No opportunities missed by South's top seniors

It was a close race for the top two spots at Valley Stream South High School. Less than half a point separated Kevin Li and Patrick Egbuchulam at the head of the class of 2014.

Li was named the valedictorian, and said earning the distinction is an honor. “There’s plenty of smart people in my class,” he said. “My main goal was just try as hard as I could in high school.”

He and Egbuchulam, the salutatorian, both found out their rankings in February, when Principal Maureen Henry made an announcement. Egbuchulam recalled begin in the middle of social studies test and getting enthusiastic cheers from his classmates. As someone of his academic stature would be expected to do, he finished the test first before reporting to the main office.

Egbuchulam said that his parents have always encouraged him to do his best. “I really wanted to make them proud,” he said.

In the fall, Li will head to Ithaca to attend Cornell University. He said he was impressed by the campus when he visited. While he plans to major in biology, Li said that could change. “I know I want to do something science related,” he said. “I’m hoping I’ll find something that I like.”

Li said he has spoken with others who attend Cornell and has been warned that the classes are hard. “They like it though,” he said.

Egbuchulam will be going to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he plans to major in computer science and electrical engineering. He said he wants to be a software engineer and aspires to work for a major company like Google.

He already had a taste of MIT, taking part in a week-long summer program. Egbuchulam said he learned the difficulty of the courses he would have to take in college, and that gave him extra motivation to do well in his last two years of high school.

The two have taken advantage of the numerous opportunities offered at South High School, and have shared their academic gifts by serving as tutors.

Li took 13 Advanced Placement courses, and said his favorite was chemistry. “I just like learning new things,” he said. “You learn more in APs than you do in regular classes.”