Excelling both inside and outside the classroom, Nicole Velez and Aryan Chugh have been named valedictorian and salutatorian of East Hampton High School’s class of 2023.
Nicole “defines academic curiosity with a global perspective,” according to her guidance counselor, Marilyn Marsilio. Taking more than 17 honors and Advanced Placement courses, she has completed the rigorous A.P. Capstone program; when she graduates in June, she will do so as an A.P. Scholar With Distinction and recipient of an Advanced Designation Regents diploma.
Nicole is a varsity soccer team captain, president of the Interact Club, and officer of the Century and Key Clubs. She has interned with Immigration Legal Services of Long Island and the congressional campaign of Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming and has amassed close to 600 hours of community service. She represented East Hampton at the New York State Assembly’s Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute and as its Hugh O’Brien School Ambassador.
Aryan, meanwhile, is a unique and remarkable student who has “a true passion for learning” and goes “above and beyond” for the community, his guidance counselor, Jenna Pierro, said. He is captain and president of the Quiz Bowl team, an officer of the student government and mock trial competition team, and a member of three elite groups, the National Honor Society, the National Language Honor Society, and, as lead saxophonist and jazz band soloist, the Tri-M Music Honor Society.
He has racked up 150 hours of community service and raised thousands of dollars for a buildOn trip to Guatemala. Outside of school, he has undertaken cancer research, helped advocate for the passage of the community housing fund, and also volunteers with the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association. He is a National Merit Scholarship-commended student, has completed the A.P. Capstone program, and will graduate in June with an Advanced Designation Regents diploma.
Nicole will be attending Yale University in the fall. Aryan is still weighing his post-high school options.