Sewanhaka scholars trust in the process

Valedictorian and Salutatorian credit success as years in the making

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An appreciation for the process of learning and growing have defined Sewanhaka High School’s valedictorian and salutatorian, Merlyn John and Sidney Saint-Hilaire. Both students attribute their accomplishments as something that has developed over the years. Sidney revealed this as one of major points of his graduation speech.

“In a cliché kind of way, this is 4-6 years in the making,” Sidney said. “I tried to touch upon everything, not necessarily what I learned word for word but how it made me feel. Emotions are what last longer than the actual words you say.”

Merlyn stated that the end result should be your focus rather than where you ranked in your grade.

“It doesn’t matter what our ranks are,” Merlyn said. “Everybody deserves to be in that room during graduation because we all have our own talents.”

Merlyn, whose G.P.A. was 99.69, envisioned being in the top 10 of her class but she could not believe that she topped everyone, including her classmate and friend Sidney, who came just short of the top spot with a 99.44 G.P.A.

“After I heard about Sidney’s GPA I thought to myself, ‘I beat Sidney?’” she said. “Then the next thing that came to mind was ‘now I have to make a speech in front of all those people.’ It was definitely scary but it was cool.”

Sidney explained that he anticipated being near the top ranks for the Class of 2016 but he exceeded his own expectations.

“I honestly did not expect it at all,” Sidney said. “I know that’s something everybody says but I had just assumed that I’d be somewhere close to the top but it was definitely a really big accomplishment. I surprised myself in a good way when I found out.”

They each stated that having an interest in the courses that they took along with having the willingness to collaborate with others played a role in how they excelled during high school.

“I think that’s the one thing I really learned throughout my high school career,” Merlyn said. “It’s okay if you don’t know something as long as you find someone that could help you through it. That’s what school is for.”

Sidney was a member of the Science Research club and Model United Nations, an international program that helps students develop their writing, public speaking and how to cooperate with people in groups. He stated that his passion allowed his hard-working set of principles to develop.

“I did my best to steer clear of courses that I knew I had zero interest in because I knew I wouldn’t put in that kind of work ethic and passion that would allow me to do well,” Sidney said. “I think you should love what you do in order to do it well.”

He also stated his passion helped to balance the time between his studies and his extra-circular activities.

“I’ve seen a bunch of people do it many different ways,” Sidney said. “I feel like as long as you love what you do, it’s hard to separate what’s work and what’s not work. It’s like a retreat from the daily life of school rather than additional work.”

Both students embrace a world filled with diversity as they stated that growing up in the Sewanhaka Central High School District helped to give them this outlook.

“One of Sewanhaka’s greatest lessons is the diversity of thought,” Sidney said. “When I see a whole new round of faces, I want to keep in mind that not everybody thinks the way I do, not everybody reacts the way I do, and that’s okay.”

Merlyn, a member of the girls’ varsity volleyball team who won this year’s Conference A-3 championship, followed this statement by explaining that stereotypes have never defined her or her community.

“Even though we were AP kids, somehow our grade has managed to get rid of that stereotype,” she said. “We never let the AP kid and the regular kid define us. There’s no type of judgment. Any kind of person you want to be, any kind of club you want to be in no matter what it is, Sewanhaka would have it.”

Both students plan on following their high school passions into their college careers. Merlyn will study pharmacy at the University of Pittsburgh with hopes of becoming a pharmacist and a chemistry professor. Sidney will attend Yale University where he will major in cognitive science and possibly go to medical school.