After Excelling in Sports and Academics at RHS, Julianna Raffa Will Attend Wentworth

Julianna Raffa was a Greater Boston League All-Star player for the history-making 2019 Revere High School field hockey team that qualified for the State Tournament for the first time in 31 years.

An honor roll student and a member of the National Honor Society, Raffa recently received a $10,000 scholarship from the ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston. ACE officials came to Revere to present the scholarship in person.

“I was introduced to this program by a friend and they gave me the information and it sounded really interesting, so I signed up at the beginning of my junior year,” said Raffa. “It was really exciting to receive a scholarship.”

The multi-talented 17-year-old, who is highly proficient in mathematics and the sciences, said she was drawn to the program by her interest in engineering.

“It [ACE] was a very helpful program where I learned a lot about engineering and  communications skills,” said Raffa. “I was in the structural engineering group so I learned about the math and science behind what makes a building stand up.”

Raffa collaborated with classmate Nicholas Cravotta and other students to develop a floor plan to design for the beams and columns for a virtual house.

Raffa said she was grateful to her three mentors in the ACE program, Kyle Karschner    Tina Unwalla, and Casey Williams.

“They helped navigate us through everything,” lauded Raffa.

A Season to Remember

Julianna Raffa will graduate with seven varsity letters in field hockey and softball. She excelled in the 2019 RHS field hockey contingent’s offensive attack, combining with GBL MVP Katie O’Donnell for a team that set a school record for victories. Raffa scored nine goals during that season for the Patriots.

“It was very amazing to be a part of that team,” said Raffa.

Now a field hockey captain, Raffa has begun practices for her final season that has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. She will begin her fourth varsity softball season in May.

Raffa said she’s happy to be back in school after a year of remote learning.

“It was great to be back in school,” said Raffa. “Remote learning was a little challenging, but it was okay once we got used to it.”

Raffa credited Revere High teacher Erin Cronin, for being especially outstanding during her academic experience. Cronin was her teacher for Advanced Placement Calculus. Raffa also had AP classes in Physics/Mechanics, Physics/Electricity and Magnetism, and Psychology.

Raffa will attend the Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston. She will study engineering, with a specialization in structural engineering.

“One of the reasons I chose Wentworth was because of the ACE Program,’ said Raffa. “I felt like it was a good fit, based on being there and learning there.”

Raffa, who attended the Beachmont School and Rumney Marsh Academy, has a great role model in her brother, Dante, who is a student at the UMass/Amherst Isenberg School of Management.

“My brother has always been pretty good at math, too, so I liked following in his steps when we were kids and I liked to try and challenge him as well,” said Raffa. “And my parents [Ovidio and Gina Raffa] always encouraged me to keep going with engineering. They’ve been very supportive.”

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