SPOTSWOOD–Spotswood High School’s valedictorian Chloe Donelan and salutatorian Allyson Schulman discussed their accomplishments and their excitement about the future.
Schulman, 18, said she will be attending the Honors College at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
“I am one of only 500 people who was invited into the Honors College. I will get to live in the Honors College building, where I will be among individuals with diverse perspectives, my freshman year,” Schulman said. “The Honors College has an enriched curriculum, so I am excited to challenge myself these next four years.”
Schulman said she was in complete shock when she found out that she is Spotswood High School’s Class of 2021 salutatorian.
“I had just gotten back from a Senior Week class trip and was talking to my parents about my day when my mom received a phone call from Principal Amy Jablonski. Jablonski asked to speak to me and she exclaimed, ‘Congratulations! You’re the salutatorian for the Class of 2021.’ I did my best to keep my composure on the phone call, but when the phone call ended, I started jumping for joy,” Schulman said.
Schulman said she and her parents had the biggest smiles on their faces and hugged each other numerous times.
“I am extremely proud of myself for my dedication to my academics, and I definitely feel that I have earned the coveted salutatorian position,” Schulman said. “I would like to thank my parents for always supporting me and encouraging me to do my best, as well as my teachers for answering my millions of questions whenever I needed help with a lesson.”
While she has not yet declared a major, Schulman said some of her my interests are journalism, philosophy, acting and film. She said she is going to take a variety of classes in order to figure out what she is truly passionate about and wants to pursue as a career.
“Graduating high school has been the day I have been looking forward to my whole life, and I am excited that it is finally here. I cannot wait to make my salutatorian speech and walk across the stage to receive my diploma. Graduating high school will not only be celebrating the past four years but my entire public school journey from kindergarten to senior year,” Schulman said.
“Being that I am from a small town like Milltown, I have known the same people practically my entire life, so I am excited to meet new people from across the state, country, and even world at Rutgers. Also, I am looking forward to taking new types of classes and trying new extracurricular activities. I know these next four years will help me grow as a person,” she said.
Contact Vashti Harris at [email protected].