Riverside HS Valedictorian Christine Flores and Salutatorian Ean Anderson
By Dan Murphy
Congratulations to the Riverside High School 2026 Valedictorian Christine Flores and Salutatorian Ean Anderson. Valedictorian Christine Flores graduated with a 98.8% GPA.
One of Christine’s favorite teachers is Mrs. Kaufman, Honors English, 10th grade. “English has always been my favorite subject and she took the time to get to know me as a student and support my work in the future.”
Among Flores’s many extra-curricular activities, her work with Groundworks Hudson Valley was most rewarding. “We got to go to parks and help around. It got me more interested in the environment, which is always something I wanted to explore.”
Among the many colleges and universities to which Flores applied and was accepted, she decided to attend SUNY Purchase in the fall.
“I want to major in visual arts and maybe minor in film. I really enjoyed how beautiful the campus was, and when I visited, I thought I could fit in here. I’m also looking forward to exploring the arts with artistic students.”
Christine thanked her teachers and her family for helping her reach this point of academic greatness. “And also my little siblings. I wanted to be a good role model and show them that they can make it far, no matter what they want to do.”
Any advice for a future Valedictorian? “Live your life to the fullest and don’t lose sight of what type of person you want to be.”
Riverside HS Salutatorian Ean Anderson graduated with a 95.8% GPA. Physics teacher Emmanuel Michalakis was his favorite. “He is passionate about the subjects he teaches and encourages us to do better. And he explains something as many times until you understand.”
Ean served as a Math tutor for 9th and 10th-grade students. “I am decent at math, but I never thought I would be helping others with their work. It helped me to become better at explaining subjects to people.”
Anderson will be attending SUNY Binghamton in the fall and pursue a career in nursing. “I was told it was a good school and I got a good scholarship. It will be a new experience for me to be independent, but I wanted to go away.”
Ean said his parents “Always encouraged me to work hard. My mom would say, “Take it one step at a time, while my dad would say, “Do what you need to do. He works hard, and I wanted to work as hard as he does.”
Advice for a future Val or Sal? “Start working hard your freshman year because it sets up your GPA for 4 years, and also participate in extra-curricular activities. It makes your college application stand out.”
Congratulations!
