Student Standouts: Ahmad ’25, Bodavula ’25, Shamsham ’25, Allgeyer ’25, Birkel ’25, Gould ’25, Jain ’25, Yilmaz ’25, Sloane ’25, Ferguson ’27, Jerlecki ’27, Bucci ’28, Haywood ’28, Powell ’28, Rogan ‘28, Woodward ’28, Kelley ’30, Kelley ’32, Ochieng ’30, HOSA, and Cheerleading
Faculty & Staff Features: Kay, Kraatz, Rappleye, Roth, and T. Tourais
Congratulations to this week’s standouts below. Way to go #RamNation! And as always, if you have a story to share, please email weeklynews@micds.org.
Three Rams Participate in SLU's Engineering Summer Academy
In July, Harris Ahmad ’25, Arjun Bodavula ’25, and Alex Shamsham ’25 participated in the Engineering Summer Academy at Saint Louis University. They were also joined by Upper School Science Teacher Christine Pickett who was there as part of the partnership between SLU School of Education and the College of Science and Engineering and helped with logistics.
According to the SLU website, the academy “is a six-day, five-night residential camp where rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors can learn about the varying fields and career paths in engineering. Faculty and student mentors guide academy participants through hands-on activities in aerospace and mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, computer and electrical engineering, and civil engineering. Academy participants also attend off-campus excursions into the engineering industry, hear from guest speakers working in the field and explore Saint Louis University.”
Lucas Allgeyer in the Spotlight for Football
Lucas Allgeyer ’25 was highlighted on Sunday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He is the No. 12 recruit on the Post-Dispatch Super 30 countdown of this area’s top senior college football prospects. Allgeyer plays both on the offensive and defensive sides of the MICDS football team. He received over 25 collegiate offers and he will be playing offensive line for Iowa next year. Let’s go, Lucas!
Birkel to Represent US as Goalkeeper for 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Team
Caroline Birkel ’25 will represent the United States as a goalkeeper for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Team. The World Cup roster features one player who is still in high school which is Caroline who plays for St. Louis Scott Gallagher. The games will take place August 31-September 22 in Colombia and will feature 24 nations. Read more here and let’s go Caroline!
Sports Illustrated High School News Names Senior One of Top 30 Quarterbacks to Watch in 2024
Congratulations to Brian Gould ’25 on being named one of the Top 30 quarterbacks to watch in 2024 by Sports Illustrated SBLive High School news desk! Last season, he passed for 1,840 yards and 24 touchdowns (with six interceptions) and ran for 1,083 yards and 19 touchdowns. Go, Rams!
Senior Accepted into Student Board of Directors Program with Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Congratulations to Ric Jain ’25 who was accepted into the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ Student Board of Directors Program! According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ website, the program “offers high school seniors a dynamic way to learn about our nation’s central bank. Participants gain a thorough understanding of the Federal Reserve’s role in the U.S. economy and experience its unusual partnership with banks, businesses and the community. St. Louis-area students are selected based on the quality of their essay and letters of recommendation.”
This program takes place throughout the school year from August through May. “I will get the opportunity to learn about economics, personal finance, and other work that the Federal Reserve does,” Ric describes. “The student group will have meetings and we will have discussions based on different topics that we read up on prior to the meetings, and we will get to have these [meetings] in the Executive Boardroom which is pretty cool. This program also gives me a shot at earning a summer internship with the Federal Reserve of St. Louis, so I’m very excited to make my mark on the Student Board and hopefully earn a summer internship spot!”
Seniors Strive to Equalize the St. Louis School System via STL Changemakers Program
This summer, Ric Jain ’25 and Gokhan Yilmaz ’25 participated in the STL Changemakers Program sponsored by the United Nations Association of Saint Louis, Missouri Historical Society, and Civitas. The two-week summer program gives teens an opportunity to explore St. Louis history, engage with today’s most pressing issues, and develop projects focused on creating a better future for the St. Louis region. Ric shared, “I learned a lot about St. Louis’ success and failures, about the ways people are creating positive change, as well as how to make that change from community leaders such as Carlos Suarez, Riz Khan, and Meghan Steineker, MPA. As a part of the program, we designed the framework of our own impact projects that we can do to help St. Louis, and I look forward to making my project come to life!”
Ric and Gokhan are working together on a project focused on equalizing the St. Louis school system via peer tutoring for standardized tests such as PSAT/SAT, ACT, and hopefully even AP tests. “I am working on this with my fellow classmate Gokhan and we hope, in these coming months, to work with students from underserved communities as well as refugees from the International Institute.”
Gokhan took some time to share what inspired him and Ric for their project. “Ric and I first began our project when we recognized a specific issue in our community. As Juniors at MICDS, we are required to take a ‘History of St. Louis‘ class during the first semester. Throughout the duration of the semester, I became fascinated with issues regarding housing in St. Louis as it connects to all facets of our community’s infrastructure—most importantly, education. Ric and I realized that there were various school districts within St. Louis that were not receiving the resources they needed due to lack of funding from poor housing situations.
“Therefore, we decided to form a non-profit organization called ‘The Yilmaz-Jain Foundation’ (YJF) to help aid underserved students that attend these schools. In an effort to broaden our scope, we also decided to include refugee students as well since St. Louis is a very large hub for refugees. We are providing free tutoring in standardized testing, general subject work, and we may incorporate GED aid as well.
Senior Represents Australia at the 2024 U20 Women's World Lacrosse Championship
Rising Sophomores Compete in USA Field Hockey AAU Junior Olympic Games
From July 29 through August 1, Ellemieke Ferguson ’27 and Mallory Jerlecki ’27 headed to Wake Forest University to play in the USA Field Hockey AAU Junior Olympic Games. “I really enjoyed my time at the Junior Olympics,” Ellemieke shared. “I was so grateful for the opportunity to compete with the best U-16 athletes from across the country. A highlight for me was winning the silver medal which was a great way to finish this incredible experience!”
Mallory loved the Junior Olympics too. “This experience was unlike any other field hockey event I have been involved in previously,” she reflected. “I was placed on a team with girls from around the country and one of the biggest highlights was becoming so close with my team so quickly. We all worked together so well and, in the end, finished with a bronze medal!”
Congratulations Mallory and Ellemieke!
A Freshman's Summer of Swimming Successes
It was a very successful summer for Gio Bucci ’28 in swimming and water polo. In June, Gio won the Most Valuable Swimmer award in the Country Club Summer League for the third consecutive time. In July, he went on to play in the California Junior Olympics tournament of Water Polo where he competed with the best 14u in the nation and kept an average of seven goals per game. After returning from California, he won the High Point Award Second Place at the Ozark Swimming Long Course Championship making him a top swimmer in the Ozark Region. He concluded in early August with a qualification for Team Ozark to Central Zone Swimming in Fargo, North Dakota, the highest swim meet for 14u, where he will swim the 200IM, 400IM, 100 Breast, 50 Breast, and 400 Free! Just keep swimming, Gio!
Rising Freshman Basketball Star Receiving D-1 Scholarship Offers Before Playing a High School Game
Rising freshman Jordyn Haywood ’28 participated on the Missouri Phenom 15U EYBL team which won the championship at the Nike Nationals in Chicago. The St. Louis American shares that Jordyn is a 6’0″ guard and one of the top prospects in the country for the Class of 2028 in basketball. She’s already received several D-1 scholarship offers even before playing a high school game. Go, Jordyn!
Freshman Selected to 14U All-Region team for USA Baseball's Midwest NTIS
Eliyah Powell ’28 was selected to the 14U All-Region team for USA Baseball’s Midwest National Team Identification Series (NTIS). According to the USA Baseball website, NTIS “is the most comprehensive player identification program offered by USA Baseball…Players from across the country will begin the identification process by participating in camps and tryouts at the local level in their designated region. Every region will name…36 athletes from each of the 13U, 14U, 15U and 16U age groups, to two All-Region teams that will participate in the NTIS Champions Cup at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.” Way to go, Eliyah!
Freshman Receives Certificate from the Bulgarian Ministry of Education
Three Rams Shine in Muny Youth Ensemble for "Fiddler on the Roof"
Congratulations to Asher Woodward ’28 who participated in the youth ensemble in “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Muny this summer! Pictured with him are recent alumni and fellow Muny performers Ben Iken ’24 and Thomas Woodrow ’24. Thank you to all for making the St. Louis summer under the stars so special!
Middle School Ram Sisters Perform in The Sound of Music
Sisters Rosie ’30 and Marisol Kelley ’32 performed in The Sound of Music as part of the professional production in Hermann, Missouri. The performance was featured in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch here. More than 1,300 people attended over the course of the performances. Bravo, Kelley sisters!
7th Grader Becomes Published Author
Ma’lee Ochieng ’30 recently had one of her stories published on the Grannie Annie website. According to the Grannie Annie, “Students in U.S. grades 4 through 8, and homeschooled or international students 9 through 14 years-of-age, are invited to interview their family storykeepers and write a story from their family’s history. The Grannie Annie experience leads young people to strengthen family and community bonds, encounter history in a personal way, and polish their writing skills. Students are encouraged to share their work with their family, school, community, and The Grannie Annie. The works of sixteen young authors, chosen to represent the submissions received this year, are included in this nineteenth annual collection of Grannie Annie family stories.”
Read her published story, “The Village Hospital” (story #16) here, where Ma’lee writes about her dad!
Club Highlight: HOSA Proudly Represents MICDS at International Leadership Conference
Congratulations to the MICDS HOSA Chapter on a successful week at the 47th annual International Leadership Conference in the summer! Our Rams stood proud in Houston with multiple service recognition awards, a Parliamentary Procedure team ranking 8th in the world, and all competitors showing strong. Additionally, the MOHOSA President Amisha Poojari ’25 received the Outstanding HOSA Leader Award! What a rewarding week, Rams!
Cheerleading Squad Earns Accolades at UCA Summer Camp
- Elyse Abramov ’25
- Alyssa Harris ’25
- Sophia Huddleston ’25
- Macy Lubak ’25
- Simra Qayyum ’25
The All-American Award allows seniors to participate in special performances across the nation, including the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, and a New Year’s Day parade in Rome, Italy.
Sophia received the “Pin It Forward” Award for leadership, kindness, and spirit, and Riley Crawford ’26 and Meher Dinsda ’28 won the jump contest.
Faculty Feature: Coach Kay Takes Coaching Experience to All-American Game on ESPN
Our very own Middle School English Teacher & Varsity Boys Lacrosse Coach Andy Kay appeared on ESPN on July 27 coaching one of the teams for the New Balance HS Senior All-America game! Past Ram Nation alumni who have played in this game include Matt Trowbridge ’16 (Michigan), Harry Wellford ’17 (North Carolina), and Graham Bundy Jr. ’19 (Georgetown). Congrats, Mr. Kay, on being selected for this prestigious coaching opportunity!
Head Baseball Coach Michael Kraatz Interviewed on Youth Baseball Midwest's Podcast
Rappleye Teaches through Harvard Division of Continuing Education & Prepares for Book Launch
Watch Dr. Roth on The History Channel in "The Einstein Challenge"
Mr. Tourais' Podcast Appearance Discusses How to Create Lasting Impact in Student Lives
Upper School English Teacher Tex Tourais was interviewed on the podcast Infawork Insights over the summer. His episode dives into discussing the role that teachers play in developing leaders. As a teacher and an athletics coach, listen as he emphasizes perseverance, teamwork, and dedication to create lasting impacts on his students’ lives. Listen to the podcast here!
