Meet the 2022 Henninger Valedictorian & Salutatorian!

We are so proud of all of our Class of 2022 #SCSDGraduates! Today, learn more about the Valedictorian and Salutatorian at Henninger - the school's top two academic performers this year.

Henninger Valedictorian: Brian Huynh

What are your plans after graduation (what college, what interest in terms of major)? I plan to study biomedical engineering at Brown. I’m undecided between engineering and going into the medical field.
 
What activities have you been involved in outside of class/outside of school? DECA, Upward Bound at Le Moyne College.
 
What has been the best part of your high school career and why? Trying different activities – whether it was academic classes or extracurriculars. Trying new things gave me a different perspective. High school was a great time for me to try things that I wasn’t sure about trying before.  
 
What was your proudest moment in high school? My proudest moment was when I opened my college acceptance letters from Ivy League schools and saw that I got into my dream school, Brown. It was number one choice and I didn’t think I could get in. I was super excited that after so many years of schooling, my hard work amounted to something that I’ve been waiting for for so long. Brown has an open curriculum so students don’t have undergraduate requirements, so they can take classes that interest them. At Brown, I can jump into a lot of subjects and learn a lot instead of being pigeonholed into taking certain academic classes.
 
What are you most looking forward to about college? I’m excited to meet different people who are open minded and who have the motivation to fulfill their dreams and visions.
 
What’s the best thing you’ve learned over the course of your time in the SCSD? I’ve been a SCSD student my whole life. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that success can come from anywhere – whether it’s someone’s cultural background, academics, or sports – success can manifest itself in different ways for different people. In recent years, more of our valedictorians and salutatorians have gone to notable schools. Our graduation rate has improved. We have a diverse community. We are achieving wonderful things and it’s great to see it’s not just academics or sports – there’s success everywhere.
 
What advice would you give to other students as they continue their studies here? Prioritize what you want. If it’s necessary, you’ll have to make sacrifices for what you want. Even if it seems like it’s pointless, think about the long run and what you can do to help yourself in the future. Finish what you start. If you start something, have the resolve to finish it before you decide to quit – whether it’s a class or a sport, try to get as much experience as you can. High school offers a lot of opportunities for free – it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.
 
What is something major you hope to achieve in life? I wish to travel around the world. I hope that professionally, in some way, my work will be able to bridge the inequality gap between communities that may not have access to medical devices or affordable healthcare. Regardless of the politics or their economic situation, I want to help people get the proper treatment that they need.

Henninger Salutatorian: Rogayah Alamarie

What are your plans after graduation (what college, what interest in terms of major)? I’ll be attending Syracuse University, majoring in Neuroscience and Biology. Afterwards, I’m going to study in medical school. I want to be neurologist – I’m enrolled in the Health Professions Program and through taking classes at OCC, we learned about the different body systems. I’m really interested in the neurological system.
 
What activities have you been involved in outside of class/outside of school? National Art Honor Society, National Honor Society, Yearbook, Book Club. In my sophomore year, I visited Upstate regularly to tour and learn about how medical school works.  
 
What has been the best part of your high school career and why? When I started high school, I was nervous… then, I met people and teachers who impacted me. I am who I am because of the people I’ve been surrounded by; and the opportunities Henninger has provided to me through SUPA and AP classes have motivated me to challenge myself and to do more than I thought I could.   
 
What was your proudest moment in high school? My proudest moment was taking SUPA classes and getting As! It made me realize that I’m ready for college. Henninger has helped me develop skills I’m not good at. I’m a quiet person who doesn’t like to talk out loud. Henninger allowed me opportunities like a public speaking class that has enabled me to be comfortable speaking in front of people and showing my voice!  
 
What are you most looking forward to about college? Learning. I want to explore and know more things than I know right now. I like to gain knowledge. One of the reasons I chose to attend SU is because it’s diverse. I like learning about different cultures.  
 
What’s the best thing you’ve learned over the course of your time in the SCSD? I’ve learned that in our community and everywhere, there’s so much inequality that we may not realize. As a community, we have to accept diversity. It’s important to me to apply what I learn to my life… so I want to do what I can to help make a change. I can get involved, I can learn about other cultures and I can teach people about my culture. I can be curious and share what I know and help create something new. Even if I’m not able to make a big change, I can be the start of a change.
 
What advice would you give to other students as they continue their studies here? Just because you’re struggling doesn’t mean you won’t be successful. Struggle is just an ongoing process… it just means you have to find a way to do things differently. I struggle, but I was able to find ways to learn differently. I would ask a teacher if there’s another way for me to learn something. Be in contact with your teachers. Whatever you’re feeling, tell your teachers – they’re there to help you out!
 
What is something major you hope to achieve in life? I want to be a doctor. Hopefully I can reach that personal goal and help people in need. I experience many people who face medical conditions. Watching them makes me feel like I can’t do anything about it. I hope that one day, I can do something!