Jolie Kaplan of Greenwich has been named the Top Scholar for the Class of 2020 at The Gunnery, and the Top Scholar in the school for the 2019-20 academic year.
The dual honors cap a stellar three years for the 18-year-old Kaplan, who plans to major in math and data science at the University of Michigan this fall. A self-described “math nerd,” she said she was attracted by Michigan’s engineering program, which is among the top five in the U.S., as well as its research opportunities. Although she is not certain what the next decade or even the next year will bring, she is excited about the future. “There are so many possibilities. Right now everything feels limitless in a sense,” she said.
During the course of her three years, she played girls varsity soccer, girls basketball and girls varsity crew. She was a member of the school’s robotics team in 2019, and a member of the Model UN teams that participated in international conferences at Georgetown in 2018 and Harvard in 2019.
This year, Kaplan served as president of the Mathletes and co-leader of The Gray Party, a bipartisan student group that organized voter registration drives, hosted a forum on U.S. Immigration Policy at the Gunn Memorial Library, moderated a town forum and supported candidates in the race for the Board of Selectmen last fall. She was also a Gunnery tour guide for the last two years and served as head Residential Advisor in Emerson dorm junior year and Van Sinderen, the girls senior dorm, this year.
Asked what makes a top scholar, Kaplan said for her it came down to pursuing her interests and passions and figuring out what learning methods work best for her. “I think anyone has the potential. It’s really about hard work and what you’re willing to put in. It’s also a mixture of balancing activities, enjoying things outside the classroom, because school isn’t just academics,” she said.
“Part of what made her the Top Scholar is that she works hard and she works effectively,” said Ed Small, the Anne S. and Ogden D. Miller Senior Master, who worked with Kaplan on the robotics team and as the faculty advisor for Mathletes. She was also a student in his Operations Research class.
Currently, Kaplan is considering a hard science or engineering path, although she has not ruled out law, and politics remains an interest. Last summer, she completed an internship at the Cos Cob law office of Philip Russell. Her mother, Terri Stein, is an attorney.
In the summer of 2018, Kaplan completed a summer program on cybersecurity at Pace University, where she took courses on “Drone Utilization” and the SeaPerch Robotics System. She also volunteered for State Representative Caroline Simmons’ reelection campaign. Simmons is the House Chair for the state Commerce Committee and previously worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“It was an awesome experience,” said Kaplan, who kept in touch with Simmons’ former campaign manager and is spending some time this summer making calls on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. She is also returning to Philip Russell.
Kaplan draws inspiration from her grandfather, the Hon. Gary S. Stein, who served on the New Jersey State Supreme Court for more than 17 years and is involved in bringing a lawsuit to help reverse segregation in New Jersey’s public schools. “He’s still an advocate for justice. He’s always placed a huge emphasis on standing up for yourself. Even if no one agrees with him in the room, he will continue making the same case,” Kaplan said. “He’s always on the move and he manages to be a grandfather for 16 grandchildren and is able to balance all of that. I think that is really inspirational. I hope one day I will be working and I will love my job as much as he does.”
