The Mayor and Schools Chancellor honored the City’s public school valedictorians and salutatorians at a barbecue at Gracie Mansion earlier this month. We sat down with a few of these top students to learn what they thought about school, who helped them get where they are today, and what their plans are for the future.
Stephanie Hernandez, the valedictorian at Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School in the Bronx, will attend Iona College in Westchester in the fall.
Michael Forrester, the valedictorian at Frederick Douglass Academy VI in Queens, will attend City College of New York in the fall.
Charlene Dubin, the salutatorian at Fordham High School for the Arts in the Bronx, will be spending a year in Israel next year.
Gregory Ibe, the salutatorian at Far Rockaway High School in Queens, will attend Sacred Heart University in Connecticut in the fall.
Q. How did you feel when you found out you were valedictorian/salutatorian? Were you surprised, or were you expecting it?
Stephanie: Honestly, I was surprised when I first heard that I was valedictorian because I never thought that working hard would pay off in the end. Not only that, but my parents, the first time they went to the Mayor’s house because of my brother [who was a valedictorian two years ago] they said, “Oh, we’re going to come back here for you,” and I said “No, we’re not. No, we’re not.” So, when my assistant principal called me in to tell me I was valedictorian, I was shocked—I was like, “Oh my God. I’m valedictorian!” It was a total surprise.
Michael: I was expecting it for a while, but since it was something that I wanted to get and was striving to get, actually hearing that I got it was kind of special.
Charlene: Well, it was a major surprise because I have disabilities, and a lot of stuff is hard for me. Other people can get questions in class very fast, and with me it takes time. So, I just thought that because of that, I wouldn’t be able to do anything like become salutatorian.
Gregory: I knew since the end of junior year that I was going to get it, but I was salutatorian, so my first thought when I got the honor was: what was the GPA of the number one guy?
Q. What is the high school achievement you are most proud of?
Stephanie: Working really hard in senior year because that’s when I really needed to work the hardest for college. The amazing thing that I will always remember about high school is my math classes and teachers, who really worked hard. They’re the ones who helped me get this far, they really challenged me. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be here. Math was my favorite subject. Also, I’m proud that I was able to stay on top of everything, because I learned that if you leave everything for the last minute, things will be difficult. Doing everything on time helped me become one of the top honors students in twelfth grade. And I’m proud that I never let anything bad influence me or get me off the right track. I know right from wrong and I really want the best for myself.
Michael: Other than valedictorian? I wrote an essay—a biography of Ivan Pavlov. I worked pretty hard on it and didn’t think I’d do well, and then I did. It was really interesting.Pavlov was a very interesting guy.
Charlene: Working with my art teacher this year in school—she made the year so good.
Gregory: Graduating, being there with my friends who’ve been with me and who’ve struggled with me along the way.
Q. What are your goals for the future?
Stephanie: I’m going to Iona College in the fall, and I’m going to be pre-med. I want to be a gynecologist. I want to become someone in life, gain respect from my surroundings, and put smiles on my family’s faces.
Michael: Go to college, and eventually to graduate school, if not further. I don’t know what I’m majoring in yet, but I want to get those degrees and take it from there!
Charlene: I had an amazing art teacher who made me want to be an art teacher myself. I also want to help children with hearing disabilities who speak sign language, because I had hearing disabilities when I was little. I started learning sign language this year and want to learn even more. I also love to act, but I’m getting to be more religious now, so just in case I decide for religious reasons not to act in the future, I’d want to direct. I also love writing stories, and scriptwriting. I want one play that I’m writing at the moment to be on Broadway in the future. I also want to teach others Hebrew—I’m teaching someone currently over the phone.
Gregory: I’m going to Sacred Heart University in the fall—I want to major in economics and go into business or engineering.
Q. Who are your role models?
Stephanie: One of my math teachers who was always there to give me a hand. And my brother—he has always been my inspiration when it comes to getting an education and becoming someone in life. I want to be as good as he is at writing strong essays with a strong vocabulary and expressing his ideas to the world. He is also at Iona College and is also pre-med.
Q. Maybe you two will open up a practice together one day?
Stephanie: Yeah, maybe!
Q. OK. Back to the question: who are your role models?
Michael: My mom and my sister, because they went through the same things I went through. My sister actually went through a tougher road because she had to travel to Manhattan every day, and I was five minutes away from school.
Charlene: There is an advisor in my religious youth program, Leah, who I really look up to. She showed me how to make a prayer over a piece of gum—I didn’t even know people did that! She said it with me, and every time I see her she teaches me something new about prayers, and I just get so inspired. Also, my art teacher from this year, Ms. Mota, because I see myself being just like her as a teacher. She has the class so organized, it doesn’t seem like she has favorites, and she makes sure she always gets to any student who’s calling her. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t want art as a career. My family…I wouldn’t have wanted to go into drawing if it wasn’t for my mom—she would draw me and my sister when we were little. With acting, I was jealous of my sister when she acted because she always got applauded, so that’s how I got into that. And my dad cooks which is why I like cooking. But I don’t like controlling people so I don’t want to become a head chef, or a manager. Even though with directing in art or scenery, that for some reason I can do—my teacher calls me bossy.
Gregory: My brothers—one of my brothers was also valedictorian in high school—and I told myself that if they could do it, I can. And my parents were big motivators.
Q. Who or what got you through the hard moments?
Stephanie: My teachers who were always there to give me a hand, and my friends. If I needed help, my friends were always there for me. They made things easier and help me so much. Also, I kept reminding myself that my entire education is a blessing.
Michael: I guess just getting myself in the mood to do the work I needed to do. This might sound a little strange, but I’d stay up late at night, and actually deprive myself of sleep as a motivation. And I’d keep the room cold.
Charlene: Mainly one of my advisors, Shelli, from my religious youth program. She’s going into psychology and somehow, even though she’s not a psychologist yet, I can relate to her so much, and she appreciates my condition. If I was freaking out, she would talk to me, and I would feel so much better.
Gregory: I was told right from day one that you have to start off working in your freshman year, and that kind of carried me through. Whenever it would get tough, I would remember back to freshman year and what I was taught then.
Q. What did you do to relax?
Stephanie: Hang out with friends, and play sports—volleyball and especially softball, my favorite. I also really enjoy reading and writing.I feel that they are both ways to become a better person and also to help me improve my reading and writing skills. I specifically enjoy romance novels, because they hold such compelling messages, capture my heart, and I’m able to relate to the events they illustrate. And I enjoy writing poetry—specifically romantic poetry—because it’s a way for me to express myself and convey my thoughts to the world. Since I’m not an outspoken type of person, I’m glad that I have the opportunity to express my thoughts in this way.
Michael: I was involved in my student government, and I also would help my teachers plan fashion shows and parties at school. And I played basketball with my friends a lot. That released a lot of the tension from school.
Charlene: When I was not doing extra-curricular stuff? Hmmm ... well, when I need to relax, I just draw something, and if I’m not drawing, I like to study the Bible.
Gregory: I was on my school football team, and we made it to the championship! But if I wasn’t doing football or school, I was sleeping.
Q. In terms of the current recession, are you optimistic or pessimistic?
Stephanie: I’m optimistic! The reason is because I’m confident and I have faith in myself. If I dedicate myself to succeeding then everything will go well. I want to use the same method I used throughout my four years of high school—working hard and never giving up—in order to grow as a leader and make a difference in the community.
Michael: Optimistic, because overall I’m an optimistic guy and I try to see the good in everything. I know that we’re going through this recession for a reason, and eventually when we figure out what that reason is, everything will fall into place. History likes to repeat itself. We’ve been through a recession before--we’ve been through a depression before--and we’re going to get out of this.
Charlene: I’m not sure. I don’t really think about it. I think about money, but mainly, the worry is for my parents. If I get accepted to the program I am applying to in Israel for next year, I worry if my parents would pay for it. I think they would, but I worry about the money for them.
Gregory: Optimistic. I’m going into business, and I’m going to try and fix this recession.
Q. How do you feel about Pluto no longer being a planet?
Stephanie: Well, I think they should put it back. It’s part of our system! It’s like taking away part of a family!
Michael: It got demoted to a dwarf planet, right? Yeah, I think it should go back to being a planet. I grew up with nine planets.
Charlene: They’re making it a planet again?? [No] Oh…well, they should. Just because it’s there, and it’s been there. When I was growing up, there was Pluto, and then people started saying, “Oh, Pluto’s not a planet!” It’s a little disturbing. You’re teaching kids that it’s there, and then its not.
Gregory: I always was taught it was a planet, so we should get it back!
Q. Study the extra hour or read the extra chapter?
Stephanie: Read the extra chapter!!!
Michael: I’d probably read the extra chapter.
Charlene: Study. I don’t like sleeping during the day, and I would stay up at night to study.
Gregory: Read, read, read, read.
Q. Pen or Pencil?
Stephanie: They’re both good for different things.
Michael: Black pen—it’s professional.
Charlene: I’m an artist…I love pencils! On the Regents when they said I had to write the essay with a pen, I was like, wait, I’m an artist! I did it because they said you have to, but it was hard. I see those pens with erasers from time to time, but they don’t have good enough erasers.
Gregory: Pencil, because I draw.
Q. Worst grade EVER?
Stephanie: An F minus in debating! It’s because I would sometimes hold my thoughts back because I didn’t want to get criticized.
Michael: A 67 in French, first marking period of sophomore year. I just messed up and got kind of lazy. But it pushed me to do better the next semester.
Charlene: Well, I’m not a good test taker. Math and science are the worst.My worst grade was a 65 in math. I passed with a 65.
Gregory: 80 in Spanish. [That’s pretty high for a worst ever!] High? You can’t come into my house with grades much worse than that.
Q. Textbooks: Sacred or scribble all over them?
Stephanie: Writing in textbooks is good because it keeps your ideas organized.
Michael: If I’m keeping the book, I’m writing all over it.
Charlene: I don’t know; writing in books is hard for me. People are like “OK, you can take notes on the side, highlight it, it’s yours,” but just because it’s a type of book, it seems like you shouldn’t write in it.
Gregory: I like to keep the books neat.
Q. Secret study spot?
Stephanie: Home.
Michael: My room with the radio on, playing rap and hip-hop: music that gets you going.
Charlene: I would say the school library. That was the best place.I would go in early to study, or if I had a free period this year, I would study there, even during lunch.
Gregory: Dining room table.