Meet our top two graduates

Kaitlyn Eisentraut and Lily Lerouge will lead their Class of 2024 classmates onto Faller Field for graduation Wednesday morning, after finishing first and second academically in their graduating class of close to 600.

Kaitlyn is No. 1 and Valedictorian. Lily is ranked second and Salutatorian. It was announced officially earlier this month at the Academic Awards Celebration night, when they were among the top scholars in the class graduating with honors. Even then, it was one of the worst kept “secrets” around, they both joked.

The top seniors academically always seem to figure out who is ranked where, though Kaitlyn and Lily say they haven’t paid much attention to it. But an invitation to the NY State Capitol in Albany, made it official. Kaitlyn and Lily, as Valedictorian and Salutatorian, were invited by NYS Senator Skoufis, who honored those in his district. 

They were presented with certificates by the Senator while on the floor, had a tour of the Capitol, took photos and went to the gallery to watch the U.S. Senate while in session. During this time, each student was recognized in front of the Senators during the session.  

Here is more about our Valedictorian and Salutatorian:

 

Kaitlyn Eisentraut is headed to Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, where she’ll major in Engineering - either Civil or Mechanical - and play lacrosse for its Division III women’s lacrosse program. She intends to then contract with the U.S. Army, where she’ll go on active or reserve duty after graduation.

The Norwich lacrosse coach reached out to Kaitlyn, and asked her to come up for a visit to the military college. Kaitlyn was intrigued by the military when she was younger, going back to when she attended Army football games at the United States Military Academy at West Point. When she experienced the Norwich campus, she fell in love with the school.

“I always like a challenge,” Kaitlyn said.

So it should come as no surprise that when Middletown started a girls’ varsity wrestling program this year, Kaitlyn was all-in. She even finished second in all of Section 9 in her weight class. This, after playing varsity tennis in the Fall. Come Spring, she was a captain on the girls’ lacrosse team, a sport she played since seventh grade.

Kaitlyn credits some of her academic success to being in the dual language program in elementary school, where English and Spanish were taught equally.

“I had to work a lot harder learning Spanish and English. So I think that might have helped to build the kind of character I have,” Kaitlyn said. “My biggest thing has always been to work hard and put in the most effort. I just tried my best and here I am.”

 

What you might not know about Kaitlyn:

Her hobbies: “Playing sports (lacrosse, tennis, wrestling), watching sports, video games, playing with my dog, drawing, working out, watching Netflix.”

Three famous people she would invite to dinner: “Aaron Rodgers, Serena Williams and Post Malone.”

Her inspiration: “My godmother inspires me because she was one of the strongest people I know and always had a smile on her face and gave her all for everything. She worked hard, was kind and loving, and just an amazing person.”

Her hidden talent: “I am a wrestler and won second place in the sections in my first year.”

If she could trade places with somebody for one day: “I would trade places with my dog because he seems so peaceful and he gets to sleep all day. I would also just wonder what it’s like to have his senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, etc.)

What she would tell my middle school self: “I would tell my middle school self to stay focused and stay on my own path. Just keep working hard and remember to smile.”

 

 

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Lily Lerouge will be attending Binghamton University, where she’ll major in Biology on a track where she’ll end up in medical school. She is considering a career in pathology.

“When I came into high school, I fell in love with the BioMed program, and in these last four years, I absolutely loved it,” Lily said. “Then I did SUPA (college) biology, and I loved it. I’m a science person.”
 

Lily first had a scalpel in her hand in middle school, doing a dissection of an animal heart. She likes the idea of a hands-on career. But she’s watched enough “Grey’s Anatomy” on television to believe operating on a live human would be too much pressure for her. She does, however, envision herself examining someone recently deceased for diseases.

“(Pathology) has always been something in the back of my mind since I was young,” Lily said. 

So was the day she first tried out for Middletown’s first varsity flag football team last year. She had never been on a high school team sport. Even the coaches were figuring things out, she said. Since everyone seemed to be learning at the same time, it created a very welcoming environment, Lily said. Almost like a family.

Lily says she has always been a good student, but paid more attention in classes when she got older because “I kind of always had a fear of failure.” So she did her work on time, always put in a lot of effort and believes that’s what helped her become the scholar she is today.

“I always try my best,” Lily said. 

 

What you might not know about Lily:
Her hobbies: “Piano, watching TV, reading.”

Three famous people she would invite to dinner: “Zendaya, Viola Davis, Suzanne Collins (author of Hunger Games).”

Her inspiration: “My mom inspires me the most because she always works hard. She is always able to provide for us and make sure we are comfortable no matter what.”

Her hidden talent: “I can do handstand walks.”

If she could trade places with somebody for one day: “My cat because she gets to sleep every day. All she does is sleep and eat.”

What she would tell her middle school self: “It’s going to get hard, but that’s just a part of life. Just pushing and being yourself. It will get better soon.”