Meet the Salutatorian: Comsewogue's Kelly Kosciuk

At Comsewogue's graduation ceremonies on Friday night, Kelly Kosciuk followed the advice that her principal Joseph Coniglione gave her: "Speak from the heart."

To the hundreds of students sitting before her ready to graduate, and to the thousands of people who had gathered to watch the ceremony, Kosciuk – who plans to study psychology starting in the fall at Stony Brook University – did just that.

"Never forget who you are and do not change yourself to become something you’re not," she said. "...Follow your heart and do what makes you happy. ... Embrace change but never forget the past."

Kosciuk earned the title of salutatorian with a 99.57 academic GPA. Throughout her years at Comsewogue she was an avid violin student, taking extra lessons outside school, playing in the chamber orchestra, and serving as vice president of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. She was also president of the National Honor Society, a member of Italian Honor Society, a member of the mock trial team, and a senior director of the annual A Night for Jason production. Outside school, she also participated in the Suffolk County 6th precinct's Police Explorer program.

Before she and her classmates collected their diplomas and threw their caps high in the air, Patch had the chance to ask Kelly a few questions about her success in school. 

Patch: What's your approach to school work and studying?
KK: I always made it a priority to have every assignment done and in on time, putting in the most effort possible with everything I did. As for studying, I knew if I didn’t study I would not do well on tests so I made it a point to read over my notes and other materials at least once before taking tests or quizzes. If I didn’t get a chance to study at home, throughout the day I would make it a point to try to look through as many things as possible to make myself feel more confident about what I was being tested on.

Patch: What's the most important thing you learned in high school?
KK: Hard work will pay off. 

Patch: What advice would you give to younger students?
KK: Do not fall into the bad habits of being lackadaisical when it comes to school work. Get it done! I will not lie to you and tell you I was never an offender of this. Unfortunately it is so easy to become a procrastinator but trust me, you will be happy you get your work done a head of time instead of at the last minute. You’ll be less stressed and have more hours of sleep.

Patch: What will you miss about high school?
KK: What I will miss most is seeing the familiar faces of everyone I know in the halls every day.

Patch: What are you looking forward to in college?
KK: I am looking forward to something new. College will definitely enable me to discover who I am and what exactly it is that I want to do in life.

Congratulations and good luck from Patch!