A banner year for two Julias

It was a good year to be named Julia at Wantagh High School. This year’s senior class is topped by two of them — Julia Laibach, the valedictorian, and Julia Lantier, the salutatorian.

Last fall, the girls received letters at home informing them that they were the top-ranking members of the class of 2015, which graduates on June 25.

“I was so excited,” Laibach said, recalling opening the letter. “I was crying and smiling and hugging my mom. I felt like all the hard work I’ve done was worth it.”

Lantier’s letter came over a weekend, and her mother handed it to her. “It was probably the best surprise I’ve ever had,” she said. “It was so rewarding to have all my hard work come to fruition.”

While she knew she was among the top 10 in the class, Lantier didn’t realize she was that high up. “Every kid who works hard and to whom academics matter wants to be at the top of their class,” she said.

Laibach, 18, will head to Bucknell University, in Lewisburg, Pa., in the fall, where she plans to major in biology and pre-medicine. She wants to be a doctor, but said she is undecided on a concentration. Helping seal the deal on her college selection was earning the Presidential Fellowship scholarship, which will allow her to work one-on-one with professors.

She will be doing research even in her first year at Bucknell. An opportunity like that, Laibach said, is rare for an undergrad, let alone a freshman. “I’m just excited to learn and study what I enjoy,” she said.

She would like to take advantage of the university’s opportunities to study abroad, and hopes to swim for a club team.

Lantier will find a new home upstate, as she will attend SUNY Geneseo. She said that the combination of the school’s affordability and its academic reputation cemented her decision. She plans to study Spanish, and said her dream job would be interpreter at the United Nations.

The 18-year-old was accepted by Dartmouth, but said Geneseo seemed like the right fit. “I think it’s going to be a good springboard for the things I want to do in the future,” Lantier said.

At Geneseo, she also hopes to take courses in political science and women’s and gender studies.

Making the most of high school

The two seniors have taken advantage of many opportunities offered at Wantagh High. Laibach was in the national and foreign language honor societies, Science Olympiad and Envirothon. As a junior she was secretary of the General Organization, and is a founder of the Peer Mentoring Club. She was a member of the band and wind ensemble and is proficient on the piano, flute and piccolo, was captain of the girls’ swim team, and ran spring and winter track.

Lantier was president of the Foreign Language Honor Society, a member of the Spanish Club, the National Honor Society, the Tri-M Music Honor Society and the International Outreach Club, and sang in the vocal jazz ensemble. She was an All-County chorus selection.