Hicksville HS names top students – The Mid Island Times

Congratulations to Hicksville High School senior Sejal Gupta for being named Class of 2020 valedictorian and toAlaha Nasari for being named Class of 2020 salutatorian.

Sejal Gupta, Hicksville HS Class of 2020 Valedictorian.Photo courtesy of the Hicksville School District

In addition to being named valedictorian, Sejal has also been named a National Merit Commended Scholar and earlier this year was named a Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS) Semifinalist and a Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) Finalist for her project to develop an algorithm for detecting walking patterns in patients with injuries to lower extremities. She also won first place at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair and won a gold medal at the Al Kalfus Math Fair for her research.

Early on, Sejal realized her passion for STEM and has taken her interest to the highest of levels. In the eighth grade, Sejal founded a program called the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Cafe to cultivate young childrens interest in technology and enterprise. She has spent 20 Sundays each of the last five years teaching students in grades kindergarten to eight about topics such as programming, breadboarding, prototyping and startup environment and continued teaching remotely through the pandemic quarantine. With over 1,000 hours dedicated to the Cafe, Sejal was named a Coca Cola Scholarship semifinalist for her volunteer work and leadership.

Sejal has participated in multiple internships in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship, including one that earned her a Presidential Service Silver Medal. At Hicksville High School, Sejal has also served as secretary of the Science Olympiad team, the head of business for the robotics team and a delegate for Model United Nations. In the Science Olympiad competitions, she captured various medals in events such as Circuit Lab, Forensics and Protein Modeling.

Sejal is also a member of multiple honor societies and the president of the Math Honor Society. She is the president of the Hicksville Girls in Engineering and Mathematics program at the Hicksville Public Library, which aims to introduce middle school girls to STEM through a free summer camp. Sejal was also honored as a U.S. Presidential Scholar semifinalist.

Alaha Nasari, Hicksville HS Class of 2020 Salutatorian.Photo courtesy of the Hicksville School District

In addition to being the class salutatorian, Alaha is an AP Scholar with Distinction. Since her freshman year, Alaha has shown an interest in science and humanities and, as a result, has completed Advanced Placement courses in biology, chemistry and physics as well as all AP courses in history and social sciences. She believes her understanding of diverse cultures, backgrounds and people, combined with the knowledge of science, will make her an empathetic, culturally and medically competent physician in the future.

Alaha is also an avid and celebrated writer, taking part in multiple essay competitions through the years. In the ninth grade she was named a national finalist in the Voice of Democracy Essay Contest. She was also the recipient of the Uchida Memorial Award in the Japan Center at Stony Brook Universitys Essay Competition and was recognized in the Long Island Coalition Against Bullying essay contest.

Her love for interacting with children has inspired Alaha to volunteer her time in the community. She has tutored at the Kumon Math and Reading Center for the last three years and also attained an internship at Hicksville Pediatrics clinic, learning about medical procedures while interacting with young patients and their families. She also volunteered for Nassau County Family Court, providing families with information and resources to help them through domestic issues. As a junior, Alaha co-founded the elementary-aged science education program Inspire Science in Youth, which she has taught at the Hicksville Public Library the last two years.

As a research assistant for a biology professor at Adelphi University last summer, Alaha had the unique opportunity to co-author a research paper that was presented at an annual conference for the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. She also completed a Saturday Academy program at New York University in dentistry and medicine during the first half of the school year.

At Hicksville High School, Alaha has been a leader among the student body. She served as an officer with the Ecology Club, Natural Helpers, and the National and Rho Kappa honor societies. She has organized multiple service activities including a school supply drive in support of impoverished communities in Afghanistan. Alaha has also created comfort baskets, organized collection drives and written and published content for the Breast Cancer Comfort Foundation, an organization she has volunteered with for the last four years.

Being a student at Hicksville High School has been an intense, stimulating, and inspiring academic experience, but it has also been a deeply personal experience, Alaha said. I have developed so many relationships with brilliant, driven people and these interactions have truly allowed me to learn and grow. My active involvement and leadership within the school building has encouraged me to look at the world around me in a questioning, open-minded, and curious manner. This global perspective and desire to apply knowledge outside of the classroom setting is certainly one of the most valuable lessons I have learned from the intellectually focused community at Hicksville.

Alaha will attend Harvard, where she will study history and science.

Alahas warmth, perception, confidence, and tenacity to her social community is obvious to all, said her guidance counselor Alice Hannon. She is destined for success. Undoubtedly, she will do great things with her life while helping many, many others along the way.

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Hicksville HS names top students - The Mid Island Times