By Dan Murphy
Meet the valedictorian and salutatorian from Palisade Prep High School for 2018 – Jessika Cokely and Natalia Kastsaridis. Like many vals and sals in the Yonkers Public Schools, the two know each other from all of the advanced coursework they have taken in their junior and senior years of high school. But Jessika and Natalia know each other a bit longer, having attending Palisades since the seventh grade, and both are proof positive of the successes in the Palisades grades seven through 12 program.
Jessika will graduate with a 97.02 grade-point average. Her favorite educators are criminal justice, and economics and government teacher Nikisha Scott, and EMS and SUPA forensics teacher Alexandra Romero. Scott “is enthusiastic about teaching us,” while Romero “is hands-on and give us the chance to learn while participating,” said Jessika.
Her favorite class is economics and government because “it’s interesting to know how our government and politics works,” but has no interest in running for office, she said. Jessika has completed three advanced placement courses and three college link courses.
Jessika’s extracurricular work included volunteering for the Relay for Life Club and her job as a cashier at ShopRite on Tuckahoe Road. Tell her congratulations on her achievement if you see her while food shopping!
Jessika applied to 13 colleges, including Manhattan, Manhattanville, Iona, Adelphi, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Purchase, and Mercy. She was accepted into all 13 schools, and has decided to attend Manhattan College in the fall.
The fact that Manhattan is close by, in Riverdale (Bronx) just over the Yonkers border, which will allow her to say how, it was not a conscious decision to stay home for college.
“Everything just fell into place and they gave me a good scholarship, which will pay for most of the costs,” said Jessika. “I like the campus. It has a small school feel but is big enough and will give me good opportunities at internships.”
She plans to major in communication arts. “I hope to be a news reporter/journalist someday,” she said. “I got interested in this career while I was in middle school. I find it interesting and important to tell people what is going on in their community.”
Jessika thanked her Mom and her friends for helping her reach this great achievement, but said she also motivated herself. “I knew it was what I had to do to go to college and to move on,” she said. “But I never thought about being the valedictorian, I just kept doing what I had to do.”
She also thanked the staff at Palisades Prep for providing a “caring and hopeful atmosphere,” and left the following advice for younger students: “Never give up, work hard, and strive for bigger and better opportunities.”
Salutatorian Natalia Kastsaridis will graduate with a 96.42 GPA. Her favorite educators are English teacher Eric Rothstein (“He spent a lot of time after school helping me with my English”); science teacher Alexandra Romero (“She is hands-on and considerate and pushes you to become your best”); and English teacher Patricia Adulcar (“I wasn’t that good in English so I would doubt myself, but she gave me confidence”), said Natalia.
She has completed three AP courses and three college link courses
Natalia’s favorite course is gym – a first for the vals and sals we have interviewed over the years. Her love of gym is because of her love of sports, which includes varsity volleyball, basketball, softball and karate. “I’m athletic and I love recess because I like to get some exercise and play basketball with my friends,” she said.
Natalia’s other extracurricular activities include serving in student government and membership in the National Honors Society.
She applied to 10 schools, including Yale, SUNY Binghamton, Buffalo, Cortland, Cornell, Adelphi and Bucknell, and was accepted into SUNY Cortland and Buffalo, Bucknell and Adelphi. She will be attending Adelphi University on Long Island.
“They were very interactive with me from the beginning when I first applied, and the school will provide me with big opportunities and I got a big scholarship,” said Natalia. “I liked the campus and I wanted to go away to school. It’s a good combination because I am away but not too far from home.”
Natalia will major in biology and hopes to go to medical school at Yale, which has always been a dream school for her to attend, and she took a summer course on cancer research there. She plans on becoming a pediatric oncologist and hopes to complete her residency in Memphis, Tenn., which is the home city for St. Jude’s Research Hospital, which is where she wants to work, treating children who need help the most.
Natalia enjoyed her years at Palisades. “The small environment and community allowed me to build a close relationship with my teachers and fellow classmates.”
Her advice to younger students? “Make school a priority and don’t follow the crowd. Do what you want to do,” she said.
