On Tuesday March 11, Eliza Llewellyn ’14 and Melissa Beretta ’14 were announced as valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, of the Staples graduating class of 2014.
The announcement was made at approximately 10:45 a.m during a High Honors Meeting which recognized the seniors with the 18 highest GPAs (top 4 percent) of the graduating class.
Llewellyn, who as a Web Managing Editor of Inklings noted it was strange to be on the other side of the interview, said she was not expecting to receive the award but is honored to receive recognition. “Everyone else there today is so hard working and intelligent,” she said. “Everyone in our grade is so high-powered, and all of the grade calculations can be so close.”
Beretta is equally thrilled by the news. “It felt amazing and super surprising when Mr. Dodig made the announcement,” she said. “I’m so happy for Eliza because she works so incredibly hard and deserves it so much.”
Photo by Katie Cion ’14
Llewellyn (left), who is still unsure where she will attend college, will speak at graduation in June while Beretta, who will be attending Duke University next fall, will prepare a speech for Baccalaureate.
The High Honors students, in addition to Llewellyn and Beretta, are Deanna Baris, Katie Cion, Jack Cody, Sarah Fox, Ben Goldschlager, Charlie Jersey, Amanda Mezoff, Anais Mitra, Emma Moskovitz, Warren Schorr, Ariana Sherman, Steven Sobel, Charles Sonenclar, Liana Sonenclar, Carly Steckel, and Nicholas Stern.
“Being in a room with that many of the top students was so intimidating, and I felt really humbled to be alongside all of these people that are going to be doing such great things one day,” said Beretta. “It was extremely cool.”
