Surrounded by family, friends, faculty, and fellow Griffins, the 18 members of Church Farm School’s Class of 2025 were recently honored during graduation ceremonies on the private boarding and day high school’s campus in Exton.
While the graduating class is smaller than in past years, its accomplishments are sizable. Three members — Hector Audelo Gutierrez of Paterson, N.J.; Kennent Pineda from Newark, N.J.; and Achylles Farias from Vimao, Brazil — were named QuestBridge National College Match finalists in October.
Gutierrez matched with Amherst College, and Pineda matched with Swarthmore College, as both received full, four-year scholarships to attend. As an international student whose uncle graduated from CFS in the 1990s, Farias’s path was more arduous. Despite outstanding grades and extracurriculars, he didn’t receive the financial aid necessary to continue his studies in America and will return to Brazil to pursue his college education.
Neiman Smith, who arrived at CFS from St. James School in Philadelphia and assumed leadership roles in many areas of school life, spoke about what makes CFS so special.
“It helps you discover who you are outside of home — how you handle big responsibilities, independence, and personal growth,” he said. “The people and community here make the most of every moment, whether it’s playing basketball in the gym, grabbing food off campus, or just spending time together. No matter what, you know you have a support system that always has your back.”
Smith is pursuing sports medicine and psychology at Widener University.
Two students who came to CFS from Harlem Academy — Christian Agbor and Amadu Jalloh — will continue their education together at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., studying engineering and economics, respectively.
Twin brothers Dhondup and Phuntsok Aretsang from CFS partner school George Jackson Academy in New York will attend Gettysburg College and Stony Brook University.
Three scholars from another longtime partner organization in New York, Oliver Scholars, found great success at Church Farm School. Jaime Contreras will study computer science at Rochester Institute of Technology, Zachary Kogan will join Gutierrez at Amherst, and Xavier Osorio will pursue degrees in psychology and applied ethics at Haverford College.
Valedictorian and school co-president Alexis Gunera from San Miguel Academy in Newburgh, N.Y., will study engineering at Princeton.
Legacy student Anthony Espinoza — the voice of CFS athletics through commentating and photography — is heading to St. John’s University to study sports media and photography.
Muse Kabiso-Johnson from Connecticut received a full ride to Skidmore College.
Paul Kagiri from New Jersey is attending Rutgers University.
Brandon Linares of Newark, N.J., will pursue his passion for criminal justice at the University of Albany.
Longtime school mascot Adarsh Rana is heading to Vassar College.
School co-president and legacy scholar Gabe Soriano Fabian is staying close at Lehigh University.
Despite being an unusually small class, the Class of 2025 received acceptances to more than 60 prestigious colleges and universities and helped to create many new opportunities for their peers through their work on curriculum committees and advocating with Interim Head of School Tiffany Scott for greater experiential learning opportunities.
On July 1, Dr. Troy Baker will become CFS’s fifth Head of School. He will work closely with Scott, the newly appointed Associate Head of School, and the rest of the school’s administration to continue CFS’s critical mission of providing deserving young men with the opportunity to pursue an all-boys, college preparatory education at an accessible cost.
Church Farm School provides more than $6 million in financial aid each year to its students.
