By Ashley Shulman
On Feb. 10, principal Ms. Susan Elliott called seniors Allison Kornrich and Dominique Tricarico to her office to name them valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively. Neither of the girls expected these honors. Tricarico said, “It’s all very surreal. It’s a huge honor, and I am still getting used to it all.”
Both believe balance and hard work were central to their academic success. Tricarico said, “Even though I do work really hard, I think it’s very important to have balance. I try to have a healthy mind in addition to getting good grades.”
Kornrich also said taking classes she was interested in helped her maintain a high average. She feels that since she was passionate about what she was learning, she was motivated to work hard.
Kornrich feels that South’s faculty played a huge part in helping her throughout her high school career. She said, “By having really good teachers, a strong support system and a great relationship with my guidance counselor, I was able to find my focus and what I wanted to do.”
Tricarico agrees that South’s competitive environment helped her thrive and that having great relationships with her teachers helped her succeed. Both were also very involved in extracurricular activities. Kornrich is a president of DECA and is a head coordinator of Fashion Show.  She feels that fashion show was one of the highlights of her high school career and helped her learn how to balance school work and other activities.
Tricarico was a captain of the swim team, which she feels helped her deal with all of the stress of high school. She said, “Swimming is very therapeutic for me. That’s why being the captain on the team was one of my favorite high school experiences.”
Both Kornrich and Tricarico are looking forward to giving  speeches at graduation. Kornrich said, “This whole experience has been very surprising and unexpected, but I am very happy and honored to be valedictorian.“