METUCHEN — It has been almost 20 years since Metuchen High School named co-valedictorians.
The last time that feat occurred was in 2000 when Elizabeth A. Baraleck and Melissa E. Piegaro shared the school’s top honors.
This year, Serena McKiernan, 18, and Evan Derector, 17, were named co-valedictorians during a convocation held at the school on June 14.
“Honestly, I was pretty surprised,” Evan said.
He admitted that he thought he would be named salutatorian.
“When Assistant Principal [Susan] La Fauci [Paredes] announced there would be no salutatorian, I was confused,” Evan said.
Serena said at the end of their junior year, school administrators told her there were five students in the running for valedictorian.
“I still can’t believe it fully happened,” she said a day before graduation. “I’m still processing it all.”
In the fall, Evan will attend the University of Virginia.
“I’m not sure if I will go the pre-med or finance route, but I will have a liberal arts curriculum and then I can decide,” he said.
Evan, who is a lifelong resident of Metuchen, said he has been involved in baseball, soccer, student council, Breaking the Chain, and peer leadership during his four years of high school.
“What I like the most [about my time at Metuchen High] is our small school feel,” he said.
Evan said the small school feel allowed him to know all his teachers, know his surroundings, and feel comfortable communicating with others.
He said Metuchen is a town where everyone knows everyone.
“I could walk past people [downtown] and know 15 of them,” he said. “Everyone is a familiar face.”
In the fall, Serena will attend the Honors College at Rutgers University in New Brunswick with a focus in physics. Ultimately, she said she would like to become a high school teacher.
She said she has enjoyed her time in the orchestra where she played violin and her involvement in theater with the Metuchen High School Footlighters during her four years in high school.
“It gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of people who share the same passion in theater and music,” she said.
Serena said although she is not going far away to college, she said next year will be a change.
“I grew up in Metuchen and I have been with the same people since kindergarten,” she said.
Serena and Evan were among 162 seniors to receive their diplomas at graduation ceremonies that were held on June 20 at the Metuchen High School football field.