The Nassau County Council of School Superintendents honored the valedictorians and salutatorians from 55 Nassau County high schools at the annual Academic Honors Breakfast on June 3.

The Levittown and Island Trees School Districts were pleased to have taken part in the ceremony that was attended by Island Trees Superintendent James Parla, Levittown Superintendent Dr. Herman Sirois, Island Trees High School Principal Dr. George Goldstein, Division Avenue High School Principal Dr. Harry Chertok and MacArthur High School Principal John Bifolco and the honorees parents.

Island Trees High School Valedictorian Daniel Apgar's reputation preceded him from middle school, and since then, he has never missed a beat. His academics speak for themselves as does his impressive activity sheet. His involvement in multiple school programs and outside activities are quite impressive as are his rank in class and SAT scores. Apgar's warm personality and shy smile are represented in his contact with his peers as well as faculty members. He constantly is available to assists others when asked, no matter what the assignment.

Apgar has been an integral member of the Science Olympiad Team, winning seven regional medals and two state medals for the school's Robotics Team. He is in the National Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society and is a National Merit Scholarship Commended Student. He is also an avid bowler, winning several tournaments for the school team.

Apgar plans on majoring in Engineering at Hofstra University in the fall.

When you hear the name Hallas in the halls of Island Trees High School, you automatically associate it with intelligence, but you also think vibrant. Salutatorian Lindsay Hallas has a personality and smile that can brighten a rainy day. She is the type of person other people like to be around. Since day one in the high school's building, Hallas has paved her own way as a student, athlete and all-around campus participant.

Academically, she has taken almost every AP class Island Trees offers. In the classroom, she is inquisitive and always willing to learn new things. She earns every grade she receives and never takes her intelligence for granted. Outside of the classroom, Hallas has been busy, involving herself in school clubs such as Student Council, Key Club and the Human Awareness Club, while playing soccer, track and field and bowling. Outside of school, she was a member of the Empire State Gymnastic Team, winning several awards. She is also a member of the National Honor Society.

Hallas will attend Cornell University later this year, majoring in Bio-chemistry.

Smart, funny, witty, charismatic, polite, outgoing - these are adjectives that only brush the surface when describing Sabbir Liakat. Sabbir is this year's valedictorian at Division Avenue High School. He is not a student that attempts to get by solely on his qualities; he possesses the motivation to further advance his knowledge and his understandings. Sabbir is graduating with a weighted Grade Point Average of 101.8300. In addition to his academically outstanding record, Sabbir's interests go beyond the scope of schoolwork.

He has been involved in extracurricular activities during his high school career. He has won regional competitions for DECA in public speaking and he has been very active on the Mathletes team. He also loves to play basketball and soccer and to write poetry. He plans on majoring in computer engineering and will be attending Hofstra University.

To quote Sabbir, "you don't have to get every problem right in order to be an exceptional student; it's all about the willingness to understand." Sabbir is an exceptional student, for he has taken the most rigorous academic program offered at Division Avenue High School and he is graduating first in his class. Sabbir's readiness to try new experiences and always keep a positive outlook, despite the outcome, is reflective of maturity beyond his years.

Thomas Davis has been named salutatorian of Division Avenue High School's Class of 2005. Throughout his high school career, Tom has demonstrated excellence both in the classroom and on the athletic field.

Academically Tom is a diligent student, taking the most challenging courses available and meeting with success across all subject areas. He understands the importance of his education and has made schoolwork a priority in his active life. He is a member of both the National Honor Society and the Spanish Honor Society and has tried to make room in his schedule to explore his talent in art as well.

Athletics are also a very important piece of Tom's world. At Division, he has played Football and Basketball and is a five-year veteran of our Varsity Lacrosse team. Tom's greatest athletic accomplishments have been earned in Lacrosse, specifically his participation on the Long Island Empire State Team in his sophomore and junior years and his selection as an Honorable Mention All-American last spring.

Tom will be attending Princeton University next year where he will surely continue to build upon his record of success.

Eric Lai, the valedictorian of the class of 2005 with an average of 103, is one of those rare students who excel academically in all areas. He is a National Merit Finalist who achieved 1600 on his SAT exam in one sitting in junior year along with scores of 100 on seven Regents examinations and 99 on the other three, and yet, he is also one who was nominated to be homecoming king, generating loud cheers from the crowd of students at the game. Fascinated by airplanes as a young boy when he traveled back and forth between Taiwan and the United States, Eric has pursued that interest with college courses in Engineering, Advanced Mathematics and Physics begun each day long after other students have retired from schooling. Through several colleges, Lai has completed 15 college courses (with a 3.9 index) totally apart from the additional 14 AP courses he has taken at MacArthur High School. This year Lai marked an historical milestone for MacArthur High Sschool when he was invited by the United States Department of Education to apply for the honor of being named a Presidential Scholar, an honor for which only one half of one percent of all of the graduates in the nation are eligible.

Respected for his ability but also admired for his humility, Lai is always ready to assist fellow students. Lai is the president of the National Honor Society and the Historian of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. He plays the oboe, the piano and keyboard in the Band, Marching Band, Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Band, Winter Wind Ensemble and Chamber Club, all of which have earned him awards in music throughout his high school career.

Lai's facility for problem solving has led him to both Mathlete competitions and the Science Olympiad. For the past four years, he has been engaged in a Science Research Project at Stony Brook University. A student of the Chinese language, Lai has captured awards in that discipline as well, named to the Association of Chinese Schools Student Honor Society, and winning second place in a Chinese Oratorical Contest and First Place in a Chinese School Dictionary Contest in the Senior Division, when he was just a sophomore.

He has selected Stanford University where he will study Engineering.

The salutatorian of the class of 2005 is Gregory P. Rosen with an average of 101. Gregory has juggled seven Advanced Placement Courses with a plethora of activities in all areas. For the past two years Greg has maintained a position as a laboratory intern at the DNA Learning Center in Cold Spring Harbor where he sets up labs, cultures bacteria and arranges for DNA extractions. An avid student of politics, Rosen has worked as a student intern in the office of Nassau County Legislator Dennis Dunne Sr. He is a debater with Model Congress, a pioneer member of Amnesty International, a fundraiser for American troops in Iraq and a peer leader. As a junior, Greg was selected for Student in Government Day in Nassau County where he participated with Town legal representatives during their hours of operation on a normal day. He captained the Trivia Challenge Team who appeared on the Long Island Challenge on Channel 12. He is the recipient of the George Washington University Award for Academic Excellence in Applied Science and Mathematics. A skilled writer, Rosen has been honored for his poetry in the New York State Poetry Contest, in the Garden City Irish Heritage Competition, in Levittown Education Against Destructive Decisions and as a sports writer on the school newspaper.

Rosen also holds down a position as an office assistant in family practice medicine. During summer vacations, he has worked as a camp counselor for three years, and he has also been a soccer referee for the Levittown Soccer Club. In his local temple, he tutors in Hebrew. He is a varsity receiver and defensive back on the football team and plays shortstop for the Levittown Seniors Community League. He plays varsity halfback on school soccer and participates in both the 4x4 relay and shot-put events for Winter Track. He has also played varsity doubles on the MacArthur Tennis Team.

He has been accepted as one of only 15 students admitted to a prestigious B.A./Law Degree at George Washington University and has not ruled out his one dream - to become president of the U.S.