High school announces its top grads for 2017
Kingston High School seniors Finnegan Pike and Michael Liu have been named valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, of the school’s Class of 2017.
The Kingston school district announced the honors on Thursday.
Pike has a 102.32 grade average, and his courses this year include public speaking, creative writing, Advanced Placement U.S. government, AP economics, AP calculus, AP statistics, AP physics, and college accounting.
Liu has a 101.41 grade average, and his senior year courses include AP English, science fiction, AP U.S. government, AP economics, AP computer science, AP biology, and orchestra.
Pike previously attended Zena Elementary School and M. Clifford Miller Middle School, and he hopes to attend either the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Stanford University.
He served as founder and president of the KHS Science Olympiad Club, founder and president of the Robotics Team, vice president of the yearbook and co-president of the Math Club, among other leadership roles.
For the past three summers, Pike has interned at Pilz, a safety automation company based in Stutgart, Germany. Last year, he won $1,000 for his “Best City Solution” during a Hackathon, a 30hour online contest that challenges hackers to devise solutions to the world’s problems. Finnegan’s “Noisy or Nice” project created a networked sound meter to monitor noise levels in apartments and create nonconfrontational communication opportunities between neighbors.
Liu attended Harry L. Edson Elementary School and J. Watson Bailey Middle School.
An accomplished violinist, he has served as a concertmaster for both the KHS Orchestra and the College Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Liu is a member of the Northern Dutchess Aquatic Club and recently qualified for the National Club Swimming Association Junior National Championships, among other athletic honors.
A National Merit Scholarship finalist and two-time qualifier for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination, Liu served as co-president of the KHS Math Club.