Wayne Valley Salutes Our Co-Valedictorians and Salutatorian

Congratulations to our Co-Valedictorians, Komal Nerurkar and Stephanie Tang, and our Salutatorian, Catriona Kendall!

Co-Valedictorian Komal Nerurkar will be attending Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science in the fall. Komal has left a major impact on the extracurricular community at Valley, as an editor of the Emphasis Creative Writing Club, a Quiz Bowl member, Vice President of Peer Leaders, and Co-President and Co-Founder of Valley’s Students Who Code Club. Komal is also a proud member of the FBLA officer team at Valley, as well as a state-level FBLA committee. As Foil Captain of the Wayne Valley Fencing Team, Komal helped her team to win the Passaic County Fencing Championship and also qualify for States. After attending the Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program at Goldman Sachs, Komal was inspired to pursue a career in computer science. When asked to reflect on her experience at Wayne Valley, she said “I’m grateful to Valley for all the opportunities it gave me and I’m proud to share this honor with some of my closest friends!”

Co-Valedictorian Stephanie Tang will attend Harvard University, where she plans to concentrate in Chemical and Physical Biology. Stephanie is a New Jersey Governor’s School in the Sciences Scholar, National Merit Scholarship Finalist, and an AP Scholar with Distinction. At the NJ Governor’s School, she wrote a team research paper, “Cloning of Eukaryotic Elongation Factor 3 from Phytophthora infestans”. Stephanie is the WV FBLA Director of Competitive Events and leads the Quiz Bowl team in competition. She was also a Minds in Motion Scholar for all four years of high school. When not in school at Valley, she studied at the Columbia University’s High School Science Honors Program. She spent some of her summers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, where she was involved with a diverse, global community of students. Stephanie stated, “I’d like to thank my family, friends, and everyone else who supported me–I am who I am today because of them.”

Salutatorian Catriona Kendall will attend Georgetown University in the fall where she plans to study International Politics. She has engaged in many activities at Wayne Valley, including Peer Leaders and the National Honor Society. In her fourth year on the Wayne Valley Fencing Team, she served as Epee Captain, helping lead the team to the Passaic County title. The team also qualified for States. Catriona loves reading and visiting other countries–immersing herself in new cultures and perspectives. These experiences have spurred her interest in international relations and what it means to be a citizen of the world. When asked to recount her high school experience, she stated, “I’d like to thank Valley for this honor, and I’d like to thank Valley even more for giving it to me alongside two of my best friends, but I’d like to thank Valley most for finally allowing me to graduate and peace out of here.” Evidently, Cat is ready to move on and take the world by storm!

Once again, Wayne Valley is glad to showcase these hardworking and accomplished students. We are proud to send students off to such prestigious universities, and eager to see what the future holds for such high-achieving individuals!