Roosevelt Valedictorian Headed to Ohio University

Class of 2011 valedictorian Elliot Kaplan credits the “extremely accepting and nurturing” environment of and its caring teachers for helping to shape the successful young adult that he is today.

“Most of the RHS teachers that I had made an impact on me outside of the classroom by being so caring and being such great teachers,” Kaplan said.

There are a handful that he will always remember fondly because of the difference they made in his life.

For example, the AP calculus class taught by Larry Strobl made Kaplan realize he wants to major in mathematics when he starts classes this fall at Ohio University in Athens. He will enter the university as a member of the Honors Tutorial College on a renewable full-ride scholarship.

Another Roosevelt offering that changed Kaplan’s perspective was Riders Taking Action, a semester-long class taught by Chris Hibbs. Participants earn one social studies or history credit for serving 40 hours of community service with one of 20 area organizations.

“Riders Taking Action with Mr. Hibbs was one of my favorite classes because it was a volunteer class, and I got to help the community and see the results of my work,” Kaplan said.

His French teacher of two years, Fetna Mikati, served as a role model for the benefits of hard work. “She had a great work ethic that definitely raised mine up,” he said.

David Massucci, Kaplan’s Advanced English 11 teacher, “made a big impact on me because he gave me more of an appreciation for English – a subject I wasn't very fond of beforehand,” he said.

And Dr. John Roebke, Kaplan’s senior-year band director, “impacted me most of all because he gave me a much larger appreciation of not only music, but art and culture as well.”

Kaplan said he will definitely miss his teachers and fellow RHS students. “But most of all, I will miss the environment. The RHS environment was extremely accepting and nurturing, and I truly believe that is one of the best high schools,” he said.

He has consistently earned a 4.0 grade point average at Roosevelt, but it wasn’t something he obsessed over. “While maintaining (my GPA) hasn't been a priority, doing my best in every class was a priority,” Kaplan said.

The National Merit Commended Scholar made the most of his school experience through involvement in a variety of extracurricular activities.

Kaplan joined band in fifth grade, and he has continued playing the French horn since sixth grade. He was awarded the Music Savers scholarship his sophomore year and earned his letter in band this year.

He ran cross country all four years of high school, earning the Most Improved Runner award in both his junior and senior years. This year Kaplan was awarded his cross country letter, as well as being named a PTC Scholar Athlete.

Kaplan participated in French Club during his freshman year, and he was a National Honor Society member during his junior and senior years. This year Kaplan was named an AP Scholar with Honors, and he participated in the Senior Leadership Retreat.

His decision to attend Ohio University was based on its Honors Tutorial College.

“The HTC program, especially within a bigger public university like OU, is great because I can get personal attention within the Honors College and still have the big-school experience through OU as a whole,” he said.

Kaplan was awarded OU’s Gateway Excellence Scholarship, which is a four-year renewable award valued at the full cost of in-state tuition. Kaplan said as long as he maintains a high GPA, the scholarship will be renewed annually.

When asked if he could guess what his future career may be, Kaplan said “Possibly being a professor, but I honestly have no idea.”

That line of work wouldn’t be surprising as his father, Dr. David Kaplan, is a geography professor at Kent State University, where he directs the Urban Studies program. His mom is Veronica Jurgena, a freelance editor and translator. Kaplan has one sibling, Serena, 10.