Sewanhaka Central High School District

New Hyde Park Memorial High School has named Laurence Lai and Emma Ouyang as the valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, of the Class of 2022.

Throughout the school building, Laurence is regarded as a determined and focused student who goes above and beyond to succeed. In ninth grade, he applied and was accepted to the district’s prestigious Instrumentation and Automation program, where he has been taking college-level engineering courses in addition to a full schedule of AP and advanced classes. He displays leadership skills through his role as vice president of Mathletes and is an active member of Science Olympiads, Service League, Spanish Club and the varsity rifle team. Outside of school, he serves as vice chair of design for the New Hyde Park Asian American Community of Culture and is a volunteer web designer for the New Hyde Park Chinese Association. Laurence is also a project leader of the MasksNOW initiative of the Youth of Ethical Societies Long Island, assisting in supplying fabric masks to local places in need. Additionally, he virtually tutors younger students on chemistry and biology through the Alliance of Youth Leaders.

Emma is recognized as an intelligent, determined and personable student with exemplary academic and extracurricular accomplishments. She was selected as a semifinalist in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program and has been part of several esteemed programs, including Columbia’s Science Honors Program, the Institute of MERIT Math Research Program and the Northwell Health Nursing Exploration Program. She is a member of Mathletes, the Lance Yearbook, National Science Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society and the varsity cross country and track teams. Emma is also an accomplished violinist and is a current member of the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, All County Orchestra, the New Hyde Park String Ensemble and the Sewanhaka Central High School District Orchestra. In addition to her academic studies and extracurricular activities, she works diligently to make a difference in her local community. Emma is the current president of the New Hyde Park Asian American Community of Culture, where she has been responsible for social media outreach and leading Lunar New Year celebrations. And, during the summer of 2020, she taught second and third graders basic music principles through Zoom