Seniors Eric Parigoris and Shannon Wetzler will be the Valedictorian and Salutatorian, respectively, for Kings Park High School’s class of 2012.
Parigoris, will graduate with a weighted grade point average of 106.440 and will study biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.
This is the second time the Parigoris name was called as a Valedictorian,
“In my 32 years in education, I don’t think I have ever had the experience of calling the same family twice, two years in a row, in regards to the valedictorian,” said Kings Park High School Principal, Lino Braco.
Braco joked that he asked Parigoris’ mom, “What ‘s your secret, is it a secret diet, the food?”
Following closely behind, Wetzler is graduating with a GPA of 106.299.
“We’ve all heard of photo finishes, and this year was clearly a photo finish,” said Braco.
Impressively, Wetzler, who was unable to fit Advanced Placement French II into her curriculum, taught the class to herself, and according to her guidance counselor, Jacqueline Grieco, sat for the AP exam last May.
“She is an absolute pleasure and inspiration,” said Grieco in a statement read by Braco.
Wetzler has also been named a 2012 National Merit Scholarship Finalist. Parigoris and Wetzler are both part of the Kings Park High School team that competes in The Challenge, a tri-state area competition quiz match up for high school students, where the team has just qualified for the quarter-finals in the Suffolk County region.
“Needless to say, with close to 300 seniors graduating, it is something to be number one or two in your class,” said Braco.
