Whiz Kid: Alex Trestyn, a Salutatorian

Name: Alex Trestyn

Age: 18

School: Yorktown High School

Accomplishment: Salutatorian of Yorktown High School Class of 2011

Key to Awesomeness:  

Alex Trestyn spent the past three summers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine Department of Radiology conducting scientific research on medical imaging software. This fall, Trestyn will be at Cornell University studying mechanical engineering or applied physics. 

Along the way, this salutatorian garnered several awards from science research competitions, including 2nd Place in Computer Science at Westchester Science & Engineering Fair 2011 and Regional Semifinalist of Junior Science and Humanities Symposium 2011. 

Trestyn was also recognized as an Outstanding Student of the Italian Language by the Westchester Coalition of Italian American Organizations. 

During the rare lull period between the conclusion of AP exams and his salutatory address preparations, Trestyn spoke with Yorktown Patch. 

Yorktown Patch: What motivates you to excel academically?

Alex Trestyn: I strive academically not only to maintain a high GPA and for college admissions but for a personal sense of pride in my work and efforts.

Patch: What is an advice you would give to parents who want to provide an optimum environment for their children to reach their academic potential?

AT: To let a student reach his or her maximum academic potential, parents should always show an interest in their child’s education yet try to avoid micro-managing their child’s work habits. Students should try to find an organized, (somewhat) quiet setting to get their work done, and schedule their time carefully. Let [children] find an extracurricular activity that appeals to them and identifies them as a true individual.

Patch: Describe a significant event related to an activity that you are passionate about.

AT: Every year, our Science Research teacher, Michael Blueglass, holds the Westchester Engineering and Science Fair (WESEF), the regional branch of the Intel Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). At this competition, students present their research and their findings to a number of professionals from different scientific backgrounds. Here, students gain insight from the professionals that volunteer, are awarded recognitions for their research, and even go on to compete at ISEF at a national level.

Patch: What was your favorite college essay? Please summarize your corresponding answer.

AT:  That’s a tough one… Honestly, it’s usually not “fun” writing all the different college essays. However, I did enjoy writing the general essay, in which I chose to write about a topic of my own choice. Since I enjoy playing (video) games in some of the spare time that I have, I used this essay to illustrate my work ethic and determination through the eyes of a gamer. I think that any essay that allows you to compare working on a Canterbury Tales project for English to surviving the zombie apocalypse in Left 4 Dead (a game) is pretty awesome.

Patch: Who is your personal hero and why?

AT: I would say that my personal hero is Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As president, he helped pull America out of the Great Depression, and successfully led the United States through most of World War II. Although he had his own flaws as a person and politician, I admire him for his strong will and perseverance in the face of adversity.

Patch: How are you preparing for your salutatory speech?

AT: I’ve just finished up studying for my AP exams, and I haven’t really haven’t had much time to think it over. I’ll probably go on YouTube to view several different motivational speeches, find a great quote I want to throw in, and practice enunciating my lines very carefully.

Patch: What are some of your goals in college?

AT: Cornell has a very large campus and numerous facilities; I want to be able to experience as much as I can during the time that I spend there. There are over 800 student organizations/clubs at Cornell, which will offer any student plenty to do. I might even try to start my own organization if I feel that it will have a strong following. On top of this, I would like to try learning a third language in college (Japanese seems to be very interesting), and I would also want to continue conducting scientific research during the summer.

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Nominations for Yorktown Patch’s Whiz Kids can be submitted to Plamena Pesheva plamena@patch.com and Christine An christinean.patch@gmail.com