By ANTHONY BOTTAN
For her, high school was a place to excel at academics, expand her horizons, and lay down the foundation for a successful future. That is why - besides having exceptional grades - she was named valedictorian of the class of 2008.
"It's been something I wanted to do for my father," Romano said. "I did it in his honor.
Besides having the top grades in the class, Romano was president of the student council, played badminton, was in the drama club for five years and is a member of the National Honor Society. She will be attending Wellsley College in Boston in the fall and her concentration will be international relations. Wellsley College is an all-girls school which has seen the likes of Senator Hilary Clinton and Diane Sawyer grace its hallways.
Romano said she worked hard and was happy to see her work pay off, but more importantly, is excited to read her speech at the June 27 graduation ceremony. She has written it already, and she revealed that it focuses on the tolerance of other cultures. She said she hopes to go into foreign service and one day, be secretary of the state.
The valedictorian of the class of 2008 said she took every Advanced Placement course the high school offered, except for Italian. "Put an A.P. in front of a course and I've taken it," she said. Romano scored a perfect 5-out-of-5 on her A.P. biology and US history exams.
Romano is not nervous about going off to college, she said, but does not want to leave her mom. "But there's so much to learn, and I like learning, and I love Boston," she said.
The one thing she will have to get accustomed to, she said, is that she will be in all-girl classes. At the high school, her A.P. courses were filled with boys.
There were many people who were instrumental in ascension to the top, she said, but her parents played a major role in her success. Her father was an Egyptologist and her mother is an archeologist, and their passion for culture was passed on into Julia. She credited Gertrude Bell - a British writer and archeologist in the late 19th century - as a person whose life's work inspired her. "It's people like that that inspire me to do what I do," she said.
Her guidance counselor, Robert Emery, lauded Romano's accomplishments and leadership. "She is a mature, responsible and dedicated student," he said. "She has a very high work ethic that creates a value system that makes her No. 1."
Michael Fuller, Salutatorian
By ANTHONY BOTTAN
There are some students who go through high school, and barely scratch the surface of their potential, content with just getting by. Then, there are students who stretch themselves to the limit and challenge themselves to go above and beyond the norm. For East Rockaway senior Michael Fuller, conquering those challenges helped catapult him to the top of his class - a reason why he was named salutatorian of the class of 2008.
"As long as I did well in school, that's all that mattered," Fuller said.
Besides being a scholar, Fuller played East Rockaway basketball, tennis, ran cross-country and is a member of the National Honor Society. He will be attending Binghamton University in the fall and will be studying business or accounting. He said being named salutatorian was a great achievement, but he has not written his speech for graduation yet. "I'm a wait-to-the-last-minute kind of guy," he said.
Fuller said he was initially nervous about leaving for school, but now that everything is finalized, his nerves are subsiding. The biggest change from high school to college, he said, is that he will no longer play sports, since Binghamton is a Division I school. "I'm going to miss it," he said. "I'm going to miss the camaraderie, we were all close."
Fuller also took every Advanced Placement course the school offered, and said the most challenging course of all was A.P. physics. "Every morning I had to go in early to get everything," he said. Fuller credited his family with most of his success and said that even though they initially forced him to do well, they made him believe in himself.
"They gave me the sense that I could excel in anything," he said.
"Michael has been an exemplary role model for his classmates, as well as our younger students," said his guidance councelor, Donna Katzman. "As a student, an athlete and school citizen, Michael has raised the bar by displaying independence, spirit and responsible leadership. His inner drive to always do his best will propel Michael toward success in all his future pursuits."
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