Meet Riverhead High School’s Valedictorian and Salutatorian

They’re Riverhead High School’s top achievers. Now learn more about Noah Markewitz and Emily Behr, the Class of 2015’s Valedictorian and Salutatorian.

NOAH MARKEWITZ

VALEDICTORIAN

GPA: 108.92 (weighted)

College plans: SUNY/Geneseo

Major: biochemistry with a pre-medicine concentration

Academic honors: Noah was a member of the Foreign Language National Honor Society and vice president of the National Honor Society. He was named Outstanding Student of the Year in pre-calculus, physics, geometry, Spanish and AP physics. In the fall, the College Board recognized him as an AP Scholar with Distinction.

Music fan: Noah plays three instruments: alto saxophone, piano and clarinet. He has received multiple top scores at New York State School Music Association competitions. He participated in Suffolk County Music Educators Association events between 2010 and 2013, was first chair at the Hamptons Music Educators Association while in grades 9-12 and was an alternate at the All State Music Festival.

Team player: Throughout high school, Noah played on the Mattituck Alliance travel soccer team. He was also named an All County Scholar Athlete while playing on the varsity soccer team. In addition, Noah competed in winter and spring track. He was also a member of the Mentathletes team.

Community involvement: Noah volunteered as a math and science tutor and was vice president of the Long Island Science Center Youth Board of Trustees.

Parting words: “With all the current media attention being given to education, I would like to give a shout-out to all the awesome teachers and coaches in the Riverhead School District that have encouraged and inspired me throughout my school career.”

EMILY BEHR

SALUTATORIAN

GPA: 108.52 (weighted)

College plans: SUNY/Stony Brook

Major: Linguistics, university scholars program

High achiever: Emily is an AP Scholar with Distinction and received several academic awards throughout high school, including the Latin achievement award. She’s a member of the Women in Science and Engineering program and was an editor for the Labyrinth literary magazine. As a member of Mentathletes, Emily and her team participated in the Suffolk County regional event. She also competed in Latin Declamatio and Latin Certamen. She’s a member of the National Honor Society and Foreign Language Honors Society for Latin.

On stage: Since she started to play clarinet in fifth grade, Emily has been passionate about music. She performed at NYSSMA and HMEA and also sang during the SCMEA event. In addition, she performed in plays with the Blue Masques Drama Club.

A love for Riverhead: Emily has given back to the community through Riverhead Key Club and Going Green. She also volunteered in a special education classroom, tutored her peers and took part in various other community service activities.

Parting words: “It is truly an honor to be named the salutatorian of the Riverhead High School Class of 2015, especially considering the immense amount of talent that exists within my peers. Having the support of my friends, teachers and family throughout my high school career has been a great benefit to me, and therefore I am grateful for it.”