By Kayla Brogan
White Plains High School is proud to announce the Valedictorian and Salutatorian for the Class of 2025: Jack Bhatt, this year’s Valedictorian, and Sophia Levy, the Salutatorian. Both Jack and Sophia have exemplified what it means to be top of their class, showcasing hard work in their academics, extracurriculars, and community.
Q: What does this achievement mean to you?
Jack– It is truly an honor to receive this title. To me, this achievement represents the discipline, concentration, and hard work I have committed to for the past four years. I am very proud of this title as it was something I was chasing in the back of my mind throughout my high school career. Furthermore, this achievement allows for me to speak during graduation, which I am very excited for.
Sophia – This achievement shows that I have grown as a student and fuels me to keep pushing myself in college and in life. I am honored to be the Salutatorian.
Q: What inspired you to work so hard throughout high school?
Jack– My inspiration since I was young has always been my grandfather. He grew up in a poor town in India, and through education was able to come and make a life with his family in the States. Because of how much he was able to achieve due to education, I have always dearly valued my grades, effort, and attendance in school.
Sophia – My parents' support and encouragement motivated me to push through challenges. They showed me the importance of hard work and always doing my best. Their guidance has taught me to face challenges and keep moving forward, no matter how hard it may seem.
Q: Did you have a specific method for staying organized and managing your workload?
Jack– Since 7th grade, I have developed a couple of rules for how to get work done without burning out, and it goes as follows:
Do all your work and study for all your tests: It is easier said than done but having the mindset to always complete everything and always study for everything is what led me to being valedictorian.
Do extracurriculars you enjoy. I love the sports I do, the volunteering I participate in, and jobs I work. If you commit yourself to extracurricular activities that do not feel like chores, they will feel like the down time from schoolwork.
Do something with your free time: I wish I could say I never use TikTok or Instagram, but I have always tried to limit my usage of them as they waste away my free time. I feel much more complete spending time with friends and family, and I think a lot of people agree as well.
Q: How did you balance academics with extracurricular activities, social life, and personal time?
Jack– My balance for academics, extracurriculars, my social life, and my personal time is difficult. The time I spend in school and in my extracurricular activities are not changeable as I must go to all my classes and all my extracurricular activities. However, the time I spend studying outside of school is what I like to try and match with the time I spend on my social life. If you treat the school day and your extracurriculars as the mandatory things you must do, the only things left are the amount of time you study/work on assignments and the amount of time you socialize, and that is where I try and find balance.
Sophia - I balanced academics with extracurricular activities, social life, and personal time by prioritizing deadlines and ensuring I completed my work in advance to prevent feeling overwhelmed. By staying organized and avoiding procrastination, I was able to finish my assignments early. This allowed me to spend the rest of my time on other activities.
Q: What was the hardest class you took in high school?
Jack – The hardest class I have ever taken was Pre Calc-Honors with Ms. Cortino in sophomore year. The class moved at a fast pace and was the biggest jump in math that I have yet to experience. Some classes like AP Calc BC or Multivariable might have harder material to learn, but the fast pace, intense workload, and witnessing my classmates dropping the class always kept me on my toes.
Sophia - The hardest class I took in high school was AP Bio.
Q: What was your favorite/most rewarding class in high school and why?
Jack – My favorite class is a class I am currently taking in senior year. That class is AP Physics. It has all of my friends in it, one of if not my favorite teacher (Mr. Wolstencroft), and my favorite science topic. I like physics much more than the other sciences only because of the math involved. Because of all these reasons, AP Physics is by far my favorite class I have ever taken.
Q: What is your favorite memory from high school?
Jack - My favorite memory of High School is the last day of Junior year. Ever since 1st grade, my favorite memory has always been the previous school year’s last day of school. I feel that the last day of a school year is a time to just take in the achievements of one’s hard work throughout that year.So at the moment, my favorite High School memory was my last day of Junior year, and I hope that this last day of Senior year will be even better.
Q: Were there any teachers or mentors who had a big impact on you?
Jack - I have a ton of teachers and mentors to thank for their role in making me the person I am today. Coach Singleton, my cross-country coach, always believed in me, always saw me for my strengths, and has always got the best out of me. I am honored to have run and be captain under his coaching. Also, I have been blessed to have many amazing teachers. Mr. Wolstencroft, my AP Physics and Physics honors teacher, has guided me my junior and senior year through hard mathematical and physics topics. Mr. Ferder, my biotech engineering teacher, aspired to have a learning environment filled with creativity, failure, and bettering oneself which tested my limits, but grew me as a person, nonetheless. Ms. Fahey, my AP Language teacher, was the teacher that helped me the most on my writing skills and ability, a subject I have always struggled with in school. Finally, all my math teachers should not go unnoticed for their contributions to my high school career. Ms. Hertel (Algebra 2 Trig Honors), Ms. Cortino (Pre Calc-Honors), Ms. Marchetti (AP Stats), Mr. Lee (AP Calculus BC), and Mr Crawford (Multivariable Calculus) have all fed into my passion and love for math, and I will forever value all of what they have done for me.
Q: What are your plans for college and beyond?
Jack - I want to further my education in college, however, my plans for college are vague. I want to go into business and continue to look at schools and wait for application decisions before I commit. Nonetheless, wherever I go, I will always be a White Plains Tiger at the heart of it.
Sophia – I will be traveling, working and spending time with friends over the summer. In the fall, I’ll be going to college to study bio on the pre-med track.
Q: If you could give your freshman-year self one piece of advice, what would you say?
J - If I could give my freshman-year version of myself any advice, I would say to stay humble. During my early high school years, I have fed my ego mixing it up with confidence. It never caused any extreme problems, but I find it corny looking back at it now. Staying humble is an idea many people need to learn, and I would advise the younger students in our district to learn the importance of being humble and not letting the ego take control.
S - I would tell my freshman year self to have an open mind and ask for help when you need it. Being open to new experiences, different perspectives, and challenges makes learning and our high school experience more fulfilling. We are lucky to be in a high school filled with diverse opportunities. Make sure to explore what you are interested in, even if it may be daunting at first.
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