Stephen Cozzone reflects on his time at WTHS before embarking on his next journey
Stephen Cozzone, Washington Township High School’s valedictorian, will be heading west to California next fall. Cozzone will be attending Stanford University, which is a feat in itself — Stanford has a 5 percent acceptance rate.
While he has his eyes set on the future, Cozzone recalled some of his best memories from his senior year of high school.
“One of the most memorable moments of high school had to be senior soccer season,” he said. “I didn’t play, but a few friends and I went to every game and it caused a movement with the students. In the final games of the season there were over 100 students in the student section.”
He added that soccer season was chock-full of “You had to be there” moments.
Cozzone is looking forward to starting a new chapter of his life at Stanford where he will study economics and math.
“I love the culture of the school,” he said. “Everyone there is super driven and looking for new solutions to problems.”
Cozzone then mentioned the academically challenging environment Stanford offers.
The thing that’s most appealing to Cozzone is the campus’ close proximity to Silicon Valley. After college, he looks to use the connections at Stanford to pursue a career in Silicon Valley. “After college, I’d like to get into entrepreneurship or finance. Investment banking and venture capital are options as well,” he said.
Silicon Valley is home to many startups that are fixtures in everyday life, such as Uber, Lyft and AirBnB. Cozzone could find himself being part of the next big startup.
He closed out his time at Washington Township High School by addressing the class at commencement: “When looking to the future, some of us may feel lost or nervous. If there’s one thing I aim to accomplish with this speech, it is to make you accept there is much that you don’t know. Rather than hiding from the unknown, we must embrace it. We must seek to love that which we do not know. We must find comfort in seeking discomfort. Ask that girl out, launch that new business, seek that degree.
“Four years ago, we were unsure of what high school might hold. Now we look back on our fears and hesitations and realize how unfounded they were. Four years from now, we will look back on tonight and realize our apprehensions were only small hindrances in our journey.”
