Seaford, Wantagh H.S. name top students for 2019

The last day of school is months in the future and senior proms and graduation may just be dreams at this point, but Seaford and Wantagh high schools have announced their respective valedictorians and salutatorians for the class of 2019.

Lauren King and Eric Schneider, who have been schoolmates since first grade, topped the field at Seaford High School: King as valedictorian and Schneider as salutatorian. They were joined by their Wantagh High School peers, Samantha Minars and Andriana Patmanidis.

Minars is the treasurer of her school’s National Honor Society and is a member of both world language and science honor societies. She recently learned that she had been tapped as a National Merit semifinalist and is an Advanced Placement Scholar with Honor and a recipient of Oberlin College’s Book Award for excellence in science. She is a member of the varsity tennis and badminton teams and is the treasurer of the Science Olympiad team. She has also worked with her family to sponsor their annual Haunted House Charity to benefit the International Red Cross and UNICEF. She hopes to study biomedical engineering next fall.

Patmanidis, whose first language was Greek, is co-president of the National Honor Society and, like Minar, is a member of her school’s the world language and science honor societies. She recently learned of her designation as an Advanced Placement Scholar with Honor and is a National Merit Scholar Commended Student. She is a member of a select group to receive A.P. Capstone diplomas and has received Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s medal for excellence in science and mathematics. Patmanidis has participated in three consecutive years in the Olympics of the Visual Arts. She is also vice president of International Outreach. Patmanidis hopes to pursue a career in biomedical engineering or medicine.

King and Schneider have been friendly rivals since their days at Seaford Manor Elementary School and have challenged and encouraged each other along the way as hey have pursued a range of school and extracurricular activities.

King is an avid musician, who plays clarinet, bass clarinet and tenor and baritone saxophones. She has played in the marching, pep, concert and symphonic bands. She has also been a member of the pit orchestra for the school’s musical theater productions. She is a member of the Tri-M Honor Society and the robotics team, the Key Club, mathletes, National Honor Society and Freshman Mentors, as well as captain of the girls’ varsity field hockey team.

Her extracurricular activities include Girl Scouts, where she won the Gold Award in July for creating a peer tutoring program for members of Tri-M and middle school students. This past summer, King was a participant in Brookhaven National Laboratory’s High School Research Program. She is also a counselor with the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Program, or HOBY.

Schneider has just begun serving as senior class president and is the chairperson of the model Congress, as well as treasurer of the drama club. He has acted in three of the club’s musical productions and is also a member of the varsity cross country and track teams. He interned with Congressman Peter King and Massapequa Park Mayor Jeffrey Pravato. He belongs to Operation SPLASH, a local initiative to clean debris from South Shore waterways. He attended Boys State through the American Legion.

“It’s really exciting and a great honor achieving the top rank in class,” King said. “I have worked really hard and always wanted to do the best that I could.”

Wantagh's top pair were advised by their school’s principal, Carolyn Brei-

vogel, to “enjoy the moment and the

year to come. This is a special year for both of you.”