Top 2 at Center Moriches High School

Center Moriches High School recently announced Jillian Ryan as its Class of 2023 valedictorian and Emma Morris as its salutatorian.

Ryan has a 104.99 GPA and will be attending Cornell University majoring in environmental engineering. Morris has a 104.18 GPA and will be attending Providence College majoring in biology.

Ryan is a well-rounded student who excels in the classroom and is involved in several extracurricular activities. She currently serves as the vice president of the Class of 2023, where she collaborates with her peers to organize fundraisers. Her academic excellence has led to her involvement in six honor societies: the National Honor Society, English Honor Society, Foreign Language Honor Society, Math Honor Society and Science Honor Society. Throughout her high school career, Ryan has consistently been named to the Academic High Honor Roll and has been recognized as an AP Scholar with Honors. Her extracurricular involvement extends to the Ecology Club, Friends and Buddies Club, Future Teachers’ Club and Peer Leadership Club.

Ryan is an active member of the Center Moriches community. She is a volunteer with the Moriches Bay Project, where she helped improve the water quality of the Moriches Bay through fundraisers and beach cleanups. Additionally, Ryan is a manager at Barn Blue family farm and a head counselor at Pony Camp, where she gives horseback-riding lessons and teaches children how to care for animals.

Salutatorian Emma Morris is an exceptional student who is highly involved in Center Moriches athletics. She is the president of the Science Honor Society and a member of five other honor societies, including the National Honor Society. Outside of the classroom, Morris is an accomplished student-athlete as a member of the varsity basketball and softball teams. Morris has received several post-season honors in both sports, including all-county and all-division designations. Additionally, she was named an all-county academic athlete by Section XI.

Morris is involved in many Center Moriches community organizations. She is a softball counselor for the Moriches Bay Little League Clinic, a basketball counselor for the Moriches Youth Organization, and currently serves as a Town of Brookhaven baseball scorekeeper.

The district congratulates Ryan and Morris for achieving the top academic honors of the Class of 2023 and wishes them the best in their future endeavors.