This year’s 2018 valedictorian and salutatorian awards recognize seniors Max Knopping and Kaan Avci for their top GPAs.
Knopping, as valedictorian, has a cumulative 4.78 GPA. Over the course of his time in high school, he has taken 14 AP courses and 12 honors classes. Outside of academics, Knopping has been part of the cross country and golf teams all four years. He founded the Investors’ Club with Mr. Woodworth and junior Josh Kupferberg, and is also a part of the FBLA and Spanish Club. Over this past summer he was a counselor in training at a summer camp, completed a three-week business and engineering program at the University of Pennsylvania and worked at a startup that makes cauliflower pizza crusts.
“My biggest challenge has been managing my time well,” Knopping said. “It has been difficult to balance extracurriculars, school work and my social life. During junior year, I was regularly getting four hours of sleep each night. Sometimes I am forced to do things at the last minute because I am so busy during the day.”

Reviewing notes, watching YouTube videos and rereading the textbook helped Knopping earn high grades, he said.

“Pay attention in class, do the homework and try to actually learn the material instead of memorizing it,” Knopping said. “Sometimes, it can be difficult to keep up in every class, so not procrastinating can help a lot. I am very guilty of this. Also, don’t forget to enjoy yourself. Find activities and things that you are passionate about. This can help relieve stress and make the grind more enjoyable.”
“I will definitely use college to explore my career options.

My goal is to find a career that I love and that I enjoy each day,” Knopping said. “If you genuinely enjoy your work, it isn’t work at all.”

Salutatorian, Kaan Avci works equally as hard as Knopping. With a cumulative 4.72 GPA, taking a total of 13 AP classes and 10 honors classes, Avci has been able to balance his workload over the past four years. He is also a member of both the National Spanish Honor Society and National English Honor Society. Holding the role of President of the National English Honor Society, he has helped organize different service projects and activities, such as the Fall and Spring Showcases.

Kaan is a staff writer for the literary magazine, the Roundtable, while also devoting his time tutoring students at the Bethany Church in West Orange. He won the academic ShopRite star award the first marking period and the Rensselaer Medal, a $100,000 scholarship award to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute if he chooses to attend for college. He also was admitted to Rutgers Honors Colleges for Business, Arts and Sciences and Engineering with a full scholarship.

“Both Max and Kaan are not only amazing students, but amazing people,” AP English teacher Ms. Dunphy. said. “Each considers himself to be the proverbial science/math guy, but they are both so
much more.”