Seven years ago, when Alex Wagner and Paula Agulla were in fifth grade together at Weehawken’s Roosevelt School, there was no way that the pair would have ever dreamed that they would eventually finish first and second in their high school graduating class.
Especially since Wagner once moved away to Maryland and attended school there for a while. It wasn’t known whether she would return to Weehawken, but she did, to begin her sophomore year.
Neither young lady ever aspired to be the head of the class in high school.
“I didn’t set out to become the valedictorian,” said Wagner, who will deliver the valedictory address for the Weehawken Class of 2003 during commencement exercises Thursday night at the school auditorium. “It was never an idea. Even when I found out that I had a chance to be No. 1 in the class, I still worked as hard as I did before.”
“I never expected to be the salutatorian,” Agulla said. “It just sort of happened. But I’m really happy I did.”
Both young ladies admitted that there might be some competition for the top spot in other schools, but it never came into play between the two of them. They worked together on the school newspaper and the school yearbook (where Wagner was the editor). Both were members of the Math League and the National Honor Society.
In fact, it’s almost commonplace to have Weehawken High School students involved in a number of activities.
“You can’t really avoid it,” Agulla said. “You just sort of have to get involved.”
“For me, a lot of the activities just sort of happened,” said Wagner, who was also captain of the Weehawken Academic Team that won the Hudson County championship in March. “I had a friend who said I should try for the Academic Team, so I tried it. The yearbook just happened. It’s natural to get involved here.”
Wagner will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall, majoring in electrical engineering, but might also pursue a degree in communications to possibly work in television or radio broadcasting. She said that she was happy to come back to her roots to complete her high school education after three years in Maryland.
“Because most of the students were still here when I got back, I could fit right in,” Wagner said. “I think one of the great things about Weehawken is the amount of encouragement you get from the teachers. They all know you and know what you’re good at. If you have a problem, they will help you.”
“They push you to want to do well,” said Agulla, who will attend Rutgers University in the fall, majoring in Spanish. “Everything is so close knit. Everyone does everything together. If there’s one thing I will never forget about this school, it will be the teachers.”
Wagner said that she never got caught up in all the awards that she received during her high school days.
“All the plaques and certificates, I sort of just put in a box in my room,” Wagner said. “I didn’t think much of them. My life isn’t about getting trophies. But just recently, I opened the box and noticed that there was a lot of stuff in there. I didn’t realize how much I had accomplished. It was almost like I didn’t remember getting all these awards. It was nice to have them.”
Wagner said that she started to write her valedictory address, but was having some trouble in finding the right words.
“It’s really difficult thinking of what you’re going to say in front of everyone you’ve ever met, as well as strangers,” Wagner said. “It’s definitely starting to sink in now. I think I can safely say that it was a good accomplishment to be valedictorian.”
Both students said that they are ready to embark on their future endeavors.
“I think it’s really exciting to be going to a place where I will be surrounded by people who are scary smart, even smarter than me,” Wagner said. “I think that is so cool. I’m ready for the challenge.”
“I think I’m going to be in a state of shock, going from a class of 71 to a class of 13,000,” Agulla said. “It’s going to be a big difference and I might be dumbfounded. But I’m ready for it, definitely ready. I’m excited that it’s graduation time. It’s time to move on.”
The entire Weehawken High School Class of 2003, all 71 of them, will move on to the next chapter of their lives Thursday night.
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