By JOSEPH KELLARD
The latest achievement in the Gelman family came when Alex and fellow graduating senior Seth Zeleznik were named co-salutatorians, a first at Oceanside High School. Both students share top academic honors in the Class of 2002 with valedictorian Michael Schoell.
That these young men have earned such status, however, was no surprise to people who know them. Each year throughout their high school careers they were named the top three students. The academic differences between them were so narrow that the superintendent and Board of Education decided to break with tradition by naming co-salutatorians, said Gerard Cairns, OHS principal.
"It's made my four years here terrific educationally to be around kids like Alex and Seth and other top students in the grade because they've made me more intelligent," Michael said. "I learn things from them just as much as I do from teachers. The fact that you're with such an intelligent group of students pushes you to work harder. It's very humbling to be the top student of such a group of bright minds."
"I think the decision to have me and Alex co-salutatorians shows that there's no big difference between the top three, four, five students," Seth said.
While he and Alex indicated that their focus wasn't to become validictorian or salutatorian, but rather to do their best, get into the college of their choice, and let the chips fall where they may, Michael had long had his sights set on the highest academic honor.
"It was a goal of mine basically from the start of high school to be validictorian," he said. "To basically work hard and try my best, and I'd end up wherever I end up. And I was fortunate enough to end up where I did."
While on one hand Michael attributes some of his academic success to his natural intellectual abilities, on the other he has hardly one to spend time studying for hours on end. His approach toward his studies has been to keep an even keel between them and his other values.
"If you know how to budget your time and balance your responsibilities it makes things a lot easier. I try to keep myself as well-rounded as possible," he said.
Among the activities Michael has learned to juggle successfully are Music Department, playing soccor at OHS and with select New York state teams, and tutoring kids on the side.
Seth, who participates in Model Congress, DECA, and World Interest Club, described his study habits as "more erratic" than most people. Yet those habits have obviously not affected his execptional academic performance.
Perhaps a key to his success lies in his thirst for knowledge. Seth indicated that a focus on developing his general knowledge will be an ongoing committement. It's a pursuit that was reenforced in him when he interviewed the editor of an economics magazine for an assignment paper he was writing for school.
"One of my goals in life is just to have knowledge, not even in my field, but just for the sake of knowing things," he said. "And that's they type of person this man was. He just knew so much about many things, whether it had to do with economics or anything else."
Seth agreed, however, with both Michael and Alex that parental guidance and support have been instrumental to their success.
"Whatever I've asked my parents for, they've never questioned me on any of the decisions I make," Seth said. "They've been accepting and supportive of anything I've wanted to do."
Michael said that his parents set the foundation for establishing his goals and responsibilities.
"I owe a lot to them, obviously, and with the price of college these days they have to work hard for me to be able to do what I need to do educaitonally," he added.
For Alex, his parents' escape in a cattle car from the anti-Semitic persecution they faced in Communist Russia and their achievement of the American dream has served as an inspiration and model for him.
"I was born here, so they came here for my older brother to build a better life," Alex explained. "They worked so hard getting here. The stories I've heard of how they had to get here and what they had to put up with once they got here. It means so much to me what they've done with so little money. It really motivates me to work hard and dedidicate myself to do something to make my life better."
Alex, whose activities include World Interest Club, Law Club, and volunteering last summer to help build a playground in a French village, will attend Dartmouth this fall to study economics and government.
"It's a great honor for me to be able to speak about my entire class at graduation and to be recognized as one of the top people in my grade. It's shown me that hard work pays off," Alex said.
He and Michael, who will attend Yale and also major in economics, are two of more than 10 students from OHS's Class of 2002 who were accepted to Ivy League schools.
Seth will enter a program at the University of Pennsylvania that offers a duel major, the Jerome Fisher School Program of Management and Technology, open to about 80 students nationwide, where he will study economics and engineering.
Reflecting on his years at OHS, Seth said, "For me personally, there's been tons of change. From the time I entered the high school to now, I would never think I would be where I am now, in terms of friends, my social life, and the extra curriculas I'm involved in."
"Have a good time," Alex said about what his approach toward high school has been. "That's what life is about -- enjoying yourself. It's the right balance between playing hard and working hard. And that's what I think I accoplished my four years here."
At this point, Michael hasn't thought much about the specific issues he will address in his valedictorian speech,but he expects it to be along the lines of his reflection on what high school has meant to him and what the future will hold for the Class of 2002.
He sees OHS as a microcosm of society, where people from all walks of life can be found and where there is something to do for everyone, no matter what his or her interests may be academically, atheltically or socially.
"That's one of the unique aspects of this school. A lot of other schools might have better test results or do better on the state test. But Oceanside provides the greatest amount of opportunities and experiences as compared to other schools," he said.
Completing his first year as OHS principal, Cairns cited Michael, Alex and Seth as among the students who especially welcomed him with open arms. Moreover, because they attended a relatively large school, with 388 seniors graduating this year, he regards their high honors as particularly noteworthy.
"These gentlemen set the standard of who we want Oceanside students to be," Cairns said. "You must understand that they not only achieved academically and intellectually, but are involved in a plethora of activities. They give it their all, and they understand that school is a way of life and a place where you can grow intellectually, spiritually, and ethically."
