Ward Melville HS Valedictorian And Salutatorian Announced

EAST SETAUKET, NY — Ward Melville High School officials have chosen Chana Lyubichas as the Class of 2021’s valedictorian, and Allen Hu its salutatorian, according to a Three Village School District news release.

Lyubich is described by school district officials as a dedicated scholar, musician, and volunteer. She is a “talented violinist” who takes private lessons furthering her studies and plays with the school’s chamber orchestra, school district officials said. She is also a member of the French Honor Society and attends the SchoolNova where she studies math, physics, and Russian, according to school district officials.

Lyubichas plans to take a gap year to attend seminary in Israel before she attends Northwestern University as an undecided major, school district officials said.

Hu has also shown “incredible academic ability,” according to school district officials. At the end of the school year, he will have completed 13 Advanced Placement courses, as well as numerous honors-level electives that have sparked his curiosity, school district officials said.

Hu plans to attend the University of Virginia as a history major, but he has a deep interest in science and math, school district officials said. He has volunteered at Stony Brook University Hospital since 2017, where he took Human Anatomy Honors and Human Physiology Honors, which “was a fantastic opportunity for him,” school district officials said.

Hu has also received the President’s Volunteer Award, and he was acknowledged by the hospital in 2020 for more than 500 hours of volunteer work, according to school district officials. A member of the French and national honor societies, Hu has placed first and second in the State Division B Science Olympiad, as well as first and seventh in the Regional Sci-O Tournament, school district officials said.

Hu has conducted summer research in 2019 and 2020, completing a project on bacterial associations with diabetes. He enjoys playing the piano.