Byram Hills High School proudly announced that this year’s valedictorian is Grace Lin and the salutatorian is Daniel Ndocaj.
“Congratulations to Grace and Daniel on being named valedictorian and salutatorian of the Byram Hills High School Class of 2024,” said Principal Christopher Walsh, who announced the names of the top-ranked students to applause during graduation rehearsal on June 12.
“The achievement is a testament to their hard work, dedication, and excellence throughout their four years at BHHS,” he added. “Their perseverance and commitment have truly been remarkable.”
The students, who have the highest weighted GPAs, will each deliver a speech at graduation on June 20.
Grace will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and plans to double major in mathematics and computer science.
“It’s an honor to be named valedictorian among such a talented graduating class,” Grace said.
“My teachers at Byram Hills have been remarkably supportive and dedicated. I’d like to thank them, along with my fellow classmates, for always inspiring and motivating me.”
Byram Hills, she said, has prepared her well for life after high school. “My teachers have taught me to constantly strive for improvement in all aspects of my life,” Grace said. “I’ve learned from the passion and dedication of everyone around me - both the teachers and the students.”
A mathlete since middle school, Grace has represented the Westchester Area Math Circle (WAMC) in many national and international competitions. In her junior year, her WAMC team won first overall at the Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament, and she was captain of the WAMC team that won second overall at the Girls in Math at Yale competition.
Grace qualified for the rigorous American Invitational Mathematics Examination all four years of high school, and was invited to the Math Prize for Girls, where the top female high school scorers nationwide compete.
She also volunteers with WAMC, teaching math to middle school students and encouraging them to think in new ways when solving problems. Grace, who founded a summer math program and taught a year-round program, won the WAMC Community Service and Leadership Award.
Grace is part of the three-year Byram Hills Authentic Science Research Program, and her award-winning work was published in the journal Environmental Challenges. Her research
used mathematical models to quantify the recreation use value of U.S. natural lands to help guide data-driven environmental policy decisions.
At Byram Hills, Grace is co-captain of the Math and Academic Challenge teams. She is also a member of the Cum Laude Society, which recognizes outstanding academic excellence, the World Language Honor Society for Spanish, and the Mu Alpha Theta mathematics honor society.
As a junior, Grace won the Harvard Prize Book Award, the Byram Hills mathematics award for outstanding junior, and the Science Research award for outstanding junior. As a senior, she won the Abe Shahim Science Research Award.
Beyond academics, Grace is a dancer. She has been training in ballet, contemporary, lyrical and jazz since age 7 and has won numerous group and solo awards in regional and national competitions.
Daniel will study materials science and engineering at Columbia University.
“I am honored to be named salutatorian,” Daniel said. “It's gratifying to see my hard work realized in this achievement. I’m very grateful for the unwavering support of my teachers, family and friends.”
Daniel said Byram Hills has “enabled me to pursue my passions and nurture my curiosity.” He added: “It’s given me a solid background in the skills necessary to thrive beyond high school.”
At Byram Hills, Daniel is vice president of the Mu Alpha Theta mathematics honor society, co-captain of the Academic Challenge team and was part of a team that reached the national semifinals his sophomore year, co-president of Science Olympiad, and a member of the World Language Honor Society for Italian.
He is also part of the three-year Authentic Science Research Program. With his work that demonstrated an approach using nanostructures to produce brighter images that could help scientists with gene and cancer research, he was a semifinalist in the prestigious Regeneron Science Talent Search.
Daniel is a member of the Cum Laude Society, which recognizes outstanding academic excellence, a candidate in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program and a National Merit Scholarship finalist.
As a senior, Daniel won the Byram Hills Award for Excellence in Science and the World Language Award for general excellence in Italian. As a junior, he won the Harvard Prize Book Award and the Byram Hills Award for Potential in Science.
Just as he did with his science research journey, exploring various topics until he found what interested him, Daniel urges younger Byram Hills students to keep an open mind and pursue different areas. “High school is the time to explore and discover new passions,” he said.