Here’s the buzz out of Bridgehampton High School this week: Ayanna El has been named its 2022 valedictorian and Grace Turza its salutatorian.
By this year’s graduation ceremony, Ayanna will have completed nine Advanced Placement, honors, and college-level courses. She is a consistent member of the high honor roll and the recipient of a perfect attendance award. A skilled volleyball player, she received a Suffolk Zone Award for achievement in physical education and a Thomas Cutinella Memorial Foundation Service Award, which goes to athletes showing high character.
She is also a member of the Bridgehampton Marimba Ensemble, Council of Young Adults, Friends of Rachel Club, Future Farmers of America, Genders and Sexualities Alliance, National Honor Society, Oceanography Club, Robotics Club, and Student Council. She hopes to study psychology in college, with the goal of becoming a teen counselor or therapist.
Grace has also taken the school’s most rigorous classes and has received numerous awards over the past three years. She was recently named a 2022 National Association of Plant Breeders Borlaug Scholar and volunteers to help teach third and fourth-grade coding classes. After school, Grace is an officer of the National Honor Society, Student Council, and Culture Club. Her aspiration is to earn an undergraduate degree in history and later attend law school.