Valedictorian Ava Romber, right, and Salutatorian Juan Morales, left
By Dan Murphy
Yonkers Rising and Yonkerstimes.com are starting our yearly tradition of interviewing each of the Valedictorians & Salutatorians in the Yonkers Public Schools for 2024. We salute these students’ work ethic and academic excellence. We start with Saunders High School and Valedictorian Ava Romero and Salutatorian Juan Morales.
Valedictorian Ava Romero will graduate with a 100.98 GPA. One of her favorite teachers is AP Computer Science teacher Mr. Lowe. “The way he teaches us is helpful and provides good information, but you have to do the work.”
One of Ava’s favorite courses at Saunders is Constitutional Law. “It provided me useful information and has helped fill in the gaps of questions that I had.” She has completed 15 AP, College link and Century Honors courses.
`Ava served on the Unified Yonkers Student Leadership Council, and as an ECC Magnet Representative. She enjoys the dance club and robotics club at Saunders. “I take dance 6 days a week, and we recently performed the Nutcracker. I like the exposure that I get to different types of dance, and I hope to continue in college.”
Ava was accepted to ten colleges and universities and will be attending Northwestern in the fall. “I plan to get my bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering then work as an electrical engineer.”
Ava said she appreciated the Magnet program at Saunders because “it helps you get a head start in your career. My magnet program allowed me to explore engineering which is the career I want to pursue.”
Who helped you get to this point of achievement? “My mom. She has been very encouraging and helps me manage my studies and homework. She also helped with my college applications and gives me great advice.”
Ava started taking notice about the rankings last year when she was #2. Two months ago, she learned that she would be Valedictorian.
What advice would you have for high school students? “I could not have become valedictorian if I worked inconsistently these past four years. Consistency is just as important as hard work, so do your best to make a consistent effort.”
Saunders Salutatorian Juan Morales will graduate with a 100.88 GPA. One of his favorite teachers is Physics teacher Mr. Zappia. “It is a tough subject, but he makes learning fun.”
Juan’s favorite classes were in Math and Physics. “Math is my favorite subject because I like being challenged. I can also help my friends in class, which is a good feeling.” He has taken a total of 10 AP, Century Honors, or College link classes.
Juan was the President of MBK (My Brother’s Keeper) at Saunders and was a New York State MBK Fellow. “I have been in MBK since the 7th grade, and it has been one of the biggest influences for me as a leader.” He also was a member of the Art Club and Music Club at Saunders and is a music enthusiast
Juan has been accepted into nine colleges and universities, including Harvard and Yale. He is waiting on the results of his financial aid package to determine which Ivy League school he will attend. “Both schools are places of great innovation. I can also take classes from MIT at Harvard. It is also close enough to home.”
“I would like to continue studying engineering and do research in a specialized field, perhaps in quantum computation. I would love to pursue a career in computer engineering.”
Juan enjoyed “how diverse and close we are as a community,” at Saunders. “Often, we reach out to one another, offering help and any assistance. It really is like a home away from home. “
He thanked his sister for helping him reach this milestone. “My sister is four years older, and she was also a Salutatorian at Saunders. She is inspiring to me, and I wanted to follow in her footsteps.”
A word of advice to future Saunders students? “You have accomplished great feats; continue to strive for excellence as you advance in your academic journey and take advantage of every opportunity, even amidst failure, for times of error are the perfect moments to learn and grow.”
