Rebecca Silverman is Class of 2010 Valedictorian
Rebecca Silverman has a date with destiny. The Huntington High School senior has been named valedictorian of the Class of 2010. She will address what is expected to be a crowd of more than 2,000 at the school’s 149th commencement exercises on June 25.
“I feel extremely honored to be named valedictorian and would like to thank all the wonderful teachers at Huntington High School who supported me along the way,” Ms. Silverman said. “My four years here have been amazing and I am so pleased to have been a member of an extremely talented class. I am unsure about what the future holds, but I know I will never forget the wonderful friendships and bonds I have formed with the incredible members of the high school community.”
“Rebecca is simply amazing,” Principal Carmela Leonardi said last week. “She is the president of the student government, the voice welcoming students to school in the morning, the performer during drama productions, the organizer of fundraisers and student activities. She is a very intelligent, caring, upstanding young woman.”
Ms. Silverman is president of the high school’s student government and has participated in the student council in each of the past four years. “Her rise through the student government says a lot about this outstanding young woman,” said Bernadette Walsh, Huntington’s college counselor. “Rebecca is a student of the people.”
The newest valedictorian is “an intelligent, creative, philosophical, ethical, and musical young woman,” Ms. Walsh said. “Some might argue that the intellectual and creative sides of the brain lie in different hemispheres. In Rebecca, they are one in the same. The drive and determination that have cultivated the transcript of a valedictorian is the same brain that has given way to one of the most artistic young women in our high school.”
Ms. Silverman grew up in a world of books and largely devoid of television. The volumes helped her develop an impressive vocabulary and sparked a love for learning. Visits to her grandmother’s house provided an opportunity to watch musicals such as “My Fair Lady” and “Camelot” and the stage drew her in. She’s been an integral member of Huntington’s drama club, serving as its president and landing the lead role in last year’s production of “Auntie Mame.”
Huntington’s teachers hold Ms. Silverman in high regard. “She is a student driven toward perfection in everything she does,” said Michael Schwendemann, a high school English teacher and the drama club adviser. “Be it academic or extracurricular, she will always give 110 percent, never leaving anyone behind; always there to help push them forward.”
“She has very strong convictions and is always ready to help in any worthy project that will make a difference in someone else’s life,” Dr. Leonardi said. “A true scholar with a perfect score of 5 on all six AP exams taken thus far, Rebecca leads in our school with her mind and her heart.”
Ms. Silverman is interested in pursuing environmental science studies in college, possibly at MIT. But, she’s much more than just a classroom scholar. “Rebecca has a fierce sense of justice and truly wishes to make a difference,” Mrs. Walsh said. “She uses her skills, not just of the academic nature, to give her all in whatever endeavor she has chosen. She’s an individual whose heart is as big as her smile, her integrity as solid as her transcript and her goals set as high as her motivation will allow.”
All graphics, photographs, and text appearing on the Huntington Public Schools home page and subsequent official web pages are protected by copyright. Redistribution or commercial use is prohibited without express written permission. Comments or Questions? email the Public Information Office