News Archive

Transitioning to college life can be tough for most young adults. Going from a student body of just over 300 students to more than 19,000 peers can make the transition a bit tougher. For Alison Caporimo, '06, the move to New York University seemed natural, though, thanks in part to what she took with her from her time at Bay Ridge Prep.

"Bay Ridge Prep taught me how to be a student, but on a deeper level, Bay Ridge Prep taught me how to be a listener, a thinker and a contributor to society," Caporimo said on the eve of Commencement day at NYU, where she just graduated from with several awards. "These are the things that I took with me to NYU and they laid the foundation for my development in college."

When Caporimo graduated from the nurturing and caring environment of Bay Ridge Prep in 2006, she moved on from a school that then had a senior class of 21 students and a high school faculty of approximately 25 teachers. She starred in theater productions and was an avid fan of her literature courses, especially, she says, her senior year Shakespeare class.

Four years after leaving Bay Ridge Prep, she has earned a degree in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing from NYU's College of Arts and Sciences and plans to become a magazine writer. Her senior thesis, entitled "Melville and Religion: Rethinking Christianity in Moby Dick", along with her excellence in Honors English Literature, led her to be named the recipient of the William Bush Baer Memorial Prize. The prize in named after a former NYU dean and awarded annually to a graduating senior who has excelled in English and who has contributed in a noteworthy way to NYU's campus life.

On top of all that, Caporimo was also presented with the university's Founders Day Award, which honors graduating NYU seniors "who have distinguished themselves among their fellow students through consistent evidence of outstanding scholarship" and have "achieved a place in the highest bracket" of academic performance.

Reflecting on her academic life at Bay Ridge Prep and NYU, Caporimo, said she has come to realize that the knowledge she gained from both institutions is what is most important.

"The degrees, classes and assignments fade," she said, "but the things I've learned, I carry with me."

Founded in 1998, Bay Ridge Preparatory School is an independent K-12 college preparatory school offering a strong academic program in a socially mature and positive learning environment. Interact with Bay Ridge Prep online at facebook.com/bayridgeprep and twitter.com/bayridgeprep.