Meet West Orange High’s 2019 Valedictorian, Salutatorian

WEST ORANGE, NJ — She has a GPA of 4.79 and is involved in more school activities than you can count. He’s a future civil engineer. And together, they’re West Orange High School’s 2020 valedictorian and salutatorian.

West Orange High School recently announced its 2020 valedictorian, Anika Fernandes, and salutatorian, Brett Zeligson. Both are “bright, amazing young people with a passion to serve their community,” Principal Hayden Moore said.

Fernandes was named the West Orange High School valedictorian with a GPA of 4.79.

“I wasn’t expecting this,” Fernandes said, “but I’m glad I put in all the hard work.”

According to school administrators, Fernandes serves as drum major for the WOHS Marching Mountaineers, is president of the band council, and co-president of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. She is vice-president of the Science Honor Society and the Health Occupations Student Association.

Along with Tri-M and the Math Honor Society, Fernandes belongs to the Escriptus Honor Society, and was just named a Merit Scholar. She works with the student body as a Mountaineer Mentor and is a member of the newly-formed fencing team.

A member of the Nikhil Badlani Foundation Youth Advisory Board, Fernandes also helps to promote traffic safety by speaking to younger students in the district and working with the foundation in the community. She was named to the North Jersey Regional Band for her trumpet skills.

Fernandes plans to study biology on a pre-med track at Rutgers University.

With a difference of 0.02 points, Brett Zeligson was named salutatorian with a GPA of 4.77.

“I’m excited about it, and I’m looking forward to being able to give a speech at graduation,” Zeligson said.

According to school officials, Zeligson is “non-stop.” He’s co-president of the Student Council, captain of the boys varsity swim team, president of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, vice-president of Skills USA and first-chair violin for the orchestra.

He is a Mountaineer Mentor and a member of the Science Olympiad and math teams, writes for the Cobblestone, the high school’s literary magazine, and in addition to Tri-M, is a member of six other honor societies (Math, Science, Escriptus, Chinese, Social Studies, and National Honor Society.

Zeligson is also a member of the Nikhil Badlani Foundation Youth Advisory Board.

Zeligson plans to major in civil engineering, but hasn’t decided on a college yet.

Don’t forget to visit the Patch West Orange Facebook page. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com