'03 grad named to academic team

Sean Genis will go to Oxford University this fall as a Rhodes Scholar.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
SHARON, Pa. -- A 2003 graduate of Sharon High School has been named to USA Today's 2007 All-USA College Academic Team.
Sean Genis, who will graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy in May with a major in physics and a minor in Spanish and a 4.0 grade point average, is one of 20 scholars from across the nation selected for the honor.
Each received 2,500 and a trophy in recognition of their excellence in scholarship and their ability to extend their intellectual capabilities beyond the classroom to benefit society.
Genis, 22, will be commissioned as a Navy ensign in May and plans to become a submarine officer, but he's got another academic assignment to complete first.
He'll go to Oxford University in England in September as a Rhodes Scholar to study philosophy, politics and economics.
He's also teaching himself Chinese.
Background
Genis is the son of Vincent and Roxana Genis of Sharon and was valedictorian of his high school class. The family, which includes younger sister Stephanie, now a sophomore at The Pennsylvania State University, moved to Sharon from Wisconsin when Sean was a sophomore.
"He was just an all-around student," said Michael Calla, Sharon's interim superintendent. "Sean was involved in everything."
He was the drum major and president of the band and played on the varsity soccer team and ran cross country track. He sang with Sharon High School's Men of Note troupe and had the lead in the school musicals in his sophomore, junior and senior years.
His musical interests stayed with him at the Naval Academy. He had the lead in the campus production of "HMS Pinafore," was co-founder of a rock a cappella group and a member of the glee club.
He is an Academy Regimental Commander and a member of the cycling team, and, as a Trident Scholar, co-authored research on developing ways to make acoustic detection of land mines more efficient.
His fluency in Spanish benefited him when he sailed from Boston to Portugal aboard a Spanish tall ship owned by the Spanish Naval Academy, and the friendships he made on that 30-day voyage resulted in an invitation to that academy's graduation exercises, which are attended by the King of Spain.
Roxana Genis said her son got his first taste of the Naval Academy when he was accepted for a summer program there while a junior in high school.
"He had tons of [college] scholarship opportunities," she said, but chose to attend the Naval Academy.
gwin@vindy.com