By Barbara A. Preston | Posted on July 2, 2024
The two top students of the MHS Class of 2024 — Valedictorian Arjun Sharma and Salutatorian Nicholas Kang — are long-time best friends and next-door neighbors.
From left: Valedictorian Arjun Sharma and Salutatorian Nicholas Kang.
Valedictorian Sharma, who is also vice president of the senior class, said he was surprised when he learned that he earned the top academic spot of the class. “I know I worked hard through high school,” he said.
His GPA is 100.75. Sharma said he will attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he will enter a dual-degree program called the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER). Only 25 highly-talented university students are selected to participate. He will major in chemistry and chemical engineering, in hopes of finding a new energy solution.
“Fossil fuels are not sustainable,” he said. “My mission is to explore electrochemical solutions that produce no pollution.”
“I have family in India,” he added. “When you travel to Delhi, the first thing you will notice is there is so much air pollution — so much that they sometimes have to cancel school. “
There is much news now about climate change. If we don’t work to fix it now, it will be too late. So, working in this field could bring about global change. I want to leave the world a better place.”
Salutatorian Kang said he also was surprised to learn that he earned the salutatorian title. “I was confident about Arjun, but I never really considered it for myself,” he said. “I’m a science guy. My favorite is physics, but I also like bio. I can appreciate the beauty of life. I also love chemistry and math, followed by economics, then maybe world history.” He says he also likes watercolor and plays violin.
Kang will attend Georgia Tech in Atlanta to major in none of these things. He will do computer science, he said with a laugh.
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This summer, Kang said he plans to relax and do his favorite thing: sleep. “I need a lot of sleep, but I don’t get a lot of it,” he said.
He insists he is not a model student, though his GPA is 100.3.
“I don’t participate in classes very often unless I have a question that I cannot research and figure out on my own.”
“I’m also not great at being on top of my work or managing my time. I haven’t figured it out yet myself. I think the number one thing you can do is to force yourself to start early. But I never do!”
“What really counts,” he says, “is pulling through when it matters.”
