New Brunswick Middle Schooler Feels Set To Study at Exclusive Boarding School

NEW BRUNSWICK – Victoria Jacks was the advisor for New Brunswick Middlesex School student council a few years ago when she told the members they weren’t allowed to sell sugary products for fundraisers. That’s when little, ol’ sixth grader Juliette Gonzaga Bernardino went on a reconnaissance mission and found out that another group in the school was selling candy.

“The next meeting, she had a report about how they were selling candy grams, so this just naturally meant that we could do the same thing,” Jacks said. “Juliette did it all on her own. No one told her to be a spy. She came in so excited and reported, ‘Mrs. Jacks, guess what I found out.’”

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That tenacity, along with inner strength, intelligence, leadership qualities and a good sense of humor, will serve Gonzaga Bernardino well next fall when she embarks on her high school career at a private boarding school that has been preparing exceptional students for college and beyond since 1906.

She has earned an academic scholarship to The Kent School, an exclusive institution about halfway between the New York border and the leafy Berkshires. She will live and study among 500 other students from grades 9-12 and postgraduate students who have endured a rigorous application process that included personal interviews.

She’ll be leaving with stars in her eyes and a dream in her heart: to study computer engineering in college.

It won’t be an easy transition, however, saying goodbye to three siblings, her parents, their restaurant in Franklin and her cat, Lilly.

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“I’m excited but nervous at the same time, because I’m moving away from my family,” Gonzaga Bernardino said. “The program they ran last summer did prepare me. I had to go away for three weeks for a boarding school simulation to see who had the mental capacity to be part of a boarding school, because people did leave throughout the program.”

Gonzaga Bernardino is an (almost) straight-A student who serves as the president of the Student Council and the school’s National Junior Honor Society chapter, and is involved in groups such as the Robotics and Drama club.

And if you don’t think she really gets into her schoolwork, consider that she recently posed as World War II correspondent Martha Ellis Gellhorn as part of the theater program’s Wax Museum program. Each student was asked to dress as a famous historical personality and prepare a speech about his or her accomplishments. Gellhorn, the author of the quote, “I do not see myself as a footnote to someone else’s life,” caught Gonzaga Bernardino’s eye. Even if she had to wear a blond wig and borrowed business clothing.

There’s another strong, trailblazing woman in her life: her mom.

Abigail Bernardino opened Tacos Basilio in Franklin last year after spending almost a decade selling out of booths at local fairs and catering to small parties. Gonzaga Bernardino’s father, Arturo Gonzaga, went to school to earn a chef’s certificate so he can help prepare the food.

They came to the United States about 18 years ago with the hope of a better life.

“I definitely see how hard my parents work because I’ve seen her business developing from when I was in like first grade and there’s just, it’s just like, I don’t know how to explain this, I’m proud of her,” Gonzaga Bernardino said, choking back tears. “I ‘ve seen the difference. Like in seventh grade, she was out working while I stayed home alone with my younger sister sometimes. I would stay home alone and make my own food sometimes and wait for her to come home late and she was just working on the business and developing it, making sure everything was right for the restaurant so she can open as soon as possible. It’s been her dream to open her own restaurant. She finally got it.”

She said her parents realized The Kent School represented a great academic opportunity, but were initially hesitant to allow their daughter to move 120 miles away.

Gonzaga Bernardino said that her time at New Brunswick Middle School – and especially the mentorship and guidance of Mrs. Jacks – has prepared her to succeed at The Kent School and beyond.

“I always worked hard to have the grades, so I’ve always had honors classes,” she said. “All my teachers want me to do my best and even if I slack off a little bit, they know I could do better, so they give me the opportunity to do better. They pushed me a little, especially Mrs. Jacks. They always pushed me and always believed I could do better, and I’m thankful for that.”

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