Riverhead High School Class of 2015: Valedictorian and salutatorian bios

Class of 2015 Valedictorian: Noah Markewitz
Weighted grade point average of 108.9. He will attend SUNY Geneseo in the fall, and plans to major in biochemistry/pre-med.

Academic Distinction and Honors
Noah is a member of the Foreign Language National Honor Society and was the outstanding student of the year in Spanish III. He is the Vice President of the the National Honor Society and was named outstanding student of the year in Pre-Calculus, Physics, AP Physics and Geometry. In the fall, he was recognized as an AP Scholar with Distinction by the College Board. He is currently enrolled in five AP courses and SUPA Economics.

Achievements in Music
Noah plays three instruments: alto saxophone, piano and clarinet. He sat first chair at the Hamptons Music Educators Association in grades 9-12 and attended NYSBDA in grades 8 and 11. He was an alternate to the All State Music Festival in 11th grade.

Athletics and Other Awards
Noah’s Rube Goldberg team placed first when he was a 9th grader.
He was an All County Scholar/Athlete in Soccer.

Volunteerism and Community Service
Noah volunteers as a tutor and is the Vice President of the Long Island Science Center Youth Board of Trustees.

Personal Statement
“With all the current media attention given to education, I would like to give a shout out to all the awesome teachers and coaches in the Riverhead School District that have encouraged and inspired me throughout my school career.”

Class of 2015 Salutatorian: Emily Behr
Weighted grade point average of 108.52.  She will be attending Stony Brook University and plans to major in linguistics.

Academic and Music Achievements
Emily has been chosen for the highly selective University Scholars program at Stony Brook University, which is based on excellence in academics, and has been accepted into the Linguistics program. She is an AP Scholar with Distinction, meaning that she has scored an average of 3.5 or higher on all six of her AP exams, and also earned a score of 4 or better on all of her exams. Emily has received nine academic awards throughout high school, in various subjects, including a Latin achievement award every year.

Emily has been greatly involved in music, playing clarinet since she was in fifth grade, has performed at NYSSMA, and has participated in both HMEA–where she was first chair–and SCMEA for voice.

Extracurriculars and Leadership
Emily has been an active participant in many activities throughout high school. She has performed in plays with the Blue Masques drama club, has donated her time through the Riverhead Key Club, is a member of the Women In Science and Engineering program, and works as an editor for the Labyrinth Literary Magazine.

Emily is also a member of Mentathletes, in which a team of four competes against other schools in Suffolk County in a quiz-bowl-style competition; both years that she has been on the team, they have made the Suffolk County regionals. She has also competed in the Latin Declamatio and the Latin Certamen, and has secured wins for both. Emily is a member of both the National Honor Society and the Foreign Language Honor Society for Latin, and she is an officer for the latter.

Future Plans
Emily, through her major of linguistics in college, has plans to become a teacher of English as her primary career. She would like to teach in an English-speaking country, or go to a place where English is taught as a secondary language. “The art of language has intrigued me for many years now, and I would like to share my experiences and knowledge with the future generations, no matter where I am,” she states.

Personal Statement
Emily would like to thank many people for all of their love and support throughout her life, especially her parents and her sister Lauren. Emily would also like to offer congratulations to all of her peers in the class of 2015: “I know that I would not be in the place I am today without all of the support from my fellow classmates, and I know that many of them feel the same way. I hope that everyone is successful in their future endeavors, no matter where they might lead them!”

Source: Riverhead Central School District press release dated April 15, 2015.