Samantha Pierre never dreamed she would ever be able to apply to Harvard University in Massachusetts, never mind attend. But when she was encouraged to go through the intricate application program and interview in front of the admission’s committee, the Weehawken High School senior figured it was a chance of a lifetime.
“I really thought I was going to go to William and Mary,” said Pierre, the valedictorian of the Weehawken Class of 2004. “I actually felt a little pressure that I was number one in our class and not going to an Ivy League school. I wanted to keep up the tradition and it wasn’t happening.”
Pierre was given the opportunity to apply to Harvard again after she was originally placed on the waiting list. So she went for the interview in early May to see what might happen this time.
“They told me that they would call me on the 27th of May,” Pierre said.
Pierre didn’t receive the call that day. The next day was the Weehawken senior prom.
“After the prom, we all went away for the weekend, so no one could reach me,” Pierre said.
But the admission’s committee was trying to track Pierre down to give her the good news. There was no letter of admittance, just this phone call. And she was nowhere to be found.
“I guess they called my home and the school looking for me,” Pierre said. “But they couldn’t get me. I was away for the entire weekend.”
When Pierre came back to school on Tuesday, she was called to the office by Weehawken Principal Dr. Peter Olivieri and guidance counselor Cathy Campen.
“They told me that Harvard was trying to reach me and that I had been accepted,” Pierre said. “It was such a feeling of disbelief. It still doesn’t feel real yet. I will always remember how I learned.”
Pierre is not the first Weehawken valedictorian to attend Harvard. Jennifer Altarriba, who was the valedictorian of the Weehawken High Class of 1999, recently graduated from the school.
“I knew Jennifer when we did ‘Annie’ together and I was in seventh grade,” Pierre said. “I was one of the orphans and she was Miss Hannigan.”
Pierre was one of the most active Weehawken seniors in recent years, having played on the softball team for four years, the basketball team for three and the girls’ soccer team for two. She was a member of both the yearbook and school newspaper staffs. She was a member of the school marching and jazz bands, playing alto saxophone. She was also a member of the National Honor Society and the Academic Team.
Pierre said that she was motivated to excel by a very competitive senior class.
“We were always comparing grades,” Pierre said. “It was pretty cut-throat, but also a friendly competition. I knew I was number one in the class two years ago and I had to make sure that I stayed there.”
Another member of that determined senior class was salutatorian Jorge Janampa, a native of Lima, Peru, who entered the Weehawken school district at age eight and worked his way up through the class ranks.
“I learned a small amount of English before I came here,” said Janampa, who will attend Boston University and pursue a double major in history and political science, with the hope of one day going to law school. “But it was very hard back then. I got a C in reading in second grade. It was the only time that ever happened.”
Janampa said that he learned English quite rapidly and became a much better student.
“I used to go to the [Weehawken Free Public] Library a lot,” Janampa said. “I always liked learning. I learned more just by reading for fun. I was interested in planes, history and wars. I also learned a lot by simply watching TV. I was getting straight As by third grade.”
Janampa was such a good student by the third grade that he skipped fourth grade. He continued on the road to academic excellence every step of the way, until his salutatory address at graduation last Thursday night.
“I really think it all came pretty naturally for me,” said Janampa, who was also a member of the school band, eventually becoming a trumpet soloist. “I never did like competition much, but learning that I was number two in the class really made me feel so smart. I feel fortunate that I was given the chance to prove myself.”
Janampa was a member of the school’s French Club, the International Club, played soccer for two years and was also a member of the school’s Academic Team that captured the Hudson County championship for a second straight year and recently competed in the nationals in Washington, D.C.
Janampa also kept busy working at the library as a clerk, getting paid for doing what he loves doing most, reading. “I never thought it was possible,” Janampa said.
A lot of things are possible in Weehawken, like a native of Peru becoming the graduating class’ salutatorian or the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and Haiti working her way to the head of the class. “I think it shows that we definitely live in a land of opportunity,” said Pierre, who remains undecided about what she will major in at Harvard. “You can achieve anything if you remain focused and work hard. It really doesn’t feel like we’re graduating. Maybe it will hit me later on, but it’s like a dream right now.”