By JOSEPH KELLARD
What awaited the Oceanside High School seniors was not a furrowed brow and an admonishing finger, but smiles and congratulatory handshakes for being named the top students in the class of 2007.
The news, however, was somewhat surprising to Schindler, the valedictorian, and Sweeney, the salutatorian, since throughout their junior and senior years they were unsure of their exact status in their class¹s academic hierarchy. OHS had nixed class rankings a year earlier.
³We had the idea, but we weren¹t 100 percent sure,² Sweeney recalled about being summoned to Principal Dorie Ciulla¹s office.
Mostly, the girls were surprised, because they believe their class is filled with bright, competitive students, many of whom are smarter than they are. So Schindler still shies away from calling herself a top student, saying her success is due mostly to setting goals and investing the necessary time and effort to reach them. While some students may spend five minutes studying for a test, she said, she may have to spend five hours to get a comparable grade.
³It¹s about being determined ‹ not necessarily to be valedictorian, but wanting to do well and succeed,² Schindler said. ³Š I kind of worked for myself. I didn¹t really compare myself with other people.²
Sweeney, too, believes that what matters most is that she tried her hardest, and let the class ranking chips fall where they may. ³We have a very competitive grade, and so you try to separate yourself from all of that,² she said. ³It¹s not about everyone else ‹ it¹s about doing what you like.²
What Sweeney likes is English and writing ‹ she penned a regular column for the Herald last year and wrote for her high school¹s student newspaper, The Sider Press.
For Schindler, biology comes first. She has performed bio-research throughout her high school career, and recently returned from an epidemiology forum in Washington, D.C. A paper she wrote on her study of a workplace toxin will be published in a science periodical. Last year Schindler did a study on Legionnaires¹ disease for which she was named the first OHS student to qualify for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the world¹s largest pre-college science fair, in which 1,500 young scientists from nearly 50 countries gather annually.
School has always been a priority for both Schindler and Sweeney, and both stood out academically from elementary school on. Sweeney said that she has never hesitated to ask questions, whether insightful or stupid, and credits her parents with sparking her love of learning. ³They not only answered all of my questions, but they helped me along the way and gave the encouragement,² she said.
Schindler said her family has always encouraged curiosity. Since she was a young girl, her father has given her newspaper or magazine articles to read to broaden her horizons on various issues, and he would explain in detail how certain things worked, like a plane in the sky. ³I think having someone that could show you how to embrace curiosity is something that¹s been important,² Schindler said about what fuels her intellect.
Despite their academic priorities, both students make sure to keep their lives balanced. Schindler points to her position as president of Interact, a club involved in a variety of community-service activities, as one of her favorite pastimes outside school. She also tutors other students in math and biology, plays flute and sings with a vocal coach, and is involved with Students Against Destructive Decisions and Natural Helpers, programs designed to get students involved in helping their peers.
Sweeney also tutors math, assisted in an AIDS Awareness program, and has participated in Habitat for Humanity, a program in which students help build homes for the poor. She spends her summers lifeguarding in the Lido-Nickerson Beach area.
Both students said they have always found time to spend with friends, doing things like going to the movies. ³I do my studying when I have to do it, and then I¹m always out doing something else,² said Sweeney, who also enjoys swimming and playing soccer.
Looking ahead, she is undecided about a career, but her sights are set on writing while she weighs the possibility of a profession in math or physics. She will attend Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, where she will double major in English and math.
Schindler is interested in a career in public health, and will begin studying that subject at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., come September. But for now, she will ride out the school year as her school¹s top student, though she approaches this status with a mix of self-assuredness and modesty.
³It¹s always turned me off when someone has to boast about themselves or try to make themselves look good,² she said. ³Because if a person is really good, then they don¹t need to boast about themselves ‹ other people should see that. And that¹s something that was always fostered in my home.²
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
