Kudos to Hempstead ’22 valedictorian and salutatorian

After a year of friendly competition among Hempstead High School's highest-scoring seniors, Daniella Marroquin and Ashley Rivas earned the valedictorian and salutatorian distinctions.

Valedictorian Daniella Marroquin

Though Daniella Marroquin, 18, knew she was academically among the top three seniors at Hempstead High School, earning the valedictorian spot with a 102.63 GPA was a pleasant surprise.

“I sort of knew I was up there, but we kept trading percentage points,” said Marroquin. The highest three places have been separated by less than two percentage points all semester.

Marroquin is the first in her family to earn the valedictorian distinction. She has a love for English literature and will incorporate her love of communication with her passion for medicine. Her mother, Rosa Marroquin, was a pediatrician in her home country of El Salvador, and Marroquin’s plan is to attend medical school after earning a degree in English literature.

“I sometimes feel that I am fulfilling my mother’s dreams because she is unable to practice medicine here,” said Marroquin. 

Marroquin said that one of her goals as a doctor is to communicate effectively with her patients. She is aware that language barriers may hinder medical care, as she is fluent in Spanish as well as English, and has acted as translator for her parents often.

Marroquin’s father, Danilo Marroquin, manages a McDonald’s. Her brother Kevin, 15, is nipping at her heels academically. 

“My family are my main supporters,” said Marroquin, “especially my mom, who understands what my brother and I are going through with our studies. I even sometimes think that when I complete my medical degree, I’ll be able to find a proper place for her.”

Marroquin, who is a member of the National Honor Society and the Letters for Rose club, also is vice president of the Key Club and volunteers at NYU Langone Hospital–Long Island in Mineola. She said that the experience she is gleaning at NYU Langone should be helpful to her as she pursues a career in psychiatry.

Salutatorian Ashley Rivas

Ashley Rivas spent her entire senior year trading percentage points with the other two top students at Hempstead High School. When the dust settled, Rivas earned salutatorian honors with a 101.86 GPA.

“I’ve been a bit terrified all year,” Rivas said. “I knew I was in the top four but was not sure where I would end up. We’ve been partners in the process, not going up against each other. It is nice to have a friend next to you.”

Rivas was referring to friend Daniella Marroquin, who came in as valedictorian with a 102.63 GPA.

“Daniella is strong in English and English literature, and I am stronger in math,” said Rivas, who is from El Salvador. “We tend to balance each other out.”

Rivas wants to study business and eventually start her own enterprise. Her mother, Marleni Rivas, has been integral to Rivas’s academic success, always there to support Rivas during long hours of studying without taking a break.

Rivas said her mother, a teacher in her home country of El Salvador, inspired Rivas and younger sister Jessica, 10, with stories of getting up at 4 a.m. to catch the bus for a four-hour ride each way, to school and back, to complete her education.

When her mother contracted COVID-19 during the lockdowns and was admitted to the hospital, Rivas said, the stress was nearly overwhelming.

“We didn’t know what the effects were going to be,” remembered Rivas, who spent part of the lockdown teaching herself to crochet and opening a business on ETSY.  She and her father, Walter Rivas, discussed how and what to tell Jessica about their mother’s illness.  “We had to, you know, ‘tell her, without telling her,’” Rivas said. “It didn’t reflect on my grades, but it did reflect on my mindset.”

Rivas said she was determined to push her high school grades into the top percentile, and keep them there, in addition to her many extracurricular activities. A member of the National Honor Society and the Key Club, Rivas started the club Letters for Rose, where high schoolers write and deliver letters to seniors in nursing centers.

“Being named salutatorian means all my efforts have paid off,” said Rivas. She said that she has a strong independent streak and hopes she’s a good role model for Jessica, who is on the same academic track. 

“It feels weird when I am offering to help Jessica and she says she’s got it already,” Rivas said. “I do feel close to her when we’re both doing our homework.”