremony on May 24. After graduating from MMI, Brown attended the University of Notre Dame and majored in Political Science with a minor in German. She landed a position at Egon Zehnder, a global management consulting and executive search firm, immediately upon graduating from Notre Dame in 2006. The firm has 69 offices globally and works with companies in a variety of industries and sectors.

MMI Preparatory School inducted 32 students into the National Junior Honor Society and 26 into the National Latin Honor Society during an induction ceremony at the school. During the ceremony, MMI Head of School D. Scott Wiggins welcomed the audience and the Very Reverend Lawrence Barriger, the advisor for both honor societies, gave the criteria of members, presided over the induction ceremony, and introduced the guest speaker. MMI eighth graders Benjamin Zhao and William Smith provided the processional and recessional music, respectively, for the ceremony.

Eleven MMI Preparatory School students placed in the top 10 at the Pennsylvania Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) competition and four students will advance to the national competition, which will be held June 28 to July 1 in Baltimore.  51 MMI students participated in the state competition. 

MMI Preparatory School students Julia Snyder, Sydney Karpowich, and Anna Haber each won awards in the 2018 Art Youth Expo. The annual two-day art exposition was held April 6-7 in downtown Hazleton. The students submitted their art selections under the guidance of MMI art instructor Lisa Marie Ferry.

The MMI Prepper Playhouse will present The Wizard of Oz on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. in the MMI Athletic and Drama Complex. General admission ticket prices for all performances are $8 for adults and $6 for students. Reserved seating is available for $12 per ticket. Tickets will be available at the door or by calling the school at 570-636-1108 or e-mailing admissions@mmiprep.org.

MMI Preparatory School junior Zachary Young, the son of Christian and Nicole Young of Freeland, will receive recognition in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program after finishing as one of the top 50,000 entrants in the country on the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

MMI Preparatory School junior Frederick Mejia, left, placed second in the Junior Division in the Wilkes University/Luzerne County Council of Teachers of Mathematics (LCCTM) content. Mejia competed against approximately 80 other students in the division. Pictured at right is Susan Moyer, MMI mathematics instructor and contest advisor.

MMI Preparatory School’s team of Rachael Betz, Alistair Plotnick, Connor Spencer, and Benjamin Zhao placed fifth out of 16 teams during the annual MATHCOUNTS competition in February. Zhao also earned the fourth highest individual score in the competition and placed fifth in the Countdown Round. Additional MMI individual competitors were Brenna Eckhart, Edgar Lopez-Rodriquez, Nathaniel Neidlinger, Frankie Martinelli, Elizabeth O’Donnell and Abigail Sparich.