Jericho High School's top graduates were honored at this year's graduation. Adam Kaufman was named co-valedictorian, Glenn Todaro was named co-valedictorian and Marissa Markowitz was named Salutatorian for Jericho's class of 2003.

Adam Kaufman was involved in many activities throughout his tenure in the Jericho School District. He was the vice president of both the Spanish and Latin Honor Societies, vice president of the Environmental Cause Organization, a goalie for the lacrosse team in grades 9 - 11 and was a member of Mathletes. Kaufman was also a peer tutor and a member of the National Honor Society.

Throughout high school Kaufman was very involved in Independent Math and Science Research. He was also founding member of the first Jericho High School team to compete on the Long Island Challenge game show sponsored by Cablevision and Newsday.

In his Valedictory address, Kaufman said, "...don't live in the realm of what is safe and familiar. Be willing to seek out experiences that do not fit neatly into any predetermined plan. Investigate life's twists and turns. Some of the most important things exist outside of our planning. Be open to things that you did not think you were going to do, but somehow appear and present themselves. Try things that you did not think you would try. Visit museums, volunteer at a community-based agency, read Kafka, go to a foreign film, invest your energies in helping others, join a play, become politically active - these sorts of things. If you come to something and say 'that's not really me,' ask why and whether that 'me' can't stand a little bit of stretching."

In the fall, Kaufman will be attending Columbia University as a Rabi Science Research Scholar where he intends to double major in Chemistry and Chinese. After he graduates from Columbia, he hopes to get a Ph.D. in chemistry and eventually work in academia or for a governmental agency like the National Institute of Health. He thanks his parents Celeste and Richard Kaufman for their support.

Glenn Todaro, co-valedictorian for Jericho's class of 2003 was very involved in a variety of activities. He was president of the Spanish Honor Society during his senior year of high school as well as a member in 10th through 12th grade. He was also involved in the Public Relations Club as a contributor from 9th through 12th grade and editor-in-chief of The Blue and the Gold, an annual PR magazine, in 11th and 12th grade.

Todaro was a member of the Blue Key Society, a charitable club that organizes an Annual Wheelchair Basketball Game and the Annual Senior Citizen Prom and participates in events/fundraisers for the Marty Lyons Foundation (5K run and Holiday Dinner) and the American Cancer Society (Relay for Life and several Breast Cancer Walks).

He was also a member of the National Honor Society, the varsity tennis team and varsity winter track. He also volunteered at the 2003 blood drives at the high school.

Outside of school, Todaro was a volunteer at North Shore University Hospital at Plainview, a Jericho Fire Department Junior Volunteer and a Robin Hood Country Day Camp Counselor: 9-12.

Todaro said to fellow students during his Valedictory address, "Fellow Jayhawks, as we begin the next stage of our lives, we should never separate ourselves from the difficulties and struggles of others, but rather engage ourselves in solving these problems; first starting small - at home, in school, in the community, and then eventually moving onto a grander scale. No trendy article of clothing, no luxury car, no extravagant mansion makes any one of us less responsible for the future of our world. For in the end, we are all only human: we were all born, we will all die, and in the meantime, all we have is each other - so let's make the most of it."

Todaro, who thanks his family and the fine teachers in Jericho for his success, will be entering the Honors Program at Saint Joseph's University in fall with a major in business. He plans to be very active in campus life and will be taking interactive service classes and engaging in service activities such as Project Appalachia and also plans to compete in intramural sports such as basketball and flag football.

Marissa Markowitz was named salutatorian of the Class of 2003. She was involved in every aspect of art in the Jericho School District. Art is Markowitz's passion. She also had a great deal of school spirit and was at all of the Varsity football and hockey games to cheer the Jayhawks on.

Throughout her high school years, Markowitz was involved with the prom committee, organizing pep rallies, planning homecoming, the Mathletes, the spirit club and the fashion shows. She was also a peer tutor.

Markowitz was also a founding member of the integrity committee at Jericho. The group, comprised of a select number of students, faculty and parents, designed an honor code for the district and decided on ways to discipline cheating.

"We have become so infatuated with the 'A plus' that we have forgotten the true purpose of school - knowledge. We should want to attend school to quench our thirst for knowledge not to meet a passing requirement ... As we further mature into adults, the connection between learning and testing will dwindle away; we will reach a point in our lives where we will read a book for the sole purpose of enriching our minds or solve a quadratic equation for the sheer pleasure of satisfaction," Markowitz said to fellow graduates and those in attendance at the recent graduation ceremony.

Markowitz will be attending Cornell University in the fall to major in textiles and apparel, or what she refers to as "a fancy name for fashion." "I have found my passion, intend to pursue art and design in college and hopefully it will develop into a career that I feel just as avid about. If I emerge with a profession in the artistic world, in which I possess the same if not more passion that I did for art in high school, I will consider myself successful."

All three students look forward to pursuing their dreams and attending college, but leave Jericho with fond memories and an excellent education.