Meet South Side High School’s valedictorian and salutatorian
“A grade point average only tells you one very small sliver of a person,” said John Murphy, principal of South Side High School.
In the case of Michael Luvin and Peter Weiss, it tells of their sheer intelligence and work ethic. Luvin, this year’s valedictorian, finished with a 105.2 weighted GPA, he said, while Weiss, South Side’s salutatorian, was unsure of his exact average, but believed he also broke 105.
Luvin said his average was 103.75 at the end of his junior year, and he knew he had to improve it in the first two quarters of this school year to keep pace with Weiss. “I have to catch him,” he said, smiling. “That’s what I was thinking.”
The two were in the same chemistry class this year, and in February they were called to Principal Murphy’s office one at a time. When they returned to the class, fellow students, with a hunch of what the call was about, inquired about the results. “You could tell that they were very proud of themselves, but they didn’t say a word,” said Adam Sisak, Luvin and Weiss’s chemistry teacher. The valedictorian and salutatorian were officially revealed to the school a few days later.
In addition to having almost identical GPAs, Luvin and Weiss both love math and science, and plan to study engineering. Luvin is set to attend Northwestern University in Chicago in the fall, while Weiss chose Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Luvin prefers chemistry, and Weiss favors physics.
“They both were very hard workers, very tenacious,” Sisak said. “Peter has this amazing ability to just see a mathematical formula or a science formula and manipulate it in ways that he needs to. Mike Luvin is probably the most humble, compassionate student I’ve seen.”
Outside the classroom, Weiss is involved in Mathletes, Science Bowl and the Tri-M Music Honor Society. He plays the violin in the Rockville Centre-based South Shore Symphony Orchestra, and the trumpet in the jazz ensemble. He added the viola to his musical repertoire a few years back.
Weiss did a research project last summer at Mount Sinai, for which he focused on the human genome and analyzed changes in DNA in response to certain factors. Though math and science came naturally to him, he said, maintaining the No. 2 GPA in the class didn’t come easily.
“You kind of have to get 100s on, like, every test,” he said, adding that it was especially difficult to get perfect scores on essays in English and history classes.
Like Weiss, Luvin is also on the Science Bowl team, and is involved in the military history club and the Quiz Bowl team. He was an All-County runner, competing on the track and field and cross-country teams.
Luvin said that staying involved in many activities was the key to his success, bacause it forced him to stay organized and on a tight schedule to get work done. He also finds time to watch his favorite sitcoms, which include “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation” and “How I Met Your Mother.”
“I don’t think I necessarily study more than a lot of other people,” Luvin said. “I think I just absorb information, especially in the sciences, really quickly, and I retain it. I think that’s what sets me and Peter apart from everyone else.”
Though unsure about a specific career path, Weiss said he hopes it involves engineering and physics, noting his love for problem solving. Luvin also plans to go into engineering, but said he is also interested in medicine. He stressed that he would favor a hands-on career that he loves over a higher-paying job that involves sitting in a cubicle all day.
“Whatever they do, they’re just going to excel, and hopefully be the upcoming scientist and upcoming pioneers of what we need in this world,” Sisak said.
Weiss and Luvin are slated to address their classmates during South Side’s commencement ceremony on June 22 at Hofstra University’s David S. Mack sports complex.
“It’s nice when the two students with the highest academic averages are also among our best people,” Murphy said. “. . . They’re a class act.”
