Being second doesn’t mean second rate.
It’s time to throw the spotlight on those students who soon will proudly proclaim for all the world: “I’m No. 2!”
Step aside, valedictorians, you who lead the pack sometimes by mere fractions of a point. Make room for your hard-working peers.
These South Florida salutatorians chose to share their plans for the future and the secrets to their well-earned success. For these high-achievers, Pomp and Circumstance isn’t a swan song, it’s an intro.
STEWART DAVIS
Taravella High
“. . . paging Dr. Stewart Davis . . .”
Almost every Saturday morning, from September to April, Taravella High School senior Stewart Davis made the trek from his Fort Lauderdale home to the University of Miami to conduct research in the biomedical engineering department.
“The project I was doing,” says Stewart, 17, “related to testing cardiovascular grafts and working on writing a paper that hopefully will be published in the next couple of months.”
Stewart, whose dad is a radiologist, says he has been interested in medicine “all my life.” His cousin, a research scientist, got Stewart interested in the idea of graft development.
Working with a UM grad student, Stewart helped build a mock circulation loop of the heart and surrounding vessels, which had a testing chamber simulating the aorta.
“The field I want to specialize in is cardiovascular surgery, so this is something I’m definitely interested in.”
Winner of the National Merit Scholarships’ $15,000 renewable reward, Stewart was recently accepted into the University of Miami’s six-year medical school program.
He chuckles at the notion of “only finishing in second place” and sees being salutatorian as an honor.
“The competition does get . . . rigorous. Sometimes you get people taking a bunch of [advanced placement) honors courses just for honor points. I think you should take courses you are interested in and that will be beneficial to you.”
TANISHA JACKSON Hallandale High
When Stewart starts writing prescriptions, his patients can visit Tanisha Jackson at the pharmacy.
Tanisha, 17, of Hallandale High School, plans to study pharmacology in the fall. She will attend Howard University on a four-year scholarship.
Math, science and chemistry have long been her strong suits. And she gets miffed when people stereotype girls as having less mathematical ability than boys.
Tanisha enjoys dedicating herself to a problem until she finds the right answer.
“One time,” Tanisha says, “I spent a week trying to figure out a calculus problem. When I figured it out, I was so relieved. It took a while, but I did it.”
Tanisha, like many of the hard-working salutatorians, says she resents it when people assume she was born with some special gift that makes it easier for her to learn.
“Success comes from very hard work. Much hard work,” she says.
RYAN KASHA Hallandale High
Tanisha’s classmate, Ryan Kasha, proves hard work can have remarkable payoffs. Ryan, 18, is a strong contender for either No. 1 or No. 2 at Hallandale, as part of the school’s three-year graduate program.
Although a solid candidate for salutatorian, Ryan’s final scores could put him over the top as valedictorian. Either way, “it doesn’t matter,” he says.
What matters are the overwhelming odds he overcame to be a top honors student.
In elementary school, Ryan scored 43 on an IQ test and teachers and doctors didn’t think he had much of a chance of learning like other children.
So he learned better.
He has elevator palsy _ an inability to move his eyes up and down _ and a speech disability.
Whether he finishes as first or second, Ryan says, “I’m very proud it either way. I didn’t necessarily set out to do it, but I’m proud of the fact that I did.”
Ryan says a special preschool program did a lot for him developmentally. He was nearly 5 before he was able to speak.
Since then, an array of teachers and counselors helped pave the way to his future.
“Several factors took place. First, the Lord was very much involved. And I have very supportive parents,” Ryan says.
Now, he’s planning to attend Florida Atlantic University and study math and education. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of it,” he says.
MINYAO WANG South Broward High
Caffeine and calcium have an antagonistic relationship. At least, that’s what South Broward High School senior Minyao Wang discovered during research with fruit flies.
Minyao, 18, came to the United States from China four years ago. And he made a distinct mark at school, earning the No. 2 spot in the graduating class.
“I would be proud to make a speech and be the salutatorian of our high school,” he says. Minyao is keeping his options for college open, but wherever he goes, he plans to study chemistry and then go to medical school.
“Before I came to the United States I met an American doctor and he helped inspire my interest,” he says. “I think medicine should be exciting in the next century. And I hope to be a part of a medical team.”
ANDREW STYPEREK St. Andrews High
Andrew Styperek, Scott Meisler and Stephen Rauch were locked in fierce competition at St. Andrews High School in Boca Raton. When the dust settled and the names were announced at Saturday’s graduation ceremony, Scott finished third and Andrew emerged No. 2!
Poor Stephen, he had to make do with valedictorian.
Was it a grudge match? Were the young men locked in a fierce do-or-die battle?
Not at all.
Andrew, 17, says they didn’t consider themselves rivals. More like friends with exceptional grade point averages.
Proud of his accomplishments in high school, Andrew hopes he will continue to learn and grow as an individual when he begins Harvard in the fall.
“I always feel like I have to study to do well. But I do it to learn, not necessarily to get a grade,” he says. “The worst thing for me is to take a test and not know the answers. If I got an ‘A’ because I somehow guessed the answers, I wouldn’t be happy. The first part, for me, is to learn the material.”
Andrew, a nationally ranked high school tennis player, says peers who label him as a nerd don’t see the whole picture. He also agrees with Hallandale High’s Tanisha Jackson on the subject of hard work and good grades:
“The biggest misconception people have about me is that I’m naturally smart. I don’t feel I’m smart. I work hard. I think anyone can learn if they work hard.”
