Salutatorian Headed to St. John’s
Robert Koon
By Dan Murphy
Congratulations to Roosevelt High School’s 2022 Valedictorian Sydney O’Malley, and Salutatorian Robert Koon.
Sydney O’Malley will graduate with a weighted GPA of 102.94. Her favorite subject is business- media communications, and teacher Mark Roennau. “I wasn’t really aware of the business world before taking this class, but it really got me involved and interested. I found out how important running a business is for everyday life, and the class prepared me for interviews, and to learn about the stock market and how to create and run a business. It helped me prepare for the real world.”
O’Malley completed 12 AP and College Link courses, and has played on the Roosevelt Soccer team since her freshman year, serving as Captain of the team for her junior and senior years. “I met a lot of friends on the soccer team. We had to end our seasons early for COVID over the past two years.
Sydney said that her experience with YPIE, “was amazing. They helped prepare me for college and helped me feel comfortable and showed me all of my options.”
She also volunteered for State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins Youth Advisory Council. “It was a great experience and I admire Senator Stewart-Cousins, so it was great to get to meet her.”
Among O’Malley’s many awards and honors was an Excellence in Media Research Award. “At first I was scared to submit my research, on the trauma of brain injuries in sports, but after it was accepted, I felt appreciated and was told to keep going with my work.”
Syndey likes photograph, writing, baking and community service. One of her volunteer projects was to work as an internship-volunteer at Untermyer Gardens. “I knew nothing about manual labor and had to get up early and do some hard work. Untermyer Gardens is a hidden gem in Yonkers, and more people need to know about it and experience it.”
“I am environmentally conscious and when I’m older I hope to work for a company that puts the environment first and understands that we need to keep the world a better place for future generations.O’Malley was accepted into a dozen colleges and decided on attending the University of Notre Dame, where she will major in business. “They gave me a large scholarship and it’s an amazing school. Especially with an Irish-Catholic background. It has a great business program and also a top sports program if I want to continue to play soccer. I wanted to go away and spread my wings, your only young once.”
Sydney hopes to get her MBA and then off into the business world. “Maybe I will own my own business or work at a big company or go into the stock market.” She thanked her parents for “being my best friends and encouraging me, while making me laugh. I owe them everything that I have.”
Her words of advice to young students. Carpe Diem-Seize the Day! “Take the opportunities that you have and use them for your good. Live in the moment and know that you can work hard. I’m not the smartest person but I put in the most effort and this is what can happen.”
Roosevelt HS Salutatorian will graduate with a weighted 101.47 GPA. His favorite subjects are English and Math and his favorite teacher is English teacher Frank Meade. “He was very inspirational. He’s a coach so he knows how to get people motivated, and he motivated me to work. I’m a big procrastinator and he made me get my work done on time. I’m also very good at Math. I’m able to pick it up fast. I’m disappointed they didn’t have Calculus but I learned the basics on my own.”
Robert helped his teachers during free periods and enjoyed playing football and skateboarding, and is a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He also tutored other Roosevelt students in math.
Robert will be attending St. John’s University, where he will major in the Pharmacy program. His mother is a Pharmacist at White Plains Hospital and he hopes to follow in her footsteps. “St. John’s is the same place that my brother and mom went to and they recommended it. My mother is a pharmacist and we have a family of six, and she earns enough to support us. As long as you like science and math, I think it’s a good field to go into to. I hope to stay here in Westchester and work at White Plains Hospital if I can, they have a nice new pharmacy building.”
Learning through COVID didn’t affect Robert much. “I kept participating and it didn’t affect my academically. I stopped going out with friends more during COVID, but I kept my grades up.”
My mom was a big inspiration and my friends got me out of my comfort zone to experience more things. But I was self-motivated as well. His advice for younger students, “Don’t dwell on past regrets but don’t forget them either. I have a lot of regrets but I don’t let them keep me down. I use them to motivate myself and help improve myself.”
