XAVERIAN VOICES In their own voices, students, faculty and alumni talk about the many strengths of Xaverian today.
Xaverian Was a Dream Come True Honors classes, band, football, an internship with Gil-Bar Industries — Brandon Ramrattan ’19 certainly made the most of every opportunity at Xaverian. “Xaverian was the place for me,” said the recent graduate, who described his four years at 7100 Shore Road as “a dream come true.” Mr. Ramrattan grew up outside of New York City and later moved to Brooklyn. “My family in upstate New York knew about Xaverian, but now the school’s reputation is even stronger. In my four years, we definitely upped it a notch.” The Clipper considered enlisting in the U.S. Navy to save money for college, but with his stellar high school record, “Notre Dame offered enough money to make it financially sound for me to go there,” he said. Mr. Ramrattan plans to study aerospace engineering and possibly even play football for the Fighting Irish as a walk-on. As a member of the last all-male class to graduate Xaverian, Mr. Ramrattan believes the transition to coeducation in 2016 was overwhelmingly positive. “I’ll always have my brothers,” he said, pointing to the close bonds he formed with football teammates. “Not only did we have brothers, we also had sisters. It made us a stronger family.”
Tackling New Opportunities and Challenges While Kasey Noss ’20 is planning for college, she’s also reflecting on the circumstances that brought her to Xaverian four years ago. As an 8th grader at Our Lady of Good Counsel on Staten Island, Xaverian wasn’t even on Noss’s radar. Since the school was transitioning to coeducation in 2016, Noss attended Buddy Day with friends. Being a part of the first cohort of female high schoolers at Xaverian was a little daunting, “But in the end, I thought it would be mostly exciting,” said Noss. Now immersed in college applications — Northeastern University and University of Notre Dame are her top choices — Noss is very happy with her decision to attend Xaverian. The senior is in her third year of engineering, the pathway she chose as part of the school’s highly regarded Michael T. Strianese ’74 STEM program, and a member of Speech and Debate. “I definitely wouldn’t have veered toward engineering had I not gone to Xaverian,” she said. Joining Speech and Debate was also a surprise. But as Noss explains it, that’s why the Xaverian experience is so distinctive. “It’s easy to get involved and accomplish things you didn’t think you could do.”
