Sewanhaka’s top two to follow science path

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Although Sewanhaka High School class of 2018 valedictorian Arianna Vandezande and salutatorian Adrian-James Gevero pursued different interests in high school, they both gained a passion for science and will continue to explore their own branches in college.

Vandezande is a member of Sewanhaka’s Talented and Gifted program, where she earned herself a GPA of 101.26. While she joined clubs that exemplified her interest in science through the Science Olympiads and Women in Science club, Vandezande also excelled in sports as she helped lead both the varsity lacrosse and soccer teams.

“It was always my goal to be valedictorian,” Vandezande said. “It was something I set up for myself to accomplish.”

Vandezande was also excited to see that she was not the only female valedictorian in Nassau County, as she met with other top female students during the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents’ annual Celebrating Excellence Breakfast, where valedictorians and salutatorians were honored for their achievement.

Gevero joined Vandezande as a member of multiple honor societies and as a fellow Science Olympiad, but he also shone as a member in the school’s Model United Nations program. He served as president and even acted as one of the three secretary-generals during the Sewanhaka Intra-District Model U.N. conference in April. But it was his time with the school’s

Instrumentation and Automation program that stood out as life changing for Gevero.

“I probably wouldn’t be on the computer engineer track if it wasn’t for that course and my science teachers,” Gevero said.

Vincent Chen, the teacher in charge of the program, introduced Gevero to robotics and programming as Gevero eventually joined Chen in the school’s robotics club. The Sewanhaka RoboPandas robotics team had competed in various competitions this school year, earning several awards for their robots’ performance.

Vandezande will attend Long Island University this fall to study biology. She wants to be a veterinarian. Gevero will go upstate to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he interned last year, to study computer science.