While many students spend their high school years searching for a direction, Glen Cove High School salutatorian Peyton Angalet found hers by combining two passions: science and helping others.
Angalet, 18, will graduate as the Class of 2026 salutatorian before heading to the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago this fall. She plans to study biomedical engineering. The field, she said, will let her merge her love of mathematics, physics and medicine while developing technologies that can improve lives.
“I still found medicine really interesting, and I really love physics and the engineering aspect of it,” Angalet said. “I thought I could combine the two without having to go to medical school.”
Her interest in biomedical engineering solidified during a health science and professions course she took last year. While the class exposed her to medical careers, it also helped her realize that medical school was not the path she wanted to pursue.
Instead, she became fascinated by the engineering side of healthcare, including the development of prosthetics, medical devices, brain-imaging technology and other innovations designed to improve patient outcomes.
“They have a lot of opportunities for developing new technologies that benefit people’s health and innovation in medicine,” she said.
Although Angalet has always excelled in science and mathematics, she said she has never limited herself to those subjects.
“I’ve always been more science and math oriented,” she said. “But I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to major in or really study and pursue in life until last year because I still find history and English and the arts really incredible and amazing to learn in.”
Angalet also serves as president of the school’s newspaper, helping oversee coverage of student life, events and achievements. The publication regularly highlights everything from Spirit Week and homecoming festivities to student accomplishments and volunteer efforts.
“We mostly do stuff centered on school just to keep people interested in what’s going on at the school,” she said.
Principal Allen Hudson praised Angalet’s leadership and dedication to producing content that resonates with students.
“Each time the school newspaper is created, I get the privilege to see it before it’s distributed to everyone,” Hudson said. “Peyton does a phenomenal job of really looking and finding things that would be of interest to students.”
Hudson said the publication succeeds because it is written from a student’s perspective.
“The reality is we’re the adults — we think we really kind of know what’s going on — but it’s not about us, it’s about them,” Hudson said. “To have someone of the caliber of Peyton, who’s extremely smart, working on that really is great for us.”
She served as president of the Math Honor Society and participating in the National Science Honor Society. Through those groups, she has organized and participated in tutoring programs, STEM-focused outreach activities, Earth Day initiatives and events designed to encourage students to develop an interest in mathematics and science.
One volunteer experience that stands out to Angalet was working with children during St. John’s of Lattingtown’s annual country fair.
“I love working with kids,” she said. “I think they’re really cool and honest to talk to.”
That compassion is one of the qualities Hudson believes will serve her well in the future.
“The fact that she says she loves kids — not everyone loves kids,” Hudson said. “But I think that speaks volumes as to who she is, who she’s going to be, and she will be extremely successful.”
Angalet credits her parents, Stephen and Jennifer Angalet, for encouraging her educational pursuits. Her father works in communications engineering, helping maintain systems used by emergency services in Port Washington, while her mother is an information technology analyst for the Glen Cove City School District.
