YORKTOWN, N.Y. - No one else was home when high school senior Michelle Tomassi found out she was valedictorian so she told her dog.
When she did tell her parents that she would be Yorktown High Schools top graduate they were proud and shocked.
It didnt hit me at first, not immediately, she said. My mom kept saying I knew it, I knew it and all my Dad said was Youre joking. Youre joking. But they were really excited.
Tomassi said she assumed valedictorian would be her or one of a few other students. When she found out in September she said it helped to jump-start her senior year.
While at Yorktown High School Tomassi was involved with The Voice, the student newspaper. She has also contributed poetry to the literary magazine, Soupstone. Tomassi said she plans to pursue something that involves writing when she attends Boston College in the fall.
Ive always liked writing, its been a passion of mine for so long, Tomassi said.
Looking back on her four years of high school, Tomassi said being a participant on the MSG Varsity show, The Challenge to answer trivia-like questions was definitely a highlight.
It was a really great experience for me, Tomassi said. Plus it was really fun to be on TV.
Tomassi, who has an older brother and younger sister, said she enjoys reading the Twilight series in her spare time though authors including Shakespeare and the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens are among her top favorites as well.
Tomassi said she plans to major in English at Boston College.
I like the idea of a liberal arts school because Im still not completely sure what I want to do yet, so I figured it would give me enough room to figure things out, Tomassi said. But I definitely want to do something with writing or journalism or maybe publishing.
Tomassi described herself as a hard-working student and said she feels a sense of pride when she does well in school. She participates in extra-curricular activities such as volunteering and writing.
My parents didnt really push me to do well, they have just always praised me when I did well, so I think thats part of it, she said. And just the sense of accomplishment I feel personally when I do well in school has pushed me to do well in school.
Before her move to Boston, Tomassi is taking the summer easy to get ready for the transition.
Though she admits to senioritis, Tomassi said she still hasnt fully closed the book on high school yet.
Ive had senioritis for a while so Im ready to graduate, she said. But it still hasnt really hit me that its over. I pretend like Im totally okay with leaving and that Im ready, but well see what happens when I get there.
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