Two students have left their mark on Mamaroneck High School’s halls among an extraordinarily gifted group. The class of 2024’s Valedictorian Boaz Farscht and Salutatorian Noah Sodickson should be proud of their accomplishments at MHS. These students overcame challenges and achieved academic excellence while demonstrating a tireless work ethic and commitment to their goals both in school and outside of the classroom.
Over the course of four years, Boaz Farscht continuously demonstrated leadership and determination in and outside the classroom. Farscht excelled academically despite a challenging course load, including AP Physics C, Span- ish 4 Honors, and AP Statistics. Farscht found AP Physics C to be an enriching experience because the class was not about memorization. Instead, he explains AP Physics C challenged him to think “creatively and deeply about each problem.” Furthermore, Farscht found himself enjoying classes he originally assumed he would not be fond of. Spanish 4H, AP Macroeconomics, and AP Statistics are all classes where Farscht appreciated the content despite original hesitations.
Outside of academics, Farscht has dedicated countless hours over the past four years to community service. As a four-year member and current President of the Washingtonville Tutors, Farscht balanced his challenging course load and found time to assist others. He stresses the satisfaction he feels towards helping others, and attempts to contribute to the community whenever possible. Additionally, Farscht dedicated his Physical Education class period to helping MHS’s special needs community. He has worked to support students of Adaptive PE which connects both students with and without disabilities to work in a school setting. Farscht explains this to be one of the most rewarding experiences of his time at MHS. This interest in inclusivity in physical education followed Farscht outside of MHS as he held and volunteered at various basketball clinics with elementary students in addition to volunteering at Backyard Sports Care where he played a variety of sports with special needs kids.
Farsct emphasizes his gratitude to the teachers of the MHS community. He shares “Edmundo Nunes, Peter O’Byrne and how this contributed to his personal success.” He is also extremely grateful for the support his parents have provided him over the years and explains a great deal of motivation comes from them.
Farscht explains that some of the biggest takeaways from his high school experience include the power of hard work, self motivation, and always reaching out for help from teachers and peers with schoolwork.
This fall, Farscht will attend the University of Chicago, where he will study Physics and Mathematics. Fascht hopes that he will “stay true” to himself and his authentic interests as he enters this next stage of his life and believes that “having an open mind” will allow him to achieve his goals.
Throughout his time at Mamaroneck High School, salutatorian Noah Sodickson demonstrated a dedication to achieving his academic success. While Sodickson enjoyed the range of advanced placement classes Mamaroneck has to offer, he found himself drawn to physics and other STEAM-related fields.
Outside of the classroom, Sodickson found time to explore his STEM interests through his personal Original Science Research project which acted as an outlet for Sodickson to explore his interests in physics and astronomy. Outside of the work Sodickson completed as part of the OSR curriculum, he found great value and comfort in the OSR community as well. He felt mentored and guided by the upperclassmen throughout his time as a sophomore and a leader of the program during his senior year.
Despite Sodickson’s vast achievements, Sodickson explains that his academic success was the result of hard work and dedication and concedes that it was sometimes difficult to maintain a social, emotional, and academic balance. Still, Sodickson has found time to pursue his interest in cinema, referring to himself as a “movie-buff,” and arguing that the perfect way to block out school stress is watching a classic movie.
Next year, Sodickson will be attending University of Chicago to pursue physics and possibly computer science. In the future, he sees himself pursuing a career in academia focusing on physics or combining his knowledge of physics and computer science in the tech field. No matter the path he ends up following, Sodickson hopes for his “passions to guide” his future career and is looking forward to the journey ahead at college and beyond!
