Regis Senior Earns Prestigious Academic Honors

Over the past few months, Aidan Gouley ’23 has earned two prestigious academic distinctions for scholarly work he has completed outside of the Regis classroom. The Concord Review, the only quarterly journal in the world that publishes the work of high school students, will feature a paper written by Gouley in its upcoming Winter issue. This summer, a different paper crafted by Gouley earned first prize in the highly competitive 2022 John Sexton Essay Contest.

Gouley’s article for The Concord Review focused on the economic consequences of the Suez Crisis on Great Britain. He wrote his History term paper in his junior year on the same topic and expanded and refined it over the summer with the encouragement of Ms. Gena Reisig, the chair of the History Department, before submitting it to the Concord Review for consideration. 

“The Concord Review is truly unique as the only history journal to publish the academic work of high school students. It is remarkable in its commitment to encouraging students to engage with - and write long form research papers about - critical historical and social issues, and is a unique outlet for intellectual expression,” Gouley said. “My passion for history drove me to do the necessary research and writing to publish on an era-defining issue, and I am incredibly fortunate to have my work included in The Concord Review.”

In August, Gouley also was awarded the first prize in the highly competitive 2022 John Sexton Essay Contest, during a ceremony held at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture. Gouley is now spending his senior year at Regis as a John Sexton scholar. John Sexton, previously the President of New York University for 13 years, founded the John Sexton Scholars Program in 2020 to, “promote awareness of current international crises involving conflict and displaced peoples, especially those with little media attention,” and, “to provide substantive professional and academic opportunities to the next generation of change makers.” 

Each year, the program organizes an essay competition – open to all high school students in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut – to select the next contingent of Sexton Scholars. This year, contestants were tasked with drafting a 500-word policy recommendation concerning the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar as well as broader climate-driven mass migrations around the world. A panel of highly regarded scholars and foreign affairs experts selected this year's winners. Eight contestants were invited to become Sexton Scholars, and among them, the top three submissions were ranked on their individual merit. Gouley’s submission was awarded first place.

Regis is proud of Gouley for these impressive academic achievements on top of all of his work inside and outside the classroom on 84th Street!