WRENTHAM King Philip Regional High Schools valedictorian wants to study human behavior, its salutatorian the universe.

Ainsley Bonin, 17, of Plainville, takes top honors as the valedictorian.

Bonin was a member of the National Honor Society as well as the Math and Science National Honor societies. She was awarded Excellence in English and French, as well as distinction in mathematics for statistics. Last year, Bonin was awarded the Wellesley College Book Award and Excellence in Pre-calculus.

One of my proudest moments was receiving the Henry Carr Scholarship, Bonin said. Although I personally did not know Henry, I witnessed the extraordinary impact he has had on our school and have heard about what an incredible person he was; I am extremely honored and humbled to have received his memorial scholarship, for he truly means so much to the King Philip community.

Bonin also took part in the peer mentoring program and was a peer mentor to a special needs student.

Outside of school, she performs in the fall and summer shows at Triboro Youth Theatre in Attleboro. Bonin dances at Edge Dance Academy on their competition team and is a receptionist there, and teaches dance at the Franklin and Foxboro YMCAs where she says her students give her a lot of pride. She has been dancing for 15 years.

I attribute my success to time management and a really great group of teachers, Bonin said. I am also interested in a lot of different things and didnt come upon many classes or subjects I didnt enjoy, which helped to motivate me to do well.

She says her favorite subject is math, but she also loves to write and draw.

KP truly has so many teachers who care so much about their students and aspire to build meaningful relationships with them, Bonin said. I am really going to miss all of them, and I truly appreciate how much they have inspired me and molded me into the person I am today.

She is the daughter of Elizabeth Bonin, the district data analyst for North Attleboro schools, and Jeffrey Bonin, a software engineer.

Bonin will attend Colby College, with a double major in economics and either math or psychology, and is interested in a career in the field of behavioral economics.

Whether that means research, consulting, or academia, I feel like behavioral economists and understanding human behavior can have an enormous impact on peoples lives, and I hope to use these studies to help others make better decisions and lead fuller lives, Bonin said.

Thomas Ciavattone, 18, also of Plainville, is the class salutatorian.

His awards were Excellence in Mathematics, Excellence in Physics, Letter of Commendation from National Merit Scholarship Program, Top School Scorer in American Mathematics Competition 10, Bausch + Lomb Honorary Science Award, Presidents Education Awards Program Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence, and Honorable Mention at UMass Model UN.

Scholarships Ciavattone was awarded included the Dorothy & Kenneth G. Goodman Memorial Science Scholarship and Northeastern University Honors Scholarship.

Activities he participated in at KP High included Model UN, Honors Societies, and Debate, Chess and Eco-Warriors clubs he says among his most meaningful and proudest accomplishments was being elected to run some of the clubs.

Ciavattone attended Plainville schools before KP Middle, as Bonin did.

Many really kind teachers that I will never forget, Ciavattone said of KP.

He is the son of Daniel and Jennifer Ciavattone.

Ciavattone will go to Northeastern University to study physics his favorite subject.

I hope to either become a professor or researcher in the field of physics in order to discover more about the universe we live in, Ciavattone said.

Stephen Peterson can be reached at 508-236-0377.

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King Philip High School's val and sal want to study humans and the universe - The Sun Chronicle