Valedictorian, Salutatorian Named By South Huntington School District

SOUTH HUNTINGTON, NY — Anthony Maida was named valedictorian of the Walt Whitman High School Class of 2023 while Zahra Choudry was named salutatorian, the South Huntington School District announced.

Anthony Maida’s top school choice is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) followed by Purdue. He’s currently thinking about majoring in mechanical engineering, but his interests go way beyond that, he said.

"Equally, I love working in thermodynamics with fluid dynamics," Maida said via news release. "I like chemistry and composition materials. I also have a big focus on computer programming and computer science, so I might steer more in that direction as well."

He knows college will help him focus in on a specific career that involves more of everything he’s interested in.

Maida also has a musical side. He is a member of the Walt Whitman wind ensemble, a percussionist in the pit orchestra, a pianist in the jazz band, and the president of The Collective recording studio.

Back to science, he is president of Whitman’s Coding Club, and a member of Mathletes and Science Bowl. He was also part of Brookhaven National Lab’s High School Summer Research Program working on detecting insider cybersecurity threats.

Maida was inducted into the National Honor Society, as well as the Math, English, Tri M (Music), and World Language Honor Societies at Walt Whitman. Plus he is a National Merit Scholarship finalist.

Choudry applied to 24 colleges and universities, and like so many other seniors this time of year, is waiting to hear some good news. The "yes" she wants to hear the most would be from Harvard, but her other top schools — Stanford, Yale, Princeton, UCLA or UC Berkeley — would all be great places to continue her lifelong love of learning, or what Choudry called the "essence of education," according to the school district. Choudry

Choudry came into the South Huntington School District in 6th grade when her family moved to Long Island from Pakistan, in what she described as "a classic story to seek a better life."

"I'm blessed to be in this society and to experience amazing schooling here," she said.

Choudry has been a high achiever outside the classroom as well. She is the founder and president of Walt Whitman’s Muslim Students Association, President of SADD, a member of the Speech and Debate Club, the Fashion Club, World Language Honor Society, Student Ambassador for the Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition, member of the Science Bowl, and is doing an internship with Brookhaven National Lab in their quantum computing program.

"Nothing pleases me more than seeing individuals of this caliber representing the two highest academic achievements in South Huntington," South Huntington Superintendent Vito D’Elia said."Both of them, for very different reasons, embody the ideals that we wish all students to possess.
Anthony, who truly has embedded himself within the Fine Arts department in South Huntington, taking a lead as president of the recording studio and remaining in the music program over the course of his high school career, has shown us how equally important it is to find your passions outside of the classroom to help define your interests.

"Zara embodies what we wish all students that immigrate late into this country achieve," D'Elia said. "Her determination and willful spirit have shown that no matter what obstacles lie ahead, you can always find ways to achieve your goals. She shows that everyone who enters the halls of Whitman can be successful as long as they believe in themselves. We wish them nothing but success and happiness."