Suraj Sanyal walked into the conference room with a smile, a positive attitude – and a t-shirt of a picture of himself holding a picture of himself holding a picture of himself holding a picture of himself.
“It’s not about the title,” Suraj said casually about being named this year’s salutatorian for the Class of 2017 at North Brunswick Township High School, noting instead his laidback personality and sense of humor. “I want to be one of those kids who gets the title just because I want to give a speech.”
Suraj is a GMC Scholar Athlete. He received a test score of 5 in Advanced Placement microeconomics, calculus A/B and Language and Composition. He has always been a high honor roll student. He has played tennis for four years at the school, three on varsity and two as captain.
He was the president of the Film Club, and since he played flute for the school band for two years, decided to make electronic and hip hop music on his own SoundCloud and YouTube channels.
He has also volunteered with the North Brunswick Township India Day Committee and the North Brunswick Humane Association.
Suraj said he only became serious about class rank a few years ago as he decided to pursue scholarships for college.
“The last three years, I’ve been writing a speech in my phone because I wanted to give a message to the other kids.”
Suraj said that during graduation on June 19, he was going to tell his peers “to be yourself as loud and confidently as you possibly can. Like yourself. Don’t use anybody else’s standard of success – you’ve got to make your own.”
He will attend Rutgers University in New Brunswick to study computer engineering – after hopefully planning a trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida.
“You have to be free to do what you want,” he said, noting how his older sister Sapna has inspired him. “I want to have the choice; I don’t want choices to be made for me. … It’s your own job to take responsibility for your own happiness.”
Although Suraj was named second in class rank of 423 graduating seniors, there is no sense of competition between him and valedictorian Cynthia Liang, as they have been friends since middle school.
“It’s a great honor. I think the past four years have been a lot and to be recognized for that is nice,” Cynthia said.
Cynthia received an SAT score of 2350 and an SAT II score of 800 in math and 800 in biology. For her Advanced Placement tests, she scored seven 5s and one 4.
She has received numerous honors in writing, science, Chinese studies, for the Future Business Leaders of America and for Key Club. She is a National Merit finalist, a National AP Scholar, a National Honor Society member and a John Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth member since seventh grade.
Cynthia volunteered at Rutgers University during the summers before 11th and 12th grades doing research on bioinformatics on Tourette syndrome. This has inspired her to study bioinformatics in college, which is the combination of computer science and biology.
To keep her mind and body active, Cynthia also is a four-year member of the school’s volleyball team. She served as co-captain during her duration. In the off-season, she has played for the Helios private club and the Huaxia-East Brunswick Chinese School Club.
In addition, Cynthia has artistic abilities. She is a classically trained vocal soloist, winning the grand prize, three-year award for the Talented Young Musicians Competition, performing at Carnegie Hall in her freshman through junior years.
She also was a Doodle for Google finalist in fifth grade.
However, Cynthia said the accolades are not what have been most important to her.
“I don’t think I was working toward a certain GPA. It’s the little things along the way, like making someone smile when we talk, or helping someone in need,” she said.
Cynthia will attend Stanford University in the fall. Prior, she will visit relatives in China, do some independent research and take time to catch up on her reading.
Both Cynthia and Suraj credit their success to the education received throughout their years in North Brunswick.
“North Brunswick definitely gave me a chance to learn how to do things on my own and to learn how to ask for help,” Suraj said, reflecting on the “ego” he said he had in freshman year.
“You meet so many people and such a variety of people,” Cynthia added, mentioning the sheer amount and variability of ideas she has encountered.
“You can’t go through North Brunswick and come out intolerant,” Suraj said.
Graduation was held on June 19 at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton.
Contact Jennifer Amato at [email protected].