By Colette Lippman ’17

Emily Schussheim ’17 and Christopher Scherban ’17 were named the Valedictorian and Salutatorian of the Staples Class of 2017 on Friday, March 3.

Schussheim has attended Westport Public Schools since elementary school, while Scherban transferred from Fairfield Ludlowe High School as a sophomore.

Upon realization of the news, Schussheim said that the pair have “formally known since the end of the semester,” so they were aware of what was going on when they were called down to the office.

Schussheim’s academic achievements include winning the Governor’s Scholar Award in 2016, which is given to 30 Juniors in Connecticut, as well as receiving an honorable mention in Moody’s Mega Math Challenge, which is “a mathematical modeling contest for high school juniors and seniors,” according to the M3 Challenge website.

In her free time, the Valedictorian is the Principal Cellist in Norwalk Youth Symphony, and partakes in the Chamber and Symphonic Orchestras at Staples. Recently, Schussheim has won the Symphonic Concerto Competition, granting her a solo piece with the concerto this spring.

However, Schussheim also enjoys creative writing on the side and has even published some of her works, as well as playing ukulele.

Similarly, Scherban is the Assistant principal flutist for Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestra, also enjoying music and participating in an out of school ensemble.

In contrast to Schussheim,  Scherban is the President of Math Honor Society, an American Chemical Society chemistry Olympiad national finalist and a national computer camps camp counselor. He is also head tech help operation for elderly people, even making his own website/blog for it.

Scherban is also known for his comedic personality, stating how despite his academic achievements, his “life is like a satire.”

Overall, the pair have enjoyed their careers at Staples. “I woke up in October and sort of realized that I loved every kid in every single one of my classes,” Schussheim said. “And that was really fun.”