“Inspiring growth in knowledge and faith, the Joliet Catholic Academy family creates an environment that cultivates opportunities for academic excellence, meaningful service, Christian respect and Catholic values in the traditions of the Carmelites and Franciscans.” JCA’s mission statement comes to life for hundreds of students each year, many before they even set foot in our classrooms. As a Franciscan and Carmelite institution, Joliet Catholic Academy prides itself not only on its spirit of service and its spirit of family, but also on academic excellence. In stride with that tradition, each year Joliet Catholic Academy offers Franciscan Carmelite Top Scorer Scholarships to some of our brightest incoming freshmen. The Franciscan Carmelite Top Scorer Scholarships are awarded to the 8th graders who achieve the highest percentile scores (in the 96th, 98th, 99th and 100th percentile) on the EXPLORE test, JCA’s January entrance exam. The EXPLORE test is the first in the ACT test series. This year, 32 scholarships were awarded to incoming freshmen who scored at the top of their class and will be attending JCA in the fall. These students each receive a monetary scholarship for their freshman year at JCA. Sr. Barb Kwiatkowski and Fr. Jeff Smialek, Campus Ministers, and Mary Ragusa, Director of Admissions, attended 8th grade awards nights and graduations to recognize the recipients on their outstanding achievements.

The Franciscan/Carmelite Top Scorers are as follows:

Ryan Arnold  – St. Raymond
Holly Bernhard – Elwood Grade School
Nolan Byrd-  St. Raymond
Kara Courtright –  Classical Consortium Academy
Katherine Dow –  St. Raymond
Julia Egizio – St. Jude, Joliet
Brennen Fornoff – St. Paul the Apostle
Matthew Gochee – Holy Family, Shorewood
Bradley Hinkleman – St. Paul the Apostle
Diego Howell – Troy Middle School
Benjamin Hulbert –  St. Jude, Joliet
Jason Kaphusman –  Troy Middle School
Macaire Kelley  – St. Raymond
Claressa Kohler – St. Paul the Apostle
Alexandra Lange –  St. Raymond
Morgan Leuszler – St. Raymond
Tayler Lindeman – St. Raymond
Emma Markun – Drauden Point
John Matthews – St. Mary Immaculate
Cameron May –  Drauden Point
Jake Mihelich – St. Raymond
Amanda Nelson – St. Paul the Apostle
Walter Osterberger – St. Jude, Joliet
Delaney Phelan – Minooka Jr. High
Julius Quilarto – St. Andrew the Apostle
Margaret Runde –  St. Raymond
Casey Sheppard – St. Raymond
Ryan Surin – Drauden Point
Cullen Testa – St. Paul the Apostle
Dan Underwood – St. Raymond
Matthew Van Dyke – St. Raymond
Ryan Zobel – St. Raymond