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Exeter Inducts 3 into Academic Hall of Fame and 84 into National Honor Society

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four people stand with plaques in high school auditorium

The inductees of the 2024 Academic Hall of Fame are (left to right): Lauren Unger Fisher '00 (award accepted on her behalf by her parents); Daniel Hemberger '03, and Nicholas Corbo.

The Exeter Township School District celebrated the achievements of students as 84 juniors and seniors were inducted into the Claude W. Dundore chapter of the National Honor Society and three notable alumni, educators or community members were inducted into the Exeter Alumni Association’s Academic Hall of Fame on Saturday, November 22, 2024 at 2PM in the Exeter Township Senior High’s auditorium. Inducted into the Academic Hall of Fame were Daniel A. Hemberger, Nicholas J. Corbo and Lauren C. Unger Fisher. Inductees are chosen for their contributions to society and their impact and credit they've brought to the Exeter Township School District through their achievements, volunteerism and/or work.

Hemberger graduated from Exeter Township Senior School in 2003, subsequently earning a B.A. in physics from Oberlin College and a Ph.D. in astronomy from Cornell University. While attending Exeter, Hemberger discovered his lifelong passion for physics as a senior. In his research, Hemberger studied Einstein's theory of general relativity, black holes and pulsars. While a postdoctoral scholar at California Institute of Technology, his supercomputer simulations of black hole collisions aided the first detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in 2015. Hemberger is currently employed as technologist by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he has worked since 2018.

Corbo professionally worked in education for 40 years, last serving as the superintendent of the Exeter Township School District. He began his career as a chemistry teacher in York County, where he held various administrative positions, including superintendent of the South Eastern School District, until he moved to Exeter’s superintendency in 1998. While at Exeter, Corbo oversaw the expansion of the high school and the construction of Reiffton School. Near his retirement in 2007, Corbo helped establish the Exeter Community Education Foundation (ECEF) to help support students, teachers and educational initiatives that the district’s budget is unable to fund. He serves as an emeritus trustee as he continues to support the Foundation.

Unger Fisher graduated from Exeter Township Senior High School in 2000 and went on to graduate with honors from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.A. in Political Science and Government. Following her graduation from Pitt, she worked as an NBC Page for the “Nightly News with Brian Williams” and as an award-winning reporter/anchor in televised news in Michigan, Louisiana, New Jersey and Germany. Since 2011, she has worked in executive communications for the international humanitarian organization World Vision USA to raise the public's attention to the plight of children in crises around the world.

The Academic Hall of Fame began in 2005 as a project of the Exeter Community Education Foundation and typically selects four to six inductees each year. This year's class brings the number of honorees to 81, who are presented with a plaque that is displayed in the Senior High's main office.

During the second part of the ceremony, the current members of the National Honor Society presented and inducted 84 new members from the Class of 2025 and 2026 into its chapter through its candle-lighting ceremony that represents the Society's four pillars: character, leadership, scholarship and service. To be considered for membership, students must be sophomores or juniors with a weighted cumulative GPA of at least 92.000, involvement in at least one school activity or club and completion of at least five community service hours. This year’s inductees are:

  • Samantha Baer
  • Ryan Claudfelter
  • Rian Coulter
  • Meredith Fylypowycz
  • Abigail Hasselbach
  • Marli Herner
  • Madelyn Holbrook
  • Dylan Holland
  • Gabriana Holmes
  • Neema Kamau
  • Riley Mazur
  • Ridleigh Moyer
  • Katelyn Nichols
  • Engel Perez
  • Katelyn Rears
  • Amelia Sahaida
  • Chloe Scherer
  • Olivia Schofield
  • Benjamin Seeberger
  • Corina Shevick
  • Sean Smith
  • Sophie Sowers
  • Luke Zawilla
  • Sheylin Aparicio Sanchez
  • Meredith Batz
  • Harrison Brumbaugh
  • Adreanna Butcher
  • Victoria Caccese
  • Chase Choudhry
  • Ryleigh Clouser
  • Olivia Conley
  • Adam Cooke
  • Aidan Dauble
  • Chase Detweiler
  • Alena Dinnini
  • Liana Dinnini
  • Rachel Donnachie
  • Kendall Druzba
  • Brenton Feathers
  • Chayse Flood
  • Nathan Gehris
  • Molly Giering
  • Audrey Gierlich
  • Morgan Gilbert
  • Avery Grider
  • Faith Hartman
  • Evan Harvey
  • Angelina Hernandez
  • Madyson Hirneisen
  • Ryland Hollinger
  • Jada Hood
  • Josephine Hunter
  • Morgan Juck
  • Kayla Karasek
  • Samantha Kerber
  • Lillie Keperling
  • Payton Klein
  • Nathan Kleinfelter
  • Ella Lynch
  • Ella Mackey
  • Hannah Martin
  • Myah Marturano
  • Maira McCartin
  • Zachary McCormick
  • Mackenzie Mentzer
  • Haley Meyers
  • Marissa Millar
  • Juliana Nerney
  • Chase Noel
  • Tithi Patel
  • Joven Patton
  • Payton Raifsnider
  • Shaun Rathman
  • Katelyn Reynolds
  • Aubrey Ridge
  • Madelyn Rismiller
  • Evan Smith
  • Abigail Starnes
  • Monica Stratton
  • Augustus Stuhlman
  • Dylan Taffel
  • Ethan Tibetts
  • Jayden Weidner
  • Daniel Wright

Congratulations to all!

Twenty students receive recognition for being at the top of their class in math and science

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students hold certificates in high school hallway

Kutscher award winners and ECEF President, Heather McCool (left) and Vice President, Chris Nein (back row, right)

Today, 10 juniors and 10 sophomores were recognized by Principal Tom Campbell and Exeter Community Education Foundation (ECEF)'s Executive Director, Angela Cooke, and ECEF board members, Chris Nein and Heather McCool, for their outstanding math or science achievements. The awards are given thanks to Mrs. Carole Kutscher and her husband, the late Dr. Harlan Kutscher, longtime Exeter residents and supporters who created a $25,000 endowment for students through the ECEF, which recognizes students with a certificate and monetary award to celebrate the achievements of those who earned the highest weighted final grade in their 9th and 10th grade science and math classes.

Our sincerest thanks to the Kutscher family for establishing this incredible endowment to recognize the academic achievements of our students, the ECEF for their hard work in coordinating the fourth year of these awards, and our warmest congratulations to the following students who were recognized for their outstanding academic work in math and science. They are:

  • Kariana Beck
  • Haven Bessemer
  • Grace Campling
  • Madelyn Fetich
  • Steele Gatto
  • Avery Gibbons
  • Kinley Guziak
  • Taylor Mack
  • Madeline McAuliffe
  • Samantha Shipley
  • Victoria Caccese
  • Chase Choudhry
  • Chase Detweiler
  • Tatum Grimm
  • Faith Hartman
  • Hannah Martin
  • Haley Meyers
  • Andrew Schwenk
  • Augustus Stuhlman
  • Jayden Weidner

Senior High Students Collaborate to Celebrate Día de los Muertos

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a colorful mural covers the wall of a high school depicting a city landscape

The World Languages hallway was transformed into a colorful celebration of life today for this year's Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead celebration at the Senior High. With colorful paper murals that resembled flat piñatas, ceramic or sugar-created skullheads, decorated skeletons, bright paper banners, decorated gravestones, butterflies hanging from the ceiling and so much more, students transformed the wing into a cheerful place to honor, remember and celebrate those who have passed. Traditionally held in the entrance to the senior high's auditorium, this year's project was brought out into the school's hallways to allow more students to see the work of their peers; learn the significance of the holiday in other cultures; and allow more students to participate, including those taking Spanish, French, Art and Mrs. Losito's CrossRoads Transition program.

The project was spearheaded by Señorita González, one of the high school's Spanish teachers, who went into greater detail about each project and how students from each class participated:

"In honor of Hispanic Heritage month, students in Mrs. DeFusco’s class created Justin Favela inspired murals. Justin Favela is a Guatemalan-Mexican-American artist who creates elaborate piñata-inspired installations. Students in Ms. Gonzalez’s class decorated the ceiling tiles and created skeleton people called calacas. They also created a large Exeter altar where students have left pictures of family, friends, and pets. Students in Mrs. Speece’s classes created alebrijes (spirit animals), papel picado (paper banners), calaveras de azúcar (sugar skulls), and nichos (hand made frames to display day of the dead pictures). Mrs. Losito’s CrossRoads Transition classes helped make and design the calaveras de azúcar.

Ms. Buchholtz’s Fundamentals of Art classes created printed calaveras and created butterflies. Showcasing student work is something we are proud of here at Exeter Township Senior High and students have enjoyed showing me their creations. The butterflies are such a nice touch because the migration of the monarch butterflies coincides with the Day of the Dead. Many believe that they are the souls returning for their annual visit.

Mrs. Pinkerton’s classes created items to be used on the altars. The Fine Arts 1 created Papel Picado Paintings. The Ceramics 1 class created flower/candle holders. A candle is one of the most important items on an ofrenda (altar of offering) because the element of fire attracts or entices the spirit to the altar. The Ceramics 2 class created illuminated skulls. Skull art is a reminder of life’s brevity and the unfortunate inevitability of death.

Excitingly, the French classes joined the festivities to share how le jour des morts (Day of the Dead) is celebrated in France. Students made grave stones and a catacomb in the World Language wing. The French gather in cemeteries and adorn the graves with chrysanthemums the same Day of the Dead flowers used in Spanish-speaking countries.

All of our classes have enjoyed creating the traditional crafts used in celebrating the Day of the Dead and we are looking forward to sharing this special holiday with all of the staff and students at the high school."

Exeter Alums Return to Share Grandparents’ Stories as Holocaust Survivors

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grown grandchildren stand around grandmother in wheelchair

From left to right: Aaron Wernick, Brian Wernick, Stacy Seltzer and Michele Leisawitz stand with their grandmother, Esther Bratt.

Six weeks ago, Sidney Bratt died at the age of 96. But his legacy lived on today in Exeter Township Senior High School where his grandchildren, Aaron Wernick, Brian Wernick, Michele Leisawitz and Stacy Seltzer, recounted the horrors that Sidney and his wife, Esther, went through as Jewish children growing up in Germany and Poland during the Holocaust. “It’s a miracle I’m standing here to tell you this story,” said Brian to the assembled group of 10th graders, most of whom are–or soon will be–learning about the Holocaust in English or Social Studies. “My grandmother only had a 1.5% chance of living past the age of 15–which is right around your age, I believe,” he said as he looked at the crowd of teenagers with his 94-year-old grandmother sitting in a wheelchair among them. “When you hear what she’s been through, it is incomprehensible that she survived,” he said.

The four grandchildren of Sidney and Esther Bratt recounted the separate stories of their grandparents’ childhoods as they navigated the terror of living as Jewish children in Nazi Germany. Both endured ostracism by childhood friends and neighbors as their freedom and dignity were stripped away and replaced by fear as they lived under Hitler. As anti-Semitism grew, people they knew and were once friendly with began to spit and throw rocks at them as nearby homes and synagogues where they worshipped were burned by Nazis. Their family members, friends and neighbors disappeared or were openly murdered. Aaron paused in the middle of recounting the terror his grandparents endured as children and said his grandfather asked, “How could one man spew so much hatred? These activities were not only condoned by Hitler… they were legalized.”

Sidney and Esther’s grandchildren–two of whom are Exeter alums (Brian graduated in ‘05 and Aaron graduated in ‘01)--now speak to school groups and other organizations as part of 3G Philly, which stands for “third generation.” Their mission as grandchildren of Holocaust survivors is to make sure that their grandparents’ stories–as horribly vivid and tragic as they are–live on as that generation passes away.

“Many years ago, we used to have Holocaust survivors visit and speak about their experiences, but, unfortunately, many of those survivors are no longer with us,” said Mrs. Heather Mills, an English teacher at the Senior High who helped organize the visit. Emphasizing how important storytelling is as a means of sharing and preserving history, Mrs. Mills said that stories like Sidney and Esther's can also provide a different perspective than what students learn in traditional media, such as books or movies. "The stories (the students heard today) specifically were about life in the ghettos and the kindertransport, which are topics sometimes overshadowed by those traditionally told about concentration and death camps."

In addition to offering new perspectives and educating students about what it was like for their grandparents to grow up as children of the Holocaust, Brian, Aaron, Michele and Stacy hope that their stories will help keep their legacy of their grandmother and late grandfather alive. But, more importantly, they hope to help prevent another atrocity like the Holocaust from ever happening again.

Students Become Parents in Simulation

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students hold newborn-looking dolls

If you happen to see juniors Evan Loose (left) or Jackson Heebner (right) today, make sure you wish them congratulations on their new additions! It’s a boy for Evan, and it’s a girl for Jackson, both of whom took custody of their “babies” today for their Life 101 class. For the next 24 hours, Evan and Jackson will care for their babies as the realistic-looking and newborn-sized dolls randomly cry or fuss while they’re in school, hanging out with their friends, studying, eating meals–and yes–even sleeping tonight. When the dolls cry, they’ll have to figure out what’s wrong and how to soothe it by using various “keys” to simulate a needed diaper change, feeding or burping that will eventually cause the doll to quiet. There’s even a “panic” key just in case Evan or Jackson can’t figure out how to quiet their babies. If the dolls are returned tomorrow with a dead battery, their teachers will know that they were unsuccessful with getting the doll to quiet, and presumably cried until their batteries depleted. Following the 24-hour experience with the dolls, students will write a reflection about how they felt carrying the babies around school, getting up in the middle of the night, or arranging “childcare” if they had to work or participate in sports or extracurriculars after school. 

Describing how students feel when they turn in their dolls the following day, Mrs. Anne Thomas said that "the number one thing we hear them say is that they felt a lot of frustration and anger with the baby. They become frustrated when they’re in class and the baby starts to cry and they’re trying to find the key to make the crying stop and everybody’s looking at them,” she said. “It’s a very realistic experience and they soon learn how unpredictable babies are–and that they will wake you up about three times during the night,” she said with a laugh.  

The simulator dolls were awarded to the Food and Consumer Science Department by the Exeter Community Education Foundation as part of their teacher mini grant program; this is the first year that teachers Mrs. Anne Thomas and Mrs. Trisha Master are incorporating them into their curriculum in their Life 101 and Parenting and Child Development classes. Throughout the semester, approximately 60 teenagers–all of whom say they’re not ready to be parents–will each take custody of one of the three babies for 24 hours. While Mrs. Thomas and Mrs. Master say that the goal of the project isn’t necessarily to dissuade teens from having a baby but to teach them about the responsibility of caring for one, it certainly has reinforced students’ aversion to becoming parents before they’re ready. “They all say they’re not ready for the responsibility when they bring them back the next day,” said Mrs. Thomas. “They realize that it’s a lot of work and that babies need a lot of attention.”

Senior Stephania Nicoloudakis, who recently participated in the project, agreed. She took her "baby" to Giant, where she said it suddenly cried in the middle of her shopping trip. “It was pretty embarrassing,” she said when nearby shoppers were looking at her in the store with a crying doll–some of whom thought it was a real baby at first. “The experience really taught me that having babies is not nearly as glamorous as it seems to be. They can be very, very annoying. And at this stage of my life when we have school and stuff to balance, it was too much for me–and I only had it for one night,” she said, pausing to continue: “I’m not even close to being ready.” 

Holding his new baby boy, Evan seemed to agree. "It's going to be bad tonight," he said with a laugh.

Soccer Teams win Sportsmanship Award

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girls soccer team group photo
boys soccer team group photo

The Berks County Soccer Officials Association (BCSOA) announced that both the Exeter Township Boys and Girls Soccer teams have won their Sportsmanship Award for the fall 2024 season. This award is given to the team that ends a season with the lowest number of yellow and red cards issued as compared with all the other Berks County high schools that participate in the BCIAA. This year, both Exeter's girls and boys team earned this distinct honor. The BCSOA Sportsmanship Chair, Al Cross, said in an email announcing the award to Exeter's Athletic Director, Tom Legath, "All the players and coaches on both teams are to be congratulated for their outstanding sportsmanship."

Mr. Legath said that during his 14-year tenure as Athletic Director, Exeter has been the recipient of a number of awards, but has never received this specific one. "I would like to congratulate the coaching staff of both the girls' and boys' soccer teams," said Mr. Legath. "I would also like to recognize and congratulate our student athletes. Thank you for how you represented yourself, your team, your coaches, your families and our district. This award recognizes the caliber of each of you as athletes and students. It also demonstrates the expectations that we have here in the Exeter Township School District of our student-athletes both on and off the field."

The girls' soccer team coached by Milt Scholl, who is assisted by coaches Mike Lee, Brittany Thees and Brandon Putt. The boys' soccer team is coached by Matt Eshenaur, who is assisted by Chris Laverdure, Jose Rosa, Preston Wismer and Jon Correll. 

The BCSOA will present a plaque and a banner to Mr. Legath, the coaches and the athletes in November.