NORTH SHORE (Podcast) – For their exploits both in the classroom and their respective athletic endeavors, Peabody High’s multi-talented guard, Anthony Forte and Bishop Fenwick basketball superstar Cecilia Kay have been selected as the male and female Moynihan Lumber Student-Athletes of the Month.
Cecilia Kay – Bishop Fenwick Basketball with Bill Newell
Kay, a 6-foot-2 post player for Bishop Fenwick who is headed off to Division 1 American University in Washington DC on scholarship, agreed with Forte on what this particular honor means.
“It’s super important because academics is so important to me,” said the 17-year-old Kay. “I’ve always strived to be at the highest level academically and athletically that I can, so to be chosen because of those two things is an unbelievable honor.”
On Wednesday, Kay — who carries an otherworldly 4.95 GPA — was informed she will be Bishop
Fenwick’s valedictorian for the Class of 2024. “I was hoping for it and had been working towards it for the last four years, but when you officially hear the news it’s amazing,” said the fifth of the 10 Kay children. “I took every class I did at Fenwick with academic perspective, wanting to challenge myself to the fullest. So earning those grades through hard work was very satisfying to me.”
As a nod to how she repeatedly tests herself when it comes to furthering her education, Kay — who says she’s more of an English/history person — took AP Physics as a junior and came away better because of it. “It taught me to break my brain and learn things from a new perspective,” she said with a chuckle. “I had to prepare myself to learn in a different way, but it helped me in so many ways.”
As someone who admittedly applies hard work to all areas of her life, that’s readily apparent on the basketball court. Having won Salem News Girls Basketball Player of the Year honors as both a sophomore and junior, Kay led the region in both scoring (21.4 ppg.) and rebounding (11.5 rpg.) while making 38 steals. She was the sparkplug for a Fenwick team that finished among the top teams in the state at 17-3 despite being ineligible for postseason competition.
“Beating Medfield (49-45) in our last game was particularly special,” admitted Kay. “To be able to play my last game with those girls and finish with another win, especially after we pushed through all the obstacles this season presented, was the most memorable thing to me. But beating (arch rival) St. Mary’s of Lynn twice was a pretty close second.”
Kay said she’ll head down to American University in June or July for summer workouts and also take a class to become acclimating to college life as a Division 1 athlete.
