Bergen Man Is Ivy League Valedictorian

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Michael Abolafia has earned some impressive academic achievements. The latest being named valedictorian of Columbia College's class of 2017.

Part of Columbia University, Columbia College was founded in 1754 and is the fifth oldest institution of higher learning in the country.

Abolafia, 22, is familiar with being the best in his class. The Rochelle Park native was valedictorian of his middle school in 2009 and in 2013 at the Academies @ Englewood.

“I consider being named valedictorian of the Class of 2017 to hold both honor and a sense of obligation,” said Abolafia. “My deep pride is outweighed only by the immense gratitude I have for this transformative institution, and for the faculty and staff who have been instrumental in steering me towards academic success."

Abolafia said he is "indebted" to the public schools he attended for "fostering academic environments conducive to real elearning."

"The Academies @ Englewood gave me the space and freedom to explore my curiosities and compulsions at a defining time in my life," Abolafia said.

He was inducted into the nation's most prestigious academic honor society, Phi Beta Kappa, as a junior.

Abolafia majored in English and comparative literature while earning a 4.1 grade point average. He received high praise from faculty members for what he brought to his classes.

“Michael stands out in my mind as the single most articulate, insightful, creative and generous participant in any lecture course I've taught here,” said Eleanor Johnson, associate professor of English and comparative literature. “I remember feeling a sense of glee when he would raise his hand.”

Abolafia has worked as a research assistant to Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Tom Reiss and Michael Rosenthal, special research scholar in the Department of English and Comparative Literature.

Abolafia uncovered unknown writings by major 20th-century authors in the British Broadcasting Company's Written Archives Centre in England in the summer. He hopes to publish his findings later this year.

Abolafia will be going back to England in the fall where he will continue studying English literature at the University of Oxford in as a graduate student. He hopes to become an English professor.

Susan Crane, a professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia, said Abolafia "bases bold new work on his substantial research and reading."

“On the broadest scale, Michael is fascinated by how cultures are made and changed; on the minutest scale, he can trace those changes unfolding in a metaphor or a stanza form," Crane said.

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Photo: Michael Adolafia — Courtesy of Michael Abolafia