This is an ongoing series written by Staff Writer Lauren Konefal highlighting various members of the CRHS Class of 2022.

This Friday, the Coginchaug Regional High School Class of 2022 will be graduating and bidding farewell to high school. The Devil’s Advocate reached out to select seniors to find out about their plans for the future after they graduate and asked them to reflect on their time at Coginchaug. 

Thank you to the featured seniors – Will Dalles, Emma DeCaprio, Zach Infeld, and Faith Melillo – who took the time to write thoughtful responses for the fifth edition of Senior Spotlight!

Will Dalles

Devil’s Advocate (DA): What are your plans for the future after you graduate?

Will Dalles (WD): After high school, I will be attending CCSU for Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing. I will also be running Track and Field there as well.

DA: What aspect of your high school years have you enjoyed the most?

WD: During my time at CRHS I enjoyed the time I spent with my friends during track and XC the most.

DA: What extracurricular activities and sports have you been involved with during your time at Coginchaug?

WD: I ran XC and Indoor and Outdoor track all 4 years of high school.

DA: What was your greatest challenge at Coginchaug and how did you overcome it?

WD: One of my greatest challenges was managing my time well which would lead to rushing a lot to finish work that needed to be done the next day.

DA: What did you learn about yourself during your time at Coginchaug?

WD: I have learned that I can do more than I think I can in both school and sports. I just have to be patient and put in the work.

DA: Who was your favorite CRHS teacher and why?

WD: My favorite teacher was Mr. Gector, he was my manufacturing and tech teacher my freshman year and he was super cool. His class was always fun and interesting. Unfortunately, he retired after my freshman year. 

DA: What was your favorite class at CRHS?

WD: Manufacturing ended up being one of my favorite classes at CRHS.

DA: What are you going to miss the most about Coginchaug?

WD: I am going to miss my friend and my sports but I am excited to meet new people and run for a new team.

DA: Which of your accomplishments at Coginchaug are you most proud of?

WD: I am proud of my athletic achievements and finishing high school in general.

DA: What advice would you give to underclassmen based on your experience at Coginchaug?

WD: My advice to underclassmen is not to push your work off until later. Do it now and things will be a lot easier in the long run.

Emma DeCaprio

Devil’s Advocate (DA): What are your plans for the future after you graduate?

Emma DeCaprio (ED): My plans for after college are studying criminal justice at the University of Rhode Island for four years. I hope to someday be a prosecutor!

DA: What aspect of your high school years have you enjoyed the most?

ED: The aspect of high school I have enjoyed the most is spending time with my friends like Carly Benbow, Ali Mariani, Kaleigh DeCaprio, and Alanna Rondinone.

DA: What extracurricular activities and sports have you been involved with during your time at Coginchaug?

ED: I played soccer at Coginchaug for four years. I was also in Student Council, Eco Club, and Spanish Honors Society.

DA: What was your greatest challenge at Coginchaug and how did you overcome it?

ED: My greatest challenge at Coginchaug was going through tough times in my personal life and then having to add school work to that. I soon learned new and useful coping mechanisms to deal with the large amount of stress.

DA: What did you learn about yourself during your time at Coginchaug?

ED: What I learned about myself at Coginchaug was that life has its ups and downs but it’s worth it to be able to see what it has to offer.

DA: Who was your favorite CRHS teacher and why?

ED: My favorite CRHS teachers are Mrs. Callahan, Mrs. Lee, Mr. Thompson, and Mr. Brad. They were all very supportive, kind, and understanding in many different ways.

DA: What was your favorite class at CRHS?

ED: My favorite class at Coginchaug was Career Exploration because we learned about real life situations and were able to job shadow.

DA: What are you going to miss the most about Coginchaug?

ED: I am going to miss my friends the most when I leave Coginchaug.

DA: Which of your accomplishments at Coginchaug are you most proud of?

ED: The accomplishment I am most proud of is achieving high honors during my four years at Coginchaug, getting into college, and being able to grow from my experiences at this school.

DA: What advice would you give to underclassmen based on your experience at Coginchaug?

ED: The advice I would give to underclassmen is to have fun and try to make the best of it.

Zach Infeld

Devil’s Advocate (DA): What are your plans for the future after you graduate?

Zach Infeld (ZI): Next year I will be attending Syracuse University, where I will be double majoring in International Relations and Magazine, News, and Digital Journalism (at the Newhouse School of Public Communications, one of the most prestigious communications schools in the world!)

DA: What aspect of your high school years have you enjoyed the most?

ZI: I have enjoyed most of my time at Coginchaug, but I have enjoyed my involvement with the music department the most.

DA: What extracurricular activities and sports have you been involved with during your time at Coginchaug?

ZI: I have not been involved in any sports, however I have been involved in multiple extracurriculars. I have been a member of the Newspaper for all four years and was an editor for the last two, as well as involvement in EDGE and Model UN. I also was involved with Show Choir, A Capella, Pep Band, and the Musical.

DA: What was your greatest challenge at Coginchaug and how did you overcome it?

ZI: My greatest challenge at Coginchaug was staying in contact with those who I was friends with throughout COVID. I was able to keep in touch but it made me realize the people I wanted to have in my life.

DA: What did you learn about yourself during your time at Coginchaug?

ZI: I learned that being on the outside of certain things is better than not.

DA: Who was your favorite CRHS teacher and why?

ZI: I don’t want to say since I love them all.

DA: What was your favorite class at CRHS?

ZI: My favorite class at Coginchaug was AP United States Government and Politics because the content was both incredibly interesting and the people in the class were amazing.

DA: What are you going to miss the most about Coginchaug?

ZI: I’m going to miss how everyone knows each other and cheers for everyone in everything.

DA: Which of your accomplishments at Coginchaug are you most proud of?

ZI: I’m most proud of Emma! (the 2022 musical) as well as my work helping the newspaper recover after coverage changes during COVID. 

DA: What advice would you give to underclassmen based on your experience at Coginchaug?

ZI: Make connections with the grades above and below you. With grades above you, they can give valuable advice for classes and college, and with below you you can both mentor them and pass that advice down. 

Faith Melillo

Devil’s Advocate (DA): What are your plans for the future after you graduate?

Faith Melillo (FM): My plans for after college are to attend Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) with a Psychology major. 

DA: What aspect of your high school years have you enjoyed the most?

FM: I personally love being able to connect with new people in extracurriculars such as Stage Crew and Spanish Honors Society. I’ve made more friends in my senior year then I have in any other year due to extracurriculars. 

DA: What extracurricular activities and sports have you been involved with during your time at Coginchaug?

FM: I’m not much of a sporty person, but I do participate in a decent amount of clubs such as Eco, Spanish Honors Society, Stage Crew/Theatre, and Student Class Council.

DA: What was your greatest challenge at Coginchaug and how did you overcome it?

FM: I think my greatest challenge, despite how cliche it might seem, was adjusting to the pandemic. In my sophomore year, we transitioned into online and I lost a lot of motivation that kept spiraling as I finished off the year and into junior year. On top of that my mental health was also on a decline. To be honest, it was mostly me forcing myself to do my work with the encouragement of friends that got me out of that hole. 

DA: What did you learn about yourself during your time at Coginchaug?

FM: One, I learned that I am AMAZING at procrastinating. Two, a cup of coffee will do absolutely nothing if I pull an all-nighter. And three, this is the most important one, I learned that a little nudge is all I need to get my work done because I can assure you that most of my work would either be late or missing if I didn’t psych myself up.

DA: Who was your favorite CRHS teacher and why?

FM: I can’t pick just ONE teacher. Sorry… haha. But I can give you my top three. No four. Mrs. Jacques-Purdy, Mrs. Anderson, Ms. Suchy, and Mrs. Torres. I love them all so much and they have contributed to a lot of my worth ethic and personality. They are all so sweet and I feel that I connected to them more than I have with any other teachers. I will always love and remember them!!

DA: What was your favorite class at CRHS?

FM: My favorite classes were Chemistry and Physics (both taught by Mrs. Anderson). They were tough, I mean REALLY hard for me, but I loved the concepts that surrounded them and learning about them was never boring.

DA: What are you going to miss the most about Coginchaug?

FM: I’m going to miss my friends the most, but I’ll remember to keep in touch.

DA: Which of your accomplishments at Coginchaug are you most proud of?

FM: Honestly, making it to my senior year was a really big accomplishment for me. Not to mention graduating with Academic Honors, that’s amazing.

DA: What advice would you give to underclassmen based on your experience at Coginchaug?

FM: For underclassmen, my advice to you is to not get too hung up on what everyone says about high school. For me, my parents said to “cherish every moment of high school because it will be the best four years of your life.” But not everyone will have that super cool High School Musical experience. For some, it will just be average. For others, it might not be what it’s chalked up to be as told by parents reminiscing their “golden ages” and in movies. Just take it slow and enjoy it if you can. I hope you all receive everything you want in life, you guys deserve it!!!!

The Devil’s Advocate would like to congratulate the Class of 2022 on their many accomplishments throughout their time at Coginchaug and wish them the utmost success in their future endeavors.