North pair excel, earn top class honors

North High School valedictorian Silvia Arora, center, and salutatorian Charles Sanky, right, each took more than a dozen Advanced Placement courses, leading them to the top of the class of 2012. They are joined by Superintendent Dr. Bill Heidenreich.

Andrew Hackmack/Herald

A mere three-tenths of a point separated Silvia Arora and Charles Sanky at the top of North High School’s class of 2012. Their grade point averages not only rank as the best of their graduating class, but of all three Valley Stream high schools.

Arora, the valedictorian, and Sanky, the salutatorian, admit they had a bit of a rivalry for the past few years. In February, they both learned of their respective rankings. “I was really surprised,” Arora said. “I was really excited because I worked hard for it.”

Sanky will graduate high school at 16 years old. He skipped a year when he went from fifth grade at a private elementary school to seventh grade at North High. He said it was very fulfilling to earn spot at the top of his graduating class.

In the fall, Arora will attend Dartmouth College. She said she likes the school because it has quarters instead of semesters so she can focus on a just a few classes at once. There are also small class sizes, she noted, meaning more individual attention from professors. Additionally, Dartmouth has study abroad opportunities and Arora would like to go to Spain and possibly other places.

She plans to study pre-medicine with a focus on chemistry, and would like to be a doctor some day. Arora explained that she has always been interested in the sciences. “It’s concrete, it’s not subjective,” she said. “There’s one answer and also it explains the world around you.”

Sanky will be attending Columbia University and said he looks forward to being in New York City because of all it has to offer, such as research opportunities. He said he is excited to learn from world-renowned professors and meet new people. “It’s going to be a new environment,” he said. “I’m going to have opportunities to excel in other ways that I probably couldn’t have before.”

He also plans to be a pre-medicine major with a focus on biology. Sanky wants to be a physician, specifically a pediatric cardiologist.

Both say they are also looking forward to gaining a strong liberal arts education where there can be exposed to courses in literature, philosophy and other areas beyond their concentration.