(Photos by Levittown Public Schools)
It’s that time of year again. Graduation is on the horizon. For Long Islanders, it’s a time to honor students who have stood out amongst their peers over the course of the last four years.
In Levittown, there are four students who have excelled, being named valedictorians and salutatorians for the class of 2019.
The pair of valedictorians from the Levittown Public Schools are Division Avenue High School’s Sean Wolf and General Douglas MacArthur High School’s Saajid Chowdhury. Moreover, the salutatorian from Division Avenue is Michael Adams, and likewise for MacArthur’s Hannah Kilmetis.
Throughout their high school careers, these four students have challenged themselves inside the classroom, all while making their mark on their school communities.
Wolf, the valedictorian from Division Avenue High School, was recognized as a commended student in the National Merit Scholarship Program, National Hispanic Recognition Scholar, Advanced Placement scholar with distinction, as well as earning medals each year in Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) tournaments.
“The connections made with teachers and friends and the memories made throughout the past four years,” Wolf said when asked what he’ll miss the most.
In addition to DECA, Wolf is a member of the National Honor Society, mathletes, peer tutoring and just finished his final season on the varsity basketball team. He also serves as president of the school’s Physics Olympics Club. Though he is still undecided on what school he will be attending in the fall, he plans to pursue computer engineering.
valedictorian Saajid Chowdhury and salutatorian Hannah Kilmetis.
Adams, Division Avenue’s salutatorian, is a leader among his peers, serving as class officer in his junior and senior year. As a junior, he was recognized by the Long Island chapter of the American Chemical Society for his outstanding scholastic achievement in high school chemistry. Like Wolf, Adams was named an AP scholar with distinction. He is a member of Division Avenue’s National Honor Society, Math Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society, Physics Olympics Club and DECA.
Adams also plays the tenor saxophone in the school’s marching band, jazz band and all-district band. After graduation, he will attend Boston College, where he plans to study biology.
“Performing at the New York State competition as a ninth grader in marching band, having the band score the highest they ever scored before,” Adams said of his top memory at Division Avenue.
Among Chowdhury’s many achievements are substantial ones: making it to the semifinals in the National Merit Scholarship program, earning gold medals in the Al Kalfus Long Island Math Fair throughout his high school career and being accepted into several regional orchestras based on his New York State School Music Association score.
“A researcher for string theory, which is a branch of theoretical physics,” Chowdhury said of his dream job.
As a junior at MacArthur, Chowdhury received the Rensselaer Medal Award from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for his academic achievement in mathematics and science. He also won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Long Island Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Additionally, Chowdhury is president of the Math Honor Society, historian of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, treasurer of National Honor Society and member of Science Olympiad, where he’s earned medals in multiple events. He’s first chair cellist in the school’s orchestra, on the mathletes team and the Nassau County All-Star Mathletes ream.
Kilmetis, MacArthur High School’s salutatorian, is president of the National Honor Society and Tri-M Music Honor Society. She is a member of the school’s peer leadership club, Math Honor Society and World Language Honor Society, as well as being a member of the Science Olympiad team, where she’s also medaled.
“It would be really nice to be a veterinarian and have my own clinic,” Kilmetis said, discussing future goals. “I’m not sure what I want to specialize in yet, but I think it would be really cool to do animal prosthetics. There are so many things that people are doing these days with machines.”
As a talented student-musician, Kilmetis plays beside Chowdhury as second chair cellist in the school’s orchestra and plays for the Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra outside of school.
