Joe Marinaro

Each year, BSM honors the students in the senior class who have the highest cumulative GPA by the end of their high school career. This year, one of the eight valedictorians is Joe Marinaro.

The valedictorian title is the highest academic achievement at BSM and requires a lot of determination and drive. “This honor means a lot to me. I had to put in 3.5 years of really, really hard work to get to this point, and I am very glad I was able to get it done,” Marinaro said.

Maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout high school is not an easy task and in most cases doesn’t come without obstacles. “That very first semester in Honors English 9, I didn’t think I was going to be able to get it done. I started off with a B minus. However, once I got that up, save for a few minor bumps in the road, I was pretty confident in my ability to achieve a cumulative 4.0,” Marinaro said.

Not only is Marinaro a valedictorian, he also is a National Merit Semifinalist, captain of the football team, captain of math league, and senior class president. “At times it was really difficult [to balance school with extracurriculars]. Junior year I really didn’t get much sleep. However, I really worked on my organization skills which helped so so much,” Marinaro said.

Marinaro’s favorite class at BSM was AP Calculus BC, taught by Mr. Dan Bowler. “He’s a hard-working student. He manages time well and gets his work done on time. Joe has also helped a lot of other students by serving as a tutor in the math resource center for the past two years,” Bowler said.

Marinaro is continuing his education at Boston College this fall in the Carroll School of Management. “I am planning on doing a double concentration in finance and economics with a minor in English. I am also going to play football there and am very excited for what my future holds at BC,” Marinaro said.