Community Life

Meet Our Student Leaders

Senior Prefects

Kingswood Oxford student leaders are filled with intellectual curiosity, humanity, passion, and purpose. They understand that leadership is less about themselves and more about motivating, guiding, inspiring and bringing up those around them. Our prefects are multi-dimensional - musicians, writers, athletes - but what they share is a commitment to making connections and building an equitable and inclusive community.

In their role as Senior Prefects, these students help our freshman adjust to life on campus and serve as a sounding board when a student may experience frustration or challenges. Due to the invaluable role their prefects played in their own personal development at KO, these new prefects want to pay it forward and enrich the lives of the students around them.

List of 1 frequently asked questions.

  • Head Prefect
    Juanita Asapokhai

    Juanita Asapokhai lives in South Windsor, CT and has been attending KO since her freshman year. Academically, Juanita is an English enthusiast with a love for reading and all forms of writing, from investigative journalism to poetry and screenplays. In 2018, she was awarded a Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Silver Key for Short Story for a piece she wrote. She also enjoys the study of Spanish and history. Juanita played the flute in the concert band for two years and is a proud member of one of the best sports teams on campus, JV Girls’ Basketball. Additionally, through the Wyverns Helping Wyverns program, Juanita tutors Middle School students during the spring. Alongside academics, Juanita was an associate Features editor and is currently an Opinions contributor to the school newspaper. She is an active member of several school clubs: the school literary magazine, Epic, a co-chairperson for the Model UN team, a tour guide for the prospective family tour group Shield & Dragon, and co-leader of campus feminist group Orange is the New Gray. She served in student government as class vice president during her sophomore year and class president during her junior year. 

List of 1 frequently asked questions.

  • Senior Prefect
    Jenna Blocher

    Jenna Blocher lives in Southington and has attended KO since her freshman year. On campus, you can find her on the tennis courts (she’s been a member of the varsity team since freshman year), or touring prospective families as an executive committee member of Shield and Dragon. Academically, she is extremely interested in environmental science and hopes to major in environmental law and policy in college. Outside of school, Jenna is an extremely dedicated equestrian and competes on a national team year-round. This summer, Jenna spent most of July at Brandeis University, where she volunteered at non-profit organizations in Boston, while also creating her own community service initiative (which will focus on creating strategies to reduce bycatch of marine life off of the East Coast). 
     
     

List of 1 frequently asked questions.

  • Senior Prefect
    Jaden DiMauro

    Jaden DiMauro lives in West Hartford and started at KO as a freshman. On campus, Jaden is the Editor in Chief of KO News, the campus newspaper, which he has been a part of since his freshman year. His monthly column, “A Wyvern’s Tale,” can be found on thekonews.org, and covers topics ranging from the current culture of dialectical dishonesty to the misrepresentation of feminism. Jaden is also an executive committee leader for Shield & Dragon, a campus group whose members give tours of KO to prospective families, and the founder of the KO Chess Club. Academically, Jaden is especially passionate about English and history, both of which align with his love of writing. While he isn’t sure what he plans on majoring in yet, writing is sure to be part of it! Athletically, Jaden plays both basketball and golf for KO. Outside of school, Jaden coaches his sister’s basketball team, runs his lawn mowing business, and spends time with his family and friends. This summer, apart from mowing lawns, he worked for his family’s aerospace company, volunteered as a counselor at Camp KO’s creative writing and creative non-fiction camps.

List of 1 frequently asked questions.

  • Senior Prefect
    Esha Kataria

    Esha Kataria is from Ellington, CT and has been attending KO since her freshman year. Academically, Esha loves science and math and hopes to pursue research in the future. Outside of the classroom, Esha loves to play volleyball and tennis. She is also an avid contributor to the school’s newspaper, the KO News, and plays the role of managing editor. Esha leads a mental health and wellness club on campus called a Minute for Mental Health. Finally, she helps put together a literary magazine called Epic, biannually, and hosts coffeehouses throughout the year.  This summer, Esha worked as a senior camp counselor at Camp Shalom and spent time with her family from India.
     

List of 1 frequently asked questions.

  • Senior Prefect
    Cai Kuivila

    Cai Kuivila lives in East Hampton and has attended KO since her freshman year. Cai loves to play sports and is a captain for both JV soccer and varsity swimming in the fall and winter, and also plays on varsity lacrosse in the spring. Outside of athletics, Cai is busy on campus as a member of the executive committee for Shield and Dragon (KO’s tour guide group), an original member of the KO Community Outreach, Culture and Climate, and American Sign Language clubs, a senior chair of the annual Blood Drive, a math tutor, a member of SAAC (the Student Athletic Advisory Committee) and as an associate web editor for the KO News. Cai is also a passionate artist, both visually and as a musician, as she loves to paint in her free time and has played trombone in various groups on campus. Academically, Cai is interested in the sciences and hopes to major in kinesiology, continue swimming in college, and eventually become a sports psychologist. This summer she spent July at Brandeis University where she worked with programs in Boston dedicated to community service in the surrounding area. After Brandeis, Cai shadowed an orthopedic surgeon.
     

List of 1 frequently asked questions.

  • Senior Prefect
    Bella Leuschner

    Bella Leuschner lives in West Hartford and has been attending KO since her freshman year. She loves meeting new people and being a smiling and friendly face on campus. She has been a member of the KO News since her sophomore year and is the head editor of the Reviews section. In addition to that, Bella is a member of Shield and Dragon (KO’s tour guide group), The KO Community Outreach program, Shatterproof, and The Thirst Project, and she has participated in the Yale Model United Nations. Athletically, Bella has been a member of the varsity volleyball team since her sophomore year, played on the JV lacrosse team her freshman and sophomore year, and managed JV boys’ basketball team. In her free time, Bella loves to binge all different types of shows on Netflix, including rewatching her favorites (The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Friends).  She loves taking her dogs for walks and traveling with her family and friends. Bella joined Team Tobati (KO’s service-learning trip) for the school’s twenty-first year and went to Tobati, Paraguay and loved every second of the trip. 

    Bella is the second person in her family to graduate from KO following her brother, John ’18. 
     

List of 1 frequently asked questions.

  • Senior Prefect
    Matt Marottolo

    Matthew Marottolo lives in Wethersfield and has attended KO since the seventh grade. Musically, he loves to sing and play instruments, taking part in groups such as Outlook, Crimson 7, and Concert Band. To go along with his involvement in music, Matthew is a member of the Tri-M Honors Society. Playing on the varsity squash team alongside soccer and tennis for the past three years, he has been involved in three seasons of sports for the past three years. When he’s not in a match or concert, he spends his time involved in different clubs at KO, such as Mock Trial, student government, and Shield and Dragon (KO’s tour guide group), all of which he has loved being a part of since freshman year. This summer, Matthew traveled to Stuttgart, Germany, where he sang with the Kingswood Oxford choirs. 

List of 1 frequently asked questions.

  • Senior Prefect
    Alyssa Pilecki

    Alyssa Pilecki lives in Rocky Hill and has been attending KO since she was a freshman. She loves trying new things and being involved with the community: she is the Managing Editor for Features and Arts on the KO News, a witness on the Mock Trial team, and a senior co-chair for Model UN. Alyssa also plays the baritone in the Concert Band, is a member of the Tri-M Honors Society for music, submits to Epic (the school’s literary magazine), is a math peer tutor, and this year alongside the other co-leaders, hopes to reinstate A Minute for Mental Health, a club that promotes mental health awareness. As for sports, she has played JV squash since she was a freshman, has been a co-manager for girls’ varsity lacrosse since she was a junior, and will do both again this year as well as tutor Middle Schoolers in the fall through Wyverns Helping Wyverns. In her free time, Alyssa likes to watch Netflix, listen to music and history podcasts, play tennis and basketball, sleep, travel, drive, and hang out with her friends. For seven weeks this summer, Alyssa studied her two favorite subjects, biology and Spanish (which she plans on one day majoring and minoring in, respectively), at a summer program at Harvard. 
     

List of 1 frequently asked questions.

  • Senior Prefect
    Ethan Pinkes

    Ethan Pinkes lives in West Hartford Connecticut and has been attending Kingswood Oxford since his freshman year. Ethan enjoys sports and will be a captain of the varsity boys’ cross country team in the fall and will run track and field in the spring. Ethan enjoys giving back to his community and earned his EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) certification last year. He also volunteers at Middlesex Hospital Shoreline Medical Center during the summer and has spent time shadowing at the Veterans hospital in Newington. Beyond the field of medicine, Ethan has explored his interest in law by shadowing the chief public defender in New Haven and by taking the American Law elective at school. Within school, he is a member of Shield and Dragon (KO’s select tour guide group), his grade’s male representative on the Citizenship Committee, and a math center peer tutor. Academically, Ethan’s favorite subjects are history and math yet he enjoys learning in all disciplines. This summer, Ethan worked at the ADL’s Connecticut office.

List of 1 frequently asked questions.

  • Senior Prefect
    Spencer Schaller

    Spencer Schaller lives in Avon and has attended KO since the sixth grade. In his time here, he has gained much from what KO has to offer both inside and outside of the classroom. For over ten years, Spencer has been a proud member of the Boy Scouts of America, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout in 2016. In past summers, he has worked as a counselor and area director at Camp Workcoeman, teaching younger and older scouts important life and outdoor skills. He also spends his time teaching the importance of the outdoors in adult courses as a Leave No Trace trainer. At KO, Spencer dedicated his time to the arts and his fellow students. Spencer is a member of Outlook and Crimson 7, where he dedicates his time to learning and performing music. He is also a member of the Tri-M Honor Society. He also works with the theater department on the technical side in many capacities, from building sets to running lighting for school performances. Since his freshman year, Spencer has been an active member of KO’s Student Government: serving as the SGA secretary this past year and as the Form 6 president in the fall. This summer Spencer traveled to Stuttgart, Germany with Outlook to perform. Afterward, he spent his time between EMT classes and working with younger Scouts. 

List of 1 frequently asked questions.

  • Senior Prefect
    Marwynn Somridhivej

    Marwynn Somridhivej lives in South Windsor, CT, and has been attending KO since his freshman year. Marwynn will be a four-year member and captain of the 2019-2020 KO swimming and diving team, as well as a three-year member of the track and field team. Marwynn especially loves music, since he has played the piano for 13 years and the violin for 10 years. Marwynn is a member of the KO Orchestra and has performed numerous solo pieces during his three years with the group so far. Marwynn is also a member of the Connecticut Youth Symphony, a group of the state’s best musicians. Marwynn will be joining the West Hartford Symphony Orchestra (WHSO) this year after a one year gap in between his participation during his freshman and sophomore years. Marwynn also competes (and wins) in yearly piano competitions. Aside from his participation in KO’s music programs, Marwynn is the vice president of KO’s chapter of the Tri-M Music Honors Society, where he will help organize concerts and fundraisers to showcase KO’s talented musicians while helping local communities. This summer Marwynn helped with three Camp KO camps, participated in the Summer Arts Festival’s production of Legally Blonde, volunteered in EMS as an EMT,
    and did lab work with a professor at UCONN Health. 
     

List of 1 frequently asked questions.

  • Senior Prefect
    Jackson Wolff

    Jackson Wolff lives in Ellington, CT and has attended KO since seventh grade. Jackson is an involved member of the community. He enjoys many kinds of activities including social, academic, and athletic. He prides himself on being a leader of the school. He plays varsity soccer where he will be a captain in the fall and also plays varsity basketball where he will be a captain in the winter. He has played both varsity sports for all four years and in the spring participates in strength and conditioning. Jackson is involved with many clubs on campus including Shield and Dragon (KO’s tour guide group) where he is a tour guide, student-led group Lunch and Lead where he was a founding member and lastly, he is going to be a head of the Investment Club next year. This summer Jackson worked alongside his father during the week every single day. He also traveled to Massachusetts every Monday and Thursday for AAU basketball practice and then traveled with that same team most weekends to go play in tournaments. In addition, he took a trip to New York City to meet the owners of a private equity firm and also received a tour of both the NASDAQ and NYSE. He is extremely excited for that experience as he wants to pursue a career in that field. 

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Located in West Hartford, CT just steps from Blue Back Square, Kingswood Oxford is a private school inspiring co-ed day students in grades 6-12 with a college preparatory curriculum. Empowered students become clear confident communicators, resourceful problem-solvers, and ethical leaders. KO: where unlimited potential meets endless opportunities.
Copyright 2018. Kingswood Oxford.