Congratulatons to Hills East's Sari Strizik and Hills West's McKenzie Young on being honored by the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association for being the valedictorians of their respective schools! The SCSSA, in partnership with the New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal (NYSIR) and Intralogic Solutions, also awarded scholarships to East's Sam Abramson and West's Jordana McCloy to help in their pursuits of careers in education.
The tradition, established 26 years ago by the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association to celebrate and honor the highest-achieving graduates in Suffolk County, continued this year despite a global health pandemic and the early closure of schools.
While the SCSSA was forced to cancel their 26th Annual Valedictorians Luncheon, at which Suffolk County school superintendents, valedictorians and their parents would have joined together to celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2020 valedictorians, their enviable achievements did not go unrecognized.
The SCSSA would like to congratulate all of this year’s valedictorians, including Half Hollow Hills High School East Class of 2020 Valedictorian, Sari Strizik, and Half Hollow Hills High School West Class of 2020 Valedictorian, McKenzie Young.
This year, on behalf of the SCSSA, the Half Hollow Hills Central School District Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Patrick Harrigan,presented Ms. Strizik and Ms. Young with a commemorative program, congratulatory video, a certificate of achievement and a cherished childhood storybook, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” by Dr. Seuss. The program and video, which was created especially for the Class of 2020, featured information about each valedictorian’s school district, their formal senior yearbook photo, their college of choice and anticipated major. The choice of the storybook was certainly appropriate, as this year’s valedictorians plan to attend some of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the nation.
The SCSSA also continued another tradition. In partnership with their corporate partners, the SCSSA awarded scholarships to 15 highly deserving graduating seniors planning to pursue a career in education or social services. These worthy scholarship recipients were selected by their own school districts for this special recognition.
Half Hollow Hills High School East senior Sam Abramson and High School West senior Jordana McCloy were each selected to receive a 2020 SCSSA scholarship this year. The $500 scholarships they’ve received will help them on the path to becoming leaders in the field of education. Dr. Patrick Harrigan, superintendent of schools in Half Hollows Hills, delivered the certificates and scholarship checks to the students at their homes because school buildings are currently closed.
“We thank the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association, and especially the sponsors of the scholarships, the New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal (NYSIR) and Intralogic Solutions, for supporting our next generation of educators,” said Harrigan.
- Press Release