Archdiocesan high schooler chosen as U.S. Presidential Scholar Semifinalist

“God is at the center of everything I do. Everything I do is to serve Him and do His will, and that is all the motivation that I need,” said Luke. P. Mosca, Paramus Catholic High School senior and a 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program semifinalist. 

Luke, who is a Latin scholar, altar server, tutor, varsity golf team member, veterans advocate, Eagle Scout, and Future Doctors of America president, and who aced 11 AP classes, is a shining example of how Catholic education empowers students to achieve excellence. 

He is also Paramus Catholic’s valedictorian this year. 

U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964 by an executive order of President Lyndon B. Johnson, and is considered a prestigious honor that recognizes only the nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. This year, just 628 students nationally were selected as semifinalists for this prestigious award. Luke was one of only 16 students, and the only Catholic high school student, in the state of New Jersey to achieve this recognition. 

Luke was also selected as a recipient of the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Award. Approximately 50,000 students with the highest PSAT/NMSQT® scores qualify for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program, but only 8,000 students are selected as award winners each year based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments. With approximately 3.6 million high school seniors enrolled in public and private schools across the nation, this award puts Luke in the top 0.2% of high school seniors in the country. 

Luke said that he owes much of his success to his parents, supportive extended family members, and his Catholic support system, who instilled the values of hard work and ethics in him since he was a child.  

Luke began his Catholic school education in second grade at Our Lady of Mercy Academy (OLMA) in Park Ridge.  

Luke’s parents, Minal and Patrick Mosca, decided to send him to Catholic school because Catholic education provides a “loving and faith-centric second home where children are educated and nurtured to reach their very best potential,” according to Minal.  

During middle school, Luke began training to become an altar server. He said that being directly involved in the “Sacrifice of the Mass” is important to him. He is currently a parishioner and altar server at Sacred Heart Church in Clifton. 

Mosca (far left) and fellow altar servers assist Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, Bishop of the Diocese of Patterson, in celebrating Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Clifton over Easter 2023. 

Father Robert W. Wisniefski, pastor of Sacred Heart Church, said that Luke “is a good role model and example for young people today” and that he serves with such reverence, respect, and devotion “that you would think he has been doing it his whole life.”  

At Paramus Catholic, Luke has had a busy three years. He plays the trumpet in the Marching Paladins and Concert Band, competes on the Varsity Golf Team, is an Executive Board Member and Director of Tutoring in the National Honor Society, is the President of the Future Doctors of America Club, and volunteers as Team Manager for the JV/Varsity Basketball Team. He also earned the maximum score of 5 on all but one of his 11 AP exams. 

"Luke is exemplary in every undertaking… Throughout his four years at Paramus Catholic, he has lived a life of faith, honor, and service,” Paramus Catholic Principal Dr. Stephanie Macaluso, Principal at PCHS, said. 


Paramus Catholic High School Valedictorian Luke Mosca is graduating with an unweighted GPA of 4.0 and has been on the Principal's List every quarter since enrollment. 

Luke's favorite subject is Latin, which he was inspired to study because of his faith and interest in the Greco-Roman culture, and will continue to pursue at Case Western Reserve University, which he attending on full scholarship in the fall. A four-time winner of the Gold Medal and Summa Cum Laude Certificate on the National Latin Exam, he said that he “really fell in love with the formulaic structure of the language.” 

According to the Memoria Press, a Catholic publishing house, studying Latin leads to a more comprehensive understanding of law, government, logic, and theology, which is why over 56% of Archdiocesan secondary schools still teach Latin. “In a Catholic school you will never struggle to find a supportive community, a friend group, supportive teachers,” Luke said. “You will find structured purpose that you can draw on for motivation. I have found this is common across Catholic institutions and really gives Catholic education power over other forms of education. And having God at the center of education... The importance of that cannot be understated.” 

Luke lives out his Catholic faith through his commitment to serving as a volunteer at the Paramus Veterans Home for four years. He has also participated in an internship at Duke University that involved researching the role of religion in helping veterans cope with wartime experiences.  

After working closely with veterans and discovering that many of them suffer from chronic illnesses, Luke said it was his goal to “service that population.” 

In October 2022, Luke facilitated a service project for the Military Assistance Pantry in Paterson, collecting over 300 bottles of vitamins for homeless and low-income veterans. Through this service project, Luke earned the Eagle Scout Award, the highest honor attainable in the Boy Scouts of America and the culmination of over a decade of scouting achievements as a member of Boy Scout Troop 80 in Park Ridge. 

During his time in Boy Scouts, Luke earned several religious awards through the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, including the Ad Altare Dei, the Parvuli Dei, and the Pope Pius XII emblems. He was recognized for these awards by the Archdiocese of Newark Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at the annual Boy Scout Recognition Ceremony at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. 


Mosca earned his Eagle Scout Award in Oct. 2022 by organizing a vitamin collection for homeless and low-income veterans. He was one of 10 Boy Scouts nationally to receive the 2023 Francis “Frank” Parater Scholarship from the National Catholic Committee on Scouting. 

Luke noted that “there are a lot of connections” between the Boy Scout Law and the teachings of the Gospel. “Duty to God is a key point of the Scout Law,” he said. “We are called to do good to others and that is essentially what the Gospel calls us to do, as well.” 

At Case Western Reserve University, he plans to study Pre-Med, the Classics, and Latin.
 

Featured image: Mosca plays Varsity Golf and serves as Team Manager for the JV/Varsity Basketball Team at Paramus Catholic High School.