Valedictorians
The North High School Valedictorian is Sophia Li. The South High School Valedictorian is Chloe Ning.
North High Valedictorian Sophia Li is an AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit $2,500 Scholarship recipient, and a Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS) Scholar. She served as president of the Envirothon team, co-president of the North High Robotics team, earned medals on the Science Olympiad team, and volunteered as a Peer Tutor. A talented figure skater, Sophia also volunteers in the community as a coach for a therapeutic ice-skating program.
Sophia has earned regional and national recognition for her work as a member of the North High science research program. Most notably, Sophia was honored as a Regeneron Top 300 Scholar during her senior year for her research, conducted with a mentor from Syracuse University, that analyzed tree canopy coverage and how tree planting can be used to mitigate socioeconomic inequalities. Earlier in her high school career, she won several awards for other environmental science research – including analyzing behavioral sequences in pigeons, converting urban noise into clean energy, and tracking finch movement – which she conducted with mentors from the University of Iowa, Junior Academy of the New York Academy of Sciences, and Colgate University.
Sophia will attend Harvard University.
South High Valedictorian Chloe Ning is an AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Commended Student, and she earned a perfect score on the PSAT. She is a member of the South High Math team, an all-star competitor in the Nassau County Interregional Math League, and the founder and captain of an all-girls VEX Robotics team. Chloe plays Bb and bass clarinet in the school’s symphonic band and wind ensemble, and she mentored elementary musicians through the Great Neck South Music Buddies program.
Throughout her high school career, Chloe has demonstrated a passion for math. She earned regional and national accolades through math competitions including the Nassau County Math Tournament, Nassau County Interregional Math League, New York State (NYSML) and American Regional Mathematics Leagues (ARML), plus top scores on the American Mathematics Competition (AME10) exam and the invitation-only American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). She was selected to participate in several advanced summer programs including the G2 Math Program at MIT and Carnegie Mellon, and the international Yau Math Camp at the Shanghai Institute of Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences where she studied linear and quantum linear algebra and was awarded a Best Project Award in Mathematical Research.
Chloe will attend MIT.
Salutatorians
The North High School Salutatorian is Julian Elihu. The South High School Salutatorian is Elaine He.
North High Salutatorian Julian Elihu is an AP Scholar with Distinction and a National Merit Commended Student. He served as president and founding member of the Artificial Intelligence club, co-founder and co-president of the Physics & Astronomy team, co-president of the Photography & Videography club, and a member of the Quiz Bowl team and DECA. He has volunteered at North Shore University Hospital, The Witness Project, and as an SAT tutor for students around the world.
Julian conducted impressive work through the school’s science research program and in partnership with universities and institutes. In the areas of astronomy, physics and AI research, Julian has worked independently and with mentors from the UC Berkley Center for Cosmological Physics and Brookhaven National Laboratory. His work on predicting nova eruptions with machine learning was published and earned him an invitation to present at the annual meeting of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. This research also earned first place at the regional WAC Lighting Research Invitational and second place in the New York State Science and Engineering Fair. In the area of Biomedical research, Julian conducted award-winning independent ophthalmology research and has a patent pending for an interpretable AI system to detect macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
Julian will attend Yale University.
South High Salutatorian Elaine He is an AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Scholarship Finalist, and National French Exam Gold Medalist. She serves as a coordinator for the South High Art club, a competitor on the Math team, and a member of the Philosophy club.
Art and math are two subject areas where Elaine excels, and she shares her talents through volunteer work within the community. Elaine pursued advanced work in AP-level art courses, had her work featured in local exhibits, and received top honors through several juried art competitions including Gold Key and Silver Key awards in the Scholastic Art & Writing Competition. She shares her artistic abilities and inspires young artists as a volunteer at the Gold Coast Arts Center. In addition to her success in challenging math courses, Elaine was a top scorer on the Nassau Math Tourney Team and further enriched her studies through a math program at Boston University. She provides weekly tutoring for middle school students in both math and French.
Elaine will attend Northwestern University.