PHS valedictorian, Jessica Goldschmidt, and salutatorian, Sydney Ogozalek are happy to share top honors with their childhood friend.
For Palmyra High School’s 2017 valedictorian Jessica Goldschmidt and salutatorian Sydney Ogozalek, receiving the honors of first and second place is a special experience. The students and friends both said it’s not about first and second, because the two know each of them has worked hard.
“We graduated preschool together,” Goldschmidt said. “We’ve been friends with one another for very long.”
Ogozalek said she had been at the top of the class for the past three years, which she knew having been invited annually to the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association dinner for the top students, but she dropped behind slightly this last semester. She said Goldschmidt told her she felt guilty for jumping ahead, but Ogozalek told her there was no reason to.
“I told her, ‘you worked just as hard,’” Ogozalek said.
Goldschmidt echoed the sentiment when describing Ogozalek. She said ending up at the top of the class with her friend is something special she’ll always remember.
“She’s a good person and deserves what she’s worked for,” Goldschmidt said.
For both girls, there is an immense sense of pride not only in each other but in their small school.
Goldschmidt said because Palmyra is such a small school, she was able to form bonds with her classmates that students at larger schools are not.
Between playing soccer, participating in Interact, playing flute in the band and serving on student council, Goldschmidt said she enjoyed getting to know a wide variety of her peers. Between her participation in numerous clubs and a heavy course load, Goldschmidt was constantly busy.
She said on any given night, she found herself doing quite a bit of homework, but she thinks her dedication has paid off.
“I’m going to take with me the work habits that I’ve learned at Palmyra,” Goldschmidt said.
Next year, Goldschmidt will take those work habits to Temple University where she will be studying music education.
Ogozalek is headed to the University of Pittsburgh to study nursing. She attributes that choice to her teachers at PHS who boosted her confidence and provided a strong backbone of support.
“My teachers were always so supportive of me that the idea of being a nurse was that I could be part of a support system for other people,” Ogozalek said.
Ogozalek said she anticipates college being quite a departure compared to PHS, as the University of Pittsburgh is about 30 times larger than Palmyra. She said that will be an adjustment coming off going to school with the same classmates for the last 13 years.
The Class of 2017 had a lot of differing interests, Ogozalek said. She said some of her classmates will attend community college, others are joining the military and some are headed straight for the workforce.
Ogozalek said she has grown up with this same group of people, but she knows as whole, she and her classmates are on to “bigger and better things,” which will be the focal point of her speech at graduation.
Ogozalek said PHS has caught flack in the past, but she sharply disagrees with any negative associations with the school. She said looking back on her time, she’ll remember the excellent teachers and growing up with the same close-knit community of students, which are experiences that can’t be said of every high school.
