Congratulations to seniors Dominic Ragona, named the Valedictorian for the Class of 2022, and John Emmons, named the Salutatorian.

Dominic plans to major in pre-med; his college choices include Columbia, Northwestern, or the University of Michigan.

He is an active student with a full schedule of Advanced Placement classes: Calculus, English, Environmental Science, Computer Science, and Government. 

A member of the National Honor Society, Dominic has been captain of the DLS Wrestling team the past three years, and also played varsity football with the 2021 State Championship team. 

He attended Carter Middle School (Warren), and chose to follow his older brother Frank, ‘17, to DLS. 

His favorite high school class was Honors World Contemporary Studies, taught by Mr. Brent Castine, and Dominic cites English teacher Mrs. Jeana Page as his favorite faculty member. 

"Even as an underclassman, Dominic showed a great deal of maturity and self-discipline through his level of preparedness and study habits in my class," said Mr. Castine. "It's been exciting to watch him grow over the last several years not just as a student, but as a leader of the De La Salle student body. He holds a great deal of respect from both his peers and the DLS faculty, and this accomplishment couldn't be more deserved!"

Mrs. Page said, "It's no surprise to me that Dominic is valedictorian. He is mature beyond his years, has tremendous self-discipline, and is remarkably diligent and dedicated to his school work. Not only is he an upstanding student, but also a good friend and a supportive classmate to his peers. I am very proud of him."

Dominic lives in Warren with his parents Paul and Renee Ragona. 

Salutatorian John Emmons, who attended Holy Family Regional, is undecided about his next four years. 

He has a full academic schedule of Advanced Placement courses, including Calculus BC, Environmental Science, American Government, and English, as well as Economics and Philosophy. 

John’s favorite class was Mr. Brent Castine’s AP Human Geography course, and his favorite teacher at DLS was Mr. Joe Novak. 

"A student like John Emmons is a rarity." said Mr. Castine. "Not often does a young man operate at such a high caliber in both academics and athletics - especially with such a quiet, composed competence. There are no limitations to what he can accomplish, and it will be very exciting to see what the future has in store for him! "

Mr. Novak said, "We all know John is a great student by the fact he is salutatorian. But to me what is remarkable about John is how well-rounded of a person he is.  He is polite, gets along with all of his peers, and balances his academics and athletics better than anyone I have ever taught. There is no doubt in my mind that he is going to be successful in the future."

John notes he chose to attend DLS ”to further my Catholic education and to take advantage of the academic scholarship I received.”

A four-year varsity lacrosse player at DLS, John has earned Academic All-American, All-State, and All-Catholic honors. 

In addition to lacrosse, John also plays travel hockey. He captains the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies, an AAA hockey team ranked 9th in the country; he has been drafted by the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders. He is also a Minot Minotaurus Tender. 

John lives in Washington Township with his parents John (Sr.) and Jennifer Emmons. 

Photo below (l. to r.): Assistant Principal Mr. Chris Dean, Dominic Ragona, John Emmons, and Principal Br. Ken Kalinowski.