Val at 8 years old
“She was a joy. So very loving. Still is!” shared her mother.
MSJ Firebirds 433 [including Val] @ Robotics competition in the spring @ Lehigh University
Valarie Anais Rubinstein
click on thumbnails to enlarge
Valarie’s Victorious Academic Ventures
by Cate Murway
From March 2020, the typical days of high school no longer looked like a day from 8:00am to 3:00pm and extracurricular activity opportunities following school with time to socialize.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 pandemic's suddenness shocked the entire education system to the core with unprecedented concerns as academic institutions had to halt all learning activities.
Many students felt anxious and isolated and grappled with the uncertainty, the decreased focus and limited social engagement that had a detrimental impact on their overall learning experiences.
Despite disruptions, Valarie Anais Rubinstein maintained resilience and persevered through hard work and support from her caring family. She additionally continued to gain coping strategies while she powerfully adjusted her workload regime.
She was named a National Merit Scholarship Finalist even though it had been very challenging to replace hands-on learning.
Approximately 1.5 million students across the country enter the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's [NMSC] program but only 15,000 students advance to Finalist standing.
What an incredible accomplishment for Valarie Rubinstein who has exhibited such incredible resolve!
As a youth, Val attended the all-girls private Stuart Country Day School and then continued to Villa Joseph Marie, the premier, private, all-girls college preparatory high school in Bucks County, renowned for its strong community connection.
The VJM English Department awarded her Freshman Poet Laureate for her poem "The Counter".
After a great showing at the Delaware Science and Engineering Fair, Valarie Rubinstein '22 received the Science and Technology Award to Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.
The Award would cover up to $15,000/year for 4 years at the school.
What a major accolade to receive as a freshman!
COVID-19 economic shocks continued to shutter many businesses as new restrictions and mandates were implanted and Val’s parents are both lawyers and their schedules were shifted during this time as well.
Her father, Eran is a business lawyer and her mother, Susan Marie, is a litigation attorney in the fields of labor and employment. Work locations were affected and they transitioned from seeing colleagues, clients, and judges in offices and courtrooms. The decision was made for Valarie to transfer to
Mount Saint Joseph Academy in Flourtown.
Valarie was obviously growing in courage and confidence with so many changes. Val was most interested in the MSJ STEM programs in general, and she was thankful for block scheduling that accommodated labs. She opted to engage in many challenging experiences that not only inspired intellectual curiosity, but also promoted a global mindset along with her lifelong love of learning.
Her favorite subjects included Physics, computer science, English, Latin, and her senior year Honors Government class. Val participated in Varsity Mathletes and the PA Math League [PAML], and she was a staff member of Muse, the MSJ literary magazine where she helped select submissions and format the magazine.
“I am interested in a wide area of subjects and they seem to build on each other,” she concluded.
She was also a programmer in the MSJ Firebirds Robotics Program.
“We had a Lab in the basement and mainly virtual competitions during junior year, but senior year, we traveled to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and area colleges like Lehigh University.”
In her “free” time, she became more involved in community service which can lead to a most valuable lifelong commitment to service. Her sport of choice was Archery which she both enjoyed, and in which she learned to excel, requiring her body to be fully in sync - mentally and physically.
The eclectically gifted Valarie was one of 102 students out of 9,482 worldwide who received a perfect paper on the Intermediate Latin Reading Comprehension exam, and she also earned the highest possible ACT composite score of 36 and scored 1580/1600 on the SAT.
The MSJ Certificate of Achievement was awarded to Val for Excellence as she earned the highest GPA.
By virtue of her potent intellect, Val was accepted to Princeton University, the private Ivy League research university and more new experiences are about to commence. She is ready for the rigors and pressures that come with undertaking a Princeton curriculum.
The highly prestigious Princeton is amongst the very hardest of schools to get into in the entire world.
Just under 5,500 undergraduate students are currently enrolled and the acceptance rate in recent years has hovered around four percent.
“I was attracted by the Princeton emphasis on Liberal Arts and its wide variety of available interests, including an elective in ancient Greek language,” Valarie confirmed.
Her current professional goals include electrical engineering, with an emphasis on applied physics.
She is still considering the possibility of being a patent lawyer.
Life can be riddled with obstacles, but EVERY Wednesday child is NOT full of woe…..
Obviously to Val, the little obstacles in life are not obstacles at all, but stepping stones.
Recommend a “Children are our future” candidate: e-mail vjmrun@yahoo.com
