![Mineola High School Class of 2025 valedictorian and salutatorian announced[4] (1)](https://www.longislandpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Mineola-High-School-Class-of-2025-valedictorian-and-salutatorian-announced4-1.jpg?w=1200)
Alicia Lin and Makayla Apter-Quinn are the valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, from Mineola High School’s class of 2025.
“I was super ecstatic,” Lin said about learning that she was the valedictorian. “Both of my parents didn’t go to college, so me being valedictorian meant a lot for them.”
Lin, an outstanding scholar and a positive contributor to the high school community, said her parents inspired her a lot every day so the payoff made her and her parents really happy. She said her parents never put too much stress on her and would always support her academic goals.
“My sense of perseverance and working hard to get to where I was,” Lin said when asked what helped contribute to her becoming top of her class.
As president of the Student Service Center, Lin participates in various service activities, including community outreach, cooking for the less fortunate, volunteering at food pantries and working with the elderly. Most recently, Lin donated over 100 hours of her time as a volunteer at Northwell Hospital.
Lin is also the founder of Mineola High School’s chapter of Health Occupation Students of America, president of the Asian American Cultural Alliance and a member of the track team.
“I founded my own kind of cultural exchange program outside of school,” Lin said. “So basically new immigrants that come from China who are not acquainted with the customs of America and their English isn’t good, meet through this program and make connections with other people to help them get situated.”
Lin said she went through a similar situation. She was born in the States but moved to China and then came back when she was 8. She said she had to navigate the new society and felt that with this group, it would be important to help other people find themselves in this new society as well.
Lin participated in the Advanced Science Research program and is studying to become an EMT. After graduation, she plans to continue her studies and pursue a career as a physician assistant or a doctor. She is currently not committed to any schools.
“My No. 1 one advice to people who want to do well academically is to not compare yourself to others because Mineola has a bunch of smart kids and they all work hard to be where they are at the moment,” Lin said.
Lin said the most important thing students should do is take the time to take care for themselves and build a community around them.
“I was pretty excited when I found out I was salutatorian because I wasn’t like working really hard for it, but I thought I was maybe in the running,” Apter-Quinn said.
Apter-Quinn — an innovative, humble and optimistic learner — said her grades in her AP classes contributed to her receiving this status. She also said she never slacked off and consistently wanted to do well academically.
She has taken advantage of the most rigorous academic program of study, taking several asynchronous courses in computer science and mathematics, while also pursuing her passion for robotics, research and music.
Apter-Quinn is a talented multi-instrumentalist and has been a dedicated member of the award-winning Mineola Mustangs Marching Band, as well as earning recognition by the Nassau Music Educators Association.
“This past year, I was a section leader for the flutes and this year we got second New York State Field Band,” Apter-Quinn said.
Apter-Quinn’s passion for computers and coding has extended beyond the school day, as she is a FIRST Robotics Volunteer for the Robotics organization, supporting and sharing her experience with students throughout the district.
“For robotics, we went to world championships the past two years,” Apter-Quinn said. “And this year I get the opportunity to be a leader and teach people how to use different machines and be a huge part in designing the robots.”
Apter-Quinn said her hardest class was AP Research, and the biggest obstacle she faced was trying to balance that class with her other classes and extracurriculars. She said sometimes she would come home from a robotics competition and then have to immediately write a research paper.
“I’m honestly grateful for that because it taught me time management skills and being on top of my work early,” Apter-Quinn said.
Apter-Quinn is not committed to any schools, but she said her dream school would be MIT, where she would want to dual major in mechanical engineering and mathematics.
