Joliet West names best all-around seniors

Jack Pierson and Catherine Mae Mastin, Joliet West High School seniors, received the distinction of Mr. and Miss Alpha Omega at their senior awards ceremony May 16.

The students will each receive a $1,000 scholarship and will each speak at the graduation ceremony June 1.

“With the scholarship and a couple of the other scholarships that I’ve earned, it will greatly, greatly help me in my first year,” Mastin said.

Pierson said speaking at graduation will be a memorable way to end high school.

“We’ve all helped each other, we all were on this ride together, we all started at the same place freshman year,” he said. “It’s literally surreal to be able to speak to them.”

The Alpha Omega contest honors the high school’s best all-around boy and girl through a selection and interview process. It is a long-standing tradition sponsored by the yearbook, according to a news release.

Throughout the academic year, finalists took on student ambassador roles in the community. Aside from tutoring at Mount Carmel Church and Lively Hope Church weekly, the students spoke with various community organizations and attended events.

“It just felt great to have people in the community – they don’t even know us – but they support us so much and they feel proud of us,” Pierson said.

Among other involvement, Pierson served as the captain of golf team for two years. He was part of the IHSA Varsity Golf All-Academic Team and Varsity Golf All Conference Honors.

Pierson will attend the University of Alabama, where he will study computer science.

Alongside other involvement, Mastin is a member of the executive board of the National Honor Society as the in-school communicator. She also is the president of Students of Service and Garden Club, as well as the co-president of the Health and Medicine/Human Services Academy Roundtable.

“It hasn’t been exactly easy, but I would say obviously academics always come first for me,” she said. “Sleep always comes last, but that’s OK.”

Mastin will attend Northwestern University, where she plans to major in biology and Spanish.