By Dan Murphy
Congratulations to the 2021 Roosevelt High School Valedictorian, Jaylene Anderson, and Salutatorian Salem Murshed.
Jaylene Anderson will graduate with a 101.38 GPA. Her favorite teachers at Roosevelt are Sebastian Smith, who teaches Spanish Cp B2, because “she is a supportive individual who allows us to relax and makes learning fun and engaging”; Frank Meade, who teaches CL Public Speaking and CL Comp Lit II, “because I love to write short stories, and his classes makes me get out of my comfort zone”; and Marisa Signore, who teaches CL Pre-Calculus, “is another favorite teacher of mine because her explanations makes complex math problems so simple, and she’s able to have personal relationships with students.”
Jaylene’s favorite subjects are “CL Comp & Lit II because I get to write short stories, read books and have meaningful discussions with my peers. My favorite books I read this year was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Fahrenheit 451 because they are so engrossing and have complex characters.”
Anderson has taken 13 college link courses at Roosevelt. Extracurricular activities include YPIE’s college readiness program, “where I engaged in an array of enrichment and college-ready programs. This year, I also had the opportunity to participate in the STEM Research Institute Program, which granted me the privilege of competing in the Westchester Science and Engineering Fair where I won the Critical Behavioral Science Achievement Award, and was a teacher assistant aiding juniors and sophomores with their science research projects,” said Anderson.
“Another program I participated in was the Tech Squad Specialist Program, where I completed a course in coding, while being recognized for aiding the senior citizens in our community with tech-related issues. I am also currently participating in the Cartoon and Comic Creation Major and the Film Major, which taught me how to develop my own Zines, an artist page, and filmmaking skills alongside a group of like-minded peers.”
Jaylene was accepted into 20 colleges and universities and will be attending Sarah Lawrence College in the fall, with a full scholarship. “My future plans are to excel in writing, and hopefully become a novelist and an English professor, with the hope of being an inspiration for future generations.” She chose SLC because “it has a great English and creative writing program, and I love the campus and the comfortable atmosphere.”
Continuing her academic exclellence during COVID, “Was a challenge and a huge transition but I managed. I had my own laptop and phone and I continued to attend classes fully remote this year.”
Anderson thanked God and her parents for helping her get to this point of success “Through any struggle, keep on moving forward and focus on the future at hand, because there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And I know not everyone is a believer of God, but also have faith in Christ, because He will carry you through the tribulations which will you make all the more stronger at the end,” said Anderson.
RHS Salutatorian Salem Murshed will graduate with a 100.42 GPA. Her favorite teacher is English teacher Janice Young. “I had her my Sophomore year for a double period of English 11 and Modern Drama.” Her favorite subject is math. “It’s universal, math would be the same in any country which I think is astonishing. There’s also many aspects of math which gradually gets more complex so there is always something new to learn.”
When she graduates, Murshed will have close to 45 college credits after taking 14 college link courses. Salem worked as a page at the Will Library and was the treasurer for the Project Good Works Club. “We came up with the idea to raise money and give money to different charities through bake sales and other events. The money went to help the children of Syria and for the animal shelter and other worthy causes.”
Salem will be attending Lehman college in the fall. “It is close to home and has the education program so tha I can get my masters in education and come back to Yonkers and be an elementary school teacher. I have always wanted to come back home and teach. I’ve always had a bond with kids and I enjoy being in the company of children.”
Murshed also hopes to change the perception of Muslim women. “There’s a bunch of racism against muslim women, and there is a picture painted of us in the media that doesn’t fit us. I want to be the one to kill the prejudice, and I hope that my students will remember my face, with the Hijab and create change.”
Salem said that the first month of learning with COVID, “I didn’t like it at all. Learning from home didn’t fell like learning to me. I borrowed a laptop from my school but I jumped on the opportunity to go back to school when it re-opened. “
“My parents are very big on education and pushed me and reminded me on how important it is. I also came to this realization myself, that education is the key to open so many doors.”
