Sacred Heart Academy Seniors Named SCC Scholar Leaders

From Sacred Heart Academy:

The Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) recently hosted its 22nd Scholar Leader Banquet. Forty-six scholar leaders, two from each member school, were recognized for outstanding scholarship and leadership in their respective schools and external communities. Helena Bui ’16 and Jennifer Piciw ’16 were selected to represent the academy.

Helena Bui embodies the motto of Sacred Heart—Excelsior—constantly striving to grow as a scholar, a leader and a person who lives the core values of Sacred Heart Academy. She has interned at Yale-New Haven Hospital in the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, conducting independent research on gene mutation related to leukemia and performing cost analyses on several methods of electrophoresis. Bui is vice-president of National Honor Society, secretary of Math National Honor Society (Mu Alpha Theta), senior co-captain of the Moody's Mega Math Challenge and an active member of Science National Honor Society, Peer Connection and Key Club as well as a varsity swimmer. She has received the following academic recognitions: SCC All-Academic Award, Le Grand Concours—Bronze and Silver Awards, Archdiocese of Hartford Summa Scholar and the Xerox Award for Innovation and Information Technology. A volunteer in the Yale-New Haven Hospital Pediatric Unit and the Branford Community Dining Hall, Bui understands the importance of service. In the fall, she will attend Yale University, where she was accepted early action. Helena is the daughter of John Bui and Huong Quach of Branford.

Jennifer Piciw is truly a leader at Sacred Heart Academy. She is president of the Science National Honor Society and the Math National Honor Society (Mu Alpha Theta), an AP Scholar, a Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership selection and Archdiocese of Hartford Summa scholar. With her biotechnology class, Piciw presented research at the Mitochondrial Disease Conference in Washington D.C., sharing the sequence of the FASN gene, published in GenBank (the U.S. government database). She has won awards at the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair, worked as an intern at Yale Medical School in the Discovery to Cure Program and participated in the Mega Moody Math Challenge. In 2014, Jennifer earned the Girl Scout Silver Award for her countless hours of volunteer service. Whether in the classroom, in the lab or serving others, she works tirelessly, always giving 100 percent. In the fall, Piciw will attend the University of Richmond as a Science Scholar, which offers a full-tuition scholarship. Jennifer resides with her parents, Nicholas and Karen Piciw, in Shelton.

Founded in 1946 by the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sacred Heart Academy successfully prepares young women in grades 9–12 for learning, service and achievement in a global society. Sacred Heart Academy welcomes 500 students from more than 80 schools and 60 towns in Connecticut. The Academy is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Further information is available through the Sacred Heart Academy website.