LYNN — Across the nation, millions of students are gearing up for their freshman year of college, and St. Mary’s High School’s top two graduates are among them, both heading to prestigious universities.
Chance Bonfanti, valedictorian of the St. Mary’s Class of 2025, is starting his first year at Harvard University, while salutatorian Georgia Allaire is attending Duke University.
“Harvard was the first school I toured, so it was very full-circle when I got in,” Bonfanti said. “I couldn’t be more excited to be in Boston with the best hospitals and research centers in the world right there, and embrace those opportunities. And I’m really excited for the classes. They’re so unique and specialized for what I want to do.”
Bonfanti, a Peabody resident, is declaring a double concentration in neuroscience and human developmental and regenerative biology. He plans to continue on to medical school and is interested in pursuing a career as either a neurosurgeon or a pediatric allergy specialist.
“My younger brother has food allergies, which led me to that, and there’s just so much to still learn about the brain,” he said.
While at St. Mary’s, Bonfanti benefited from hands-on learning opportunities at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He applied for Dana-Farber’s junior volunteer program and was one of 10 students selected to volunteer at the hospital the summer leading into his junior year. He was invited back as a mentor the past two summers. During the spring semester of his senior year, he also interned at Dana-Farber and helped bring its volunteer program to the Chestnut Hill location.
“I really enjoyed seeing the human side of medicine and getting that patient interaction,” he said.
Bonfanti was able to complete the internship, which school administration approved, because he was ahead in credits needed to graduate, but still needed one elective. He had taken extra summer classes, and therefore was able to pioneer both the internship credit and a dual enrollment program at Salem State University. In the fall, he took courses at Salem State in English, physics, Spanish and statistics.
“My classmates were between freshmen and seniors at Salem State,” he said. “It was an amazing experience. It presented some new challenges and I feel so much better prepared for college.”
Also at St. Mary’s, Bonfanti played soccer, ran track, was part of National Honor Society, served on the student board of campus ministry and was a leader for Rachel’s Challenge. Though he is excited to meet his classmates at Harvard, it’s bittersweet to leave his St. Mary’s friends and teachers.
“They really pushed me to be better,” he said, “and not just the teachers, but my classmates, too — people like Georgia who are just as motivated and driven as I am. I also appreciate how supportive the faculty was, encouraging me to think big and shoot for the stars. They helped me to find and create my own opportunities for growth.”
Allaire, a Lynn resident, was also encouraged to think big. She and Bonfanti were both accepted to St. Mary’s in the Garrity Scholars Program, named for former pastor Rev. Msgr. Paul V. Garrity. Awarded to 10 freshmen each year, the Garrity Scholars is a competitive merit award that includes a four-year, full-tuition scholarship.
Allaire has also earned a full, four-year merit scholarship to Duke through the school’s A.B. Duke Scholarship Program. She applied to Duke through its early decision program, and was one of nearly 700 students accepted.
“I’m excited about meeting new people,” she said. “And it has a super diverse curriculum, and a great biology program.”
Allaire plans to study biology and global health, connecting her passions for helping the community and research. She hopes to move on to medical school and become a doctor.
“I’ve always been interested in science, since I was younger,” she said. “That was a big part of the decision for choosing St. Mary’s, because the new STEM building had just opened and there was new lab space. Honestly, it was the best decision I could have made. I made so many great friends and had so much support from the teachers and administrators.”
In addition to excelling academically, Allaire played soccer and lacrosse, and was president of National Honor Society, a leader for Rachel’s Challenge, co-founder of the school’s DECA chapter and an Agganis Foundation scholar. She completed a summer internship at the Broad Institute in Cambridge and took 14 advanced placement classes while at St. Mary’s.
“The ability to take college level classes, it really prepared me to step in this fall,” she said.
It is no doubt both she and Bonfanti will hit the ground running, accepting the new challenges with aplomb.
“The class of 2025 is an impressive group, who academically challenged themselves during their time at St. Mary,” said Head of School Dr. John F. Dolan. “They are off to amazing colleges and universities including Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern, Holy Cross and others across the country.
“We are especially proud of the achievements of Chance and Georgia and look forward to following them along their college journey,” said Dolan.
