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06/08/2016 08:30 AMAs East Haven High School’s (EHHS) Class of 2016 prepares for graduation night on Friday, June 10, Katie Schneer has been considering what she will say to her classmates when she gives a speech as the class valedictorian.
“I’d like to take the opportunity to impart some kind of meaningful message,” says Katie. “My goal is to discuss a problem that pertains to us and how we can fix it as graduates with high school degrees and the experiences we’ve had.”
While Katie is “very proud” of being named valedictorian, her experiences in high school reach far beyond the classrooms at EHHS. She is president of the Math League and is involved with the Peer Tutoring Club. Katie also volunteers at her synagogue every Sunday.
Katie played tennis her freshman, sophomore, and senior years, playing at No. 3 doubles as a senior.
“Tennis was an awesome experience,” says Katie. “It’s so nice to go outside and play after school each day in the spring.”
Katie also loves dancing. She has practiced at Wendy’s School of Dance since she was five. When she was a sophomore, she began working as a class assistant.
“It’s been a great experience and I’ve gotten to meet so many amazing students from three years old to other high school students,” says Katie. “I love dance and I want to continue with that.”
Art is another one of Katie’s passions. She has always enjoyed visual arts and drawing and built a strong relationship with her art teacher, Sara Cooper. Katie has taken a number of independent study art classes.
“We’ve become very close—Mrs. Cooper is a mentor for me and I’ve been working on my portfolio with her,” says Katie.
She also notes the influence of Jacqueline Albis, her English teacher, and her physics teacher, James Newton.
“Mrs. Albis is so energetic and an incredible English teacher who gets so into everything we were reading and doing so that was really contagious. Mr. Newton is really passionate about his subject—he is the coolest guy who tells us about exciting things he tries like tapping his trees for sap or beekeeping.”
Katie doesn’t have a favorite subject and is not yet settled on her college major, but is considering law school. Last summer, she visited numerous colleges, applying to 10 schools.
“I am very happy because I got into Princeton and the best part about that is feeling the hard work I put in finally paid off,” she says.
When Katie visited the school, she was impressed by the many “amazing resources,” including clubs, study abroad opportunities, an on-campus art museum, and studio art spaces. There are also a number of dance classes and dance groups.
“The art museum was incredible and I’ll definitely spend a lot of time there,” says Katie. “At accepted students’ day, the different clubs had performances and the dance groups were absolutely incredible. I got to meet the dancers and it was really cool—that was the first moment I could really see myself there. There are a lot of opportunities for me there.”
Katie heads to Princeton in the beginning of September. While she is unsure of her major, she is leaning toward economics.
“I’ll do a lot of exploring,” says Katie, who has received the Yale Club Book Award, the Princeton Alumni Association Book Award, the Connecticut Association of Schools Visual Arts Award, and the SCC Scholar Leader Award. “I’m sure I’ll find something that captures my interest over everything else.”
Katie has been enjoying her final days with her EHHS classmates and with her family. She credits her family for support and her three brothers for their inspiration and “friendly sibling competition”—her brother Andrew was valedictorian of the Class of 2011.
“I’m really looking forward to the future, so right now my excitement is overwhelming the sadness of leaving people behind,” says Katie, “but I will miss my teachers and my friends.”