The FCIAC awards Exemplary Scholar-Athlete honors to players from its 16 member schools every season. Each week, the league will be announcing eight of those award winners, two each from four schools, with bios and photos on FCIAC.net.
Here are the first honorees for the Fall, 2025 season from Darien, Brien McMahon, Norwalk, and Stamford:
Alexis Procopion – Darien
Alexis has been a member of the girls’ volleyball team for four years and is a team captain this year.
She has maintained a cumulative weighted GPA of 4.25 while taking many AP and honors classes.
In the off season she participated in Unified Sports, and Track and Field.
Alexis is a member of the Science National Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society. She received bilingual certification in Spanish in her sophomore year and was a recipient of the St. Lawrence University Book Award.
Alexis is president of the Best Buddies and Mindful Moments clubs and is a Blue Wave anchor.
Outside of school she volunteers at assisted living homes.
Ryan Xing – Darien
Ryan is a senior with a 4.325 weighted GPA, taking mostly honors and AP classes. He has been a member of the Darien golf team for four years.
Outside of golf, Ryan dedicates most of his time to music. He is a member of Tri-M and volunteers at Project Music to teach violin. He also plays the piano at charity concerts, competitions, and recitals.
He plans to major in applied mathematics and music performance in college.
Emilia Reciuga – Brien McMahon
Emilia is an International Baccalaureate Diploma programme student with a 4.5 weighted GPA.
She has maintained High Honor Roll all four years at Brien McMahon High School while taking all honors, AP, and IB classes.
Emilia has been a member of the volleyball team since freshman year and was named captain her senior year.
She is a member of National Honor Society, Feeding 500, and Unified Sports at her school.
Emilia gives back to her community as a volunteer tutor at the ASPIRE after-school program. She has earned a diploma from Columbia University’s High School Law Institute.
Kyllian Cineus Buno – Brien McMahon
This senior with a weighted GPA of 4.03 is a member of the football and outdoor track teams for three years.
He is a high honor roll student while taking mostly AP classes.
Kyllian is a member of multiple clubs including Unified Sports, All Paws In, and the architectural Design Club.
Joy Weng – Norwalk
Joy is a well-rounded student who has excelled academically and shown exceptional passion through her four years on the cross country team, earning the role as a captain this year.
This senior has a 4.5 weighted GPA, earning High Honors. She is also a National Merit semi-finalist and an AP scholar. Joy was a recipient of the Harvard Club of Fairfield County award.
Joy has raced varsity cross country for all her high school career, while also running distance year-long for Norwalk’s indoor and outdoor track and field teams.
In school, she was inducted into the National Honor Society, while also being a mentor for AP Ambassadors.
Joy also demonstrates service and advocacy by volunteering at the Maritime Aquarium, Norwalk ACTS, and The Superintendent’s Leadership Council.
Dylan Forte – Norwalk
Dylan is in his second year as a member of the National Honor Society and has maintained over a 4.3 GPA with a combined 14 college and AP level courses taken.
He is a member of both the Norwalk football and baseball teams. He was a part of the baseball team’s most recent FCIAC and State playoff runs with the team getting to the championship and semifinals respectively.
Dylan has been a member of BOSS Academy, a program at his school which helps underclassmen transition into high school, for almost two years.
He’s also helped Norwalk Youth Flag Football, Rowayton Youth Basketball, Norwalk Youth Carver Basketball, and Norwalk Cal Ripken Baseball.
Ella Pearle – Stamford
Ella is a member of the IB Diploma Program with a 4.98 GPA and is ranked No. 11 in her class. She is the Social Media Coordinator for National Honor Society as well as a member of the Science National Honor Society.
Ella leads three varsity sports as a four-year member of the soccer team, co-captain of the ice hockey team, and she also plays lacrosse. She earned All-FCIAC Second Team in her junior year and All-FCIAC Honorable Mention both her sophomore and freshman year for ice hockey.
Ella is involved in numerous student clubs as vice president of Student Council and an ambassador for Morgan’s Message. In addition, she works with special education students as a member of both Unified Sports and Friendly Faces.
She has also been a part of the Cancer Awareness Club for four years and volunteers at Junior Recreation Girls Soccer.
Cal Gillin – Stamford
Cal is a senior with an unweighted GPA of 4.0 and a weighted GPA of 5.06 in the rigorous IB Diploma Programme at Stamford High School.
He is currently a cross country captain and has been a team member for three years. Cal is also a four-year outdoor track and field athlete who runs distance races. He has also completed a half marathon during his time in high school.
Cal has additional leadership roles as a captain of the Stamford High School Debate Team and treasurer of National Honor Society.
He volunteers frequently in the clothing donation center at Person to Person in Darien and participates actively as a volunteer at school events through student council.
He is the recipient of the Columbia Book Award. In addition, Cal has qualified for the state debate tournament for the last two years.
Cal recently completed a summer internship at a private equity firm and intends to study business as a finance major.