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They are Noor Nassar and Sidharth Anand, respectively.
“These two students are fine examples of our young people who have excelled in academics, athletics, music, science and math, and the humanities,” Superintendent of Schools Ralph Napolitano said.
"Yorktown has a very supportive atmosphere where you can try many things and find where you can excel,” said Nassar.
She describes herself as a science student of biology and chemistry in particular, but not necessarily a major math student. She loves English and social studies.
On the sports side, she is a sprinter on the Varsity Track and Field team and a black belt in Taekwondo, which she has been doing for 10 years.
She is one of several young women at Yorktown High School who wears a headscarf or hijab, which she decided to do in her freshman year.
“It seemed the right time for me and it makes me feel comfortable,” she said, acknowledging that it reflects her Muslim faith and desire to connect the traditions of the past with the modern world.
To bridge her love of science with her desire to help and comfort people, Nassar hopes to have a career as a pediatrician.
Nassar for several years has volunteered at local hospitals, New York-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital in Cortlandt and Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco. She helped patients and working on public information programs that encourage people to have better nutrition and deal with anxiety.
"There are so many very bright students in this class. I feel very lucky and honored to be a part of such a group,” said Anand of his being selected as salutatorian.
Biology is his favorite subject but Anand describes himself as a science student and a humanities student with equal emphasis on both subjects.
A participant in the Yorktown Science Research program, he is engaged in doing research on cancer to study likely causes and reasons why some cancer patients experience relapses.
For the last two summers he interned at New York Medical College. But he also enjoys history and is taking AP European History this year.
His family is from southern India so he particularly enjoys traveling there almost yearly as well as experiencing other parts of the world such as Mexico and South America.
Anand is captain of the Boys Varsity Tennis team and is looking forward to the spring season. He is also interested in music and plays the clarinet. Anand has played in numerous concerts displaying his flair for both Western and Indian Classical music.
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