Bria Torpey (photo above left) is HF-L’s valedictorian and Braden Bellizzi (photo above right) is the salutatorian this year. Photos provided by HF-L
Engineering will be the field of study for both the valedictorian and salutatorian at Honeoye Falls-Lima High School’s Class of 2025 when they head off to college next fall.
Bria Torpey is HF-L’s valedictorian and Braden Bellizzi is the salutatorian.
Torpey, the daughter of Peggy and Michael Torpey of Mendon, will be attending SUNY Binghamton to study electrical engineering. She also considered Northeastern University in Boston. Torpey will be in the Scholars Program and FRI Research program, a first year research immersion program that will put her on a clean engineering track. She is hoping to minor in sustainable engineering.
“My brother attends Binghamton,” Torpey said during a phone interview last week. “It’s also closer to home and it has the feel of a big university but also small as well. On a visit, I was able to sit in on a mini-class and I liked the professors I met at Binghamton.”
With a 4.235 academic average, Torpey took 10 Advanced Placement courses: World History, U.S. History, English Language and Composition, Statistics, Physics C mechanics, Physics C electricity and magnetism, Macroeconomics, English Literature, U.S. Government and Politics and Calculus AB. She also took a PreCalculus Honors course and then three dual credit courses in Health, Human Biology and Spanish 3.
Torpey was very involved in HF-L’s vast extracurricular activities. She was a member of National Honor Society, a member of Student Council for four years (serving as an officer for one year), in Math Club all four years (serving as President for two years), Green Team, Interact Club (helping out with the Mr. HF-L event), assistant editor of the Cougar newspaper and played saxophone in both Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble for all four years. She has played saxophone since the fifth grade. Torpey participated in the musical for four years, being a member of the costume crew for four years and also being in the pit band as a sophomore for Guys and Dolls and in the ensemble for Mamma Mia! as a junior.
“Music is very important to me,” Torpey said. “I enjoy it and found it as a way for me to express artistry. I even wrote about it in my college essay.”
In addition to those activities, Torpey was a two-sport athlete. She played varsity soccer for four years and was a captain the past two years and a starter on defense. Last fall, she scored two goals and had one assist. Torpey competed on the varsity track and field team for four years. A captain as a senior, Torpey participated in the discus, shot put and pole vault. She placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 83 feet, 6 inches and seventh in the shot put with a throw of 25-7.5 at the Section V Class B2 Championship nearly a month ago. She was ninth in pole vault at the state qualifier meet. She would like to participate in soccer or track at the intramural or club level. She received All-League second team honors in soccer as a junior.
Outside of school, Torpey has held a part-time job, working at a local café the past couple of years. She has volunteered to help with the HF-L youth soccer program and the modified track team.
Among her awards and honors are the Monroe Professional Engineer Society, the Southco Scholarship, some Scholar-Athlete team awards, an AP Scholars with Distinction Award, the HF-L Sports Booster Scholarship, a New York State Scholarship for Academic Excellence and the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award.
Among her favorite memories are some that people might not think of as a favorite memory.
“Some of my best memories come from physics class with Mr. Somers,” Torpey said. “He is fun and super passionate about teaching kids. It was a hard class, but he was a great teacher. The Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble are also favorite memories as is being involved in the musical. My biggest memories are being with people and how supportive everyone was – classmates, teachers, counselors and coaches.”
Bellizzi, the son of Kellin and Matt Bellizzi, will be attending Harvard University to study engineering. Although he is undecided as far as what field of engineering, he is leaning toward mechanical engineering. He also considered Colby College.
“I was recruited for Division 1 Nordic Skiing at Harvard and received a recruiting offer early on from Harvard,” said Bellizzi during a phone interview last week.
Bellizzi carried a 4.205 academic average. He has taken nine Advanced Placement courses: World History, U.S. History, Biology, English Language and Composition, PreCalculus, Physics C-electricity and magnetism, Macroeconomics, English Literature and Calculus AB.
Despite a demanding academic load, Bellizzi found time to be involved in several activities at HF-L. He was in the National Honor Society for two years, serving as its President this past year. He was part of the Green Team and he participated in the Mr. HF-L event on Saturday, June 21. He was also one of those rare three-sport high school athletes, competing in soccer, Nordic Skiing and Track. He was a member of the varsity soccer team for three years. A co-captain as a senior, he played either midfield or defense and had one assist. He was on the varsity Nordic Skiing team as a freshman and as a sophomore. Bellizzi was on the varsity track team for four years. He ran in the distance races and won the 1600 meters as a junior and the 3200 meters as a senior at the Section V Class B2 Championship nearly a month ago.
Outside of school, Bellizzi has participated in competitive Nordic Skiing since the seventh-grade. He has raced in Eastern Cup races and in the Junior Nationals for the last four years. He has also played in the Blaze Soccer Travel program. He will be working as a lifeguard this summer. The last three summers, he has helped out at a Whitewater Kayak camp.
A number of awards and honors have come his way. Bellizzi received the Scholar Athlete Award for boys soccer and for boys track. He received All League 2nd team honors in soccer as a junior and All League Honorable Mention honors in soccer as a senior. He received the HF-L Sports Booster Scholarship and a New York State Scholarship for Academic Excellence this year.
Among his favorite memories from HF-L is one from his elementary school days.
“I really loved the Field Days at Manor,” Bellizzi said. “There were so many different activities at the end of the year. From high school, I think one of them would be our senior trip to Cedar Point. I also enjoyed AP Biology labs where I learned a lot from Mr. Corey. I took Environmental Science with him as well.”
