Farmingdale Valedictorian And Salutatorian Announced
As the school year nears its conclusion, Farmingdale High School announced this year’s valedictorian, Kunj Patel, who earned a GPA of 105.069, and salutatorian, Jessica Finkel, who earned a GPA of 104.444. The Farmingdale Observer sat down with the two students and learned what it means to be Farmingdale High School’s brightest.
What was your reaction to learning of your achievement?
Jessica: I was very surprised, I did not expect it until I was there [in the principal’s office]. I thought other people had higher GPAs than me, so I just wasn’t really paying attention to those factors.
Kunj: When I was in ESL, I never academically was the best. Going from the bottom and trying to work my way to the top means a lot to me. I never expected me to be the number one in my class.
How much effort went into the last four years to achieve this?
J: I’m very active in school with sports and music and everything, so staying on top of my classes has been my drive. And my family really has motivated me to stay on top of things and giving me the mindset that education was really important, so it just really focused me.
K: In ninth grade, usually after school I would have nothing to do, so I would just do my work, stay on top of what I had to do, get decent grades and that’s how I went through ninth grade. And then in 10th grade, it slowly started to pick up. I started tutoring here and there, and 11th grade was when I started doing a lot more. With the work ethic, you have to make sure you’re on top of it every single quarter. I think keeping that same motivation and drive from ninth to 11th grade paved the way to where I am now.
What kind of honor is this for you?
J: It’s crazy. I honestly don’t think I fully grasp it yet. It’s still crazy to me that I got this, so it’s very important. I am very honored.
K: My parents immigrated. So not being native to the language here or the culture here and adapting was very hard. I was in ESL, so I had trouble speaking English. This valedictorian title means a lot to me. It means a lot in the fact that I’m making [my parents] proud and making sure that I did whatever I could to make sure that I fulfill that one portion of their ideals of their kids being successful in life.
What are you involved in?
J: I’ve been on varsity volleyball and softball since 10th grade. I’ve been in wind ensemble all four years, I play the French horn and I’m the principle player. I made All-State in my junior year. I joined DECA this year. I’m in National Honor Society, ASL Honor Society, Tri-M Honor Society and Business Honor Society. I’m also in Key Club.
K: In 10th grade, I was elected the president of the Spanish Honor Society and then junior year I was elected the secretary of Key Club. I was also inducted into National Honor Society, I was inducted into the Tri-M Honor Society, I was in marching band for the full four years and then I became a section leader at the end of 11th grade. I was in Science Olympiad since ninth grade and I was in Science Bowl. I was also in Model United Nations and I was captain of varsity tennis.
Where will you be attending college and what will you major in?
J: I’m going to Penn State University and I’m majoring in engineering. I was very undecided until this year about my career, but I looked into engineering and I realized that my personality and future goals were in engineering careers, so I’m really interested in civil engineering.
K: I’m going to Villanova as a biology major, but I’m on a pre-dental track for dental school. I want to pursue a career as an orthodontist.
What was your favorite class in high school?
J: Street Law because my junior year I took that class and it introduced me to my favorite teacher and I just loved learning about something very different. It was just a great experience and something that I feel like you can’t really get anywhere else.
K: It would definitely be Science Research because that stimulated my scientific ability to think outside the box and be creative. I wish I could have taken Science Research every year.
What’s your favorite memory of high school?
J: There’s a lot of different ones. I really enjoyed the Halloween parade. Seniors can dress up and we walk down Woodward Parkway and go to the elementary school. We saw all the kids lined up with all these signs and it was the cutest thing. It was really fun to make [our costumes] and being with my friends and doing something fun like that, and we’ve been looking forward to that since freshman year. That was a really great time and seeing all the kids so excited to see us was really nice.
K: Theres a lot, but band camp would definitely be one of them. This year, we had a senior cabin so there was 15 of us in a cabin so it was a lot more fun. So definitely that would be my favorite memory, those three days I was there.
How did Farmingdale High School shape you?
J: It’s shaped me into a more outgoing person, definitely. With my experiences with music, being a leader in band and being a captain for volleyball, and just growing up throughout high school, it’s just shaped me into a goal-oriented person. I’m looking forward to my future. I feel like freshman year I had no idea about college or anything I wanted to do, so it’s just given me a different mindset on my goals and my future, and it’s given me my best friends and the best experiences.
K: High school has definitely brought in my aspect of how I think about other people. Hearing from other people, hearing their stories of what they want to do or their interests definitely inspires me. High school has definitely shaped who I am when it came to clubs and my work ethic. I definitely made sure that I was on top of everything. It definitely made me the person who I am today. I’m very hard working because of high school. Everything that I will do from now on will date back to what I did now.
What is your best advice for freshmen?
J: Get involved as much as possible because that is really what’s going to shape your entire Farmingdale experience and your high school experience. You’re really not going to enjoy yourself if you don’t do things. You just have to try whatever you might think you might like. It could be the best thing you’ve ever done.
K: Start thinking about what you want to do, start building your college application now. Definitely as a ninth grader, look into being active within the school. Just trying new things and making sure that you’re thinking about college.
What are you most looking forward to for future?
J: I’m really looking forward to going to Penn State. I’m very excited for that atmosphere and the academics there. And I really can’t wait to see how successful everyone is, like all my friends and just to see what great things we can do from our background.
K: The experiences. Especially all I’ve heard from older people as far as college goes and making the most out of what I can, especially when it comes to research opportunities or going abroad or something like that.
