Westport’s Staples High School today announced that Matt Silver and Carolyn Chen are the school’s Class of 2012 valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.
Matt Silver and Carolyn Chen are the Staples Class of 2012 valedictorian and salutatorian. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
But both students find time for other activities besides studying. Matt is a national Scrabble champion. Carolyn serves with Westport’s Emergency Medical Service. Both are avid musicians, and participate in many other activities as well.
Matt will deliver the valedictory address during graduation ceremonies on June 19. Carolyn speaks the night before at baccalaureate.
A lifelong Westporter, Matt’s interests in math and Scrabble were nourished first at Long Lots Elementary and Bedford Middle Schools.
“I love to solve problems,” the National Merit Scholar finalist said. “I’m an inquisitive person. I like analyzing how things work, and seeing how problems get fixed. In math I can draw ideas together to produce an end result that may lead to a solution that could improve the world.”
Math teachers Bill Walsh and William Wilkes have been particularly helpful in developing his problem-solving skills. “The entire Staples math department is passionate about their subject,” he noted.
The Staples math team and Moody’s Mega Math Challenge enabled Matt to hone his problem-solving skills. So did Scrabble.
“Every turn is a different experience,” he said of the game. “The placement on the board, analyzing your tiles, figuring out your opponent’s options – it’s all very interesting and stimulating.”
After becoming the only two-time National School Scrabble champion, he decided to share his knowledge and skills with others. In 10th grade Matt began tutoring middle schoolers to compete in the tournament. He teaches youngsters how to study words, improve strategy and work efficiently on two-player teams.
Matt also gave back to the Staples math team. As the captain and only four-year member this year, he worked with younger members while also competing against area schools.
Many teachers inspired Matt, including ninth grade English instructor Julia McNamee. “She got me interested in reading, and brought my writing to a higher level,” he praised.
Matt loved his language classes too. “Communicating with another culture is very valuable,” he said. In the summer of 2010 he lived with a family in Spain for a month.
A violinist since 4th grade, Matt finds music “relaxing.” He enjoys playing first violin in the orchestra – but that’s not the only “team” he was on. Matt played tennis through 11th grade, and made the freshman soccer squad.
He also found time to volunteer with Harbor Watch at Earthplace. He led a group of high school students testing water samples. Healthy water is “an essential but unappreciated” quality, he said.
After tutoring younger students this summer, Matt heads off to Princeton University. He may major in engineering or applied math, though he knows there are “lots of choices.” Matt is eager to “explore new ideas, meet new people, and find new areas” of study.
Carolyn Chen moved to Westport from Long Island the summer before eighth grade. After a year at Coleytown Middle School, she continued her love of learning at Staples. Math and science appeal to her –- “they’re puzzles,” she said -– but she also is an avid reader.
She cited all her teachers as important influences, noting, “They all inspire me in different ways.”
That includes non-academic subjects. Camille Eskell’s classes have taught Carolyn how to analyze art, as well as create it.
A gifted musician, Carolyn spends every Sunday playing violin with the New York Youth Symphony. They perform at Carnegie Hall several times a year. “That’s the best feeling ever,” she said. “The acoustics are incredible.”
Yet she also finds time to serve as an Emergency Medical Technician. She became interested in emergency medicine when her grandmother was badly injured in a bicycle accident. “I was young, but the EMTs were my heroes,” said Carolyn. “Medicine is not in my future, but I wanted to be part of a team like that.”
As a freshman she took the intensive Medical Response Technician course. She was awed by the way Westport’s ambulance crew simultaneously handled medical crises, human emotions and the mentoring of EMT students.
When she was younger, Carolyn wanted to be an astronaut. She’s a quarter-inch too short –- and her eyesight is not good enough -– so now the AP Scholar with Distinction has set her sights on engineering. “It spans many fields,” she explained. “Maybe I’ll do something in the area of acoustics.” Carolyn will be attending Princeton University.
Before that, though, she and valedictorian Matt Silver have speeches to write. Given their backgrounds and achievements, that should not be the toughest thing they’ve done.
You may be too short to be an astronaut, Carolyn, but you’re tall enough to reach any star you can possibly imagine. So, reach as far, high and wide as your dreams will take you, and I promise you that you’ll soar.