This Week's Student Spotlight: Saljooq Asif

Age: 17

School: Nanuet High School

Key Achievement: Salutatorian of Nanuet's Class of 2011

The Salutatorian ranks the second highest in the class. However, when you read Saljooq's resume he appears to be second to none especially when it comes to math and science. 

Saljooq has received high honors all four years of high school.  He also has taken six AP courses: 

• AP European History
• AP United States History
• AP Calculus
• AP English Literature and Composition
• AP Biology
• AP French

He is a member of the Nanuet Green Team, Literary Journal, Math League, Academic League, National Honor Society, Foreign Language Honor Society, and Mu Alpha Theta (Math Honor Society).

Don't be fooled, Saljooq is not about all work and no play.  He is a Founding Member of Nanuet Quidditch Club. Quidditch is a fictional sport found and inspired by the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. With about a dozen members the club has gone on field trips and even challenged the boys lacrosse team. 

"Originally, the Quidditch Club began as a lunch-table discussion between all of our friends last year. Ultimately, the conversation about our favorite book series and the fictional sport led us to the idea of making a Quidditch Club devoted to the game. With the approval of the principal and after gaining an advisor, the Quidditch Club became an official club later that year thanks to our efforts. Equipment was made and specially designed t-shirts were ordered. Last week there was a Quidditch match between members of the club and other students and members of the boys lacrosse team. It was extremely intense and exciting, but as referee during the game, I was disappointed to say that the group made up of the lacrosse team won, with a score of 100 to 10," said Asif.

One of Saljooq's major accomplishments is his dedication to  the three-year science honors program Applied Science Research (ASR) at Nanuet HS.

The ASR program begins the summer between freshman & sophomore year requiring students to complete an extensive course load on their own over the summer. Upon returning to school, students have individual meetings with Teacher Thomas Danahy, the director of the program, at least once every eight school days where goals were discussed using proof of research. ASR classes are held every other day, and therefore the bulk of the research and actual work takes place at home instead of school. Arriving at those meetings, completing your goals, contacting researchers, and carrying out research are only of the few expectations from the honors course.

"I studied killer whales (Orcinus orca) and their vocalizations and movements within the Salish Sea with the help of my mentor, Dr. Scott Veirs, President of Beam Reach Marine Science and Sustainability School. My official research title is 'Determining southern resident killer whales' winter movement patterns using vocalizations.' The Salish Sea is located on the other side of the continent near British Columbia. I used underwater hydrophones to learn and carry out my study on the killer whales, " said Asif. (see Saljooq's ASR abstract below)

Due to this highly demanding course load there were only two students who completed the course senior year. On May 24, these students were honored at the held at the Nanuet Library.

His ASR has lauded him with the following awards and honors:

• Winner of the Zoology Award at the Rockland County 2009 and 2011 Science, Inventions, and Technology (SIT) Exhibition. 
• Semi-Finalist in the 2011 Young Naturalist Awards (YNA), offered by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), and open to both the U.S. and Canada.    
• Third Place Winner in the Environment Category at the tri-state 2011 Manhattanville Annual Science Competition (MASC). This was the first time a student from Nanuet High School won and the school was awarded a plaque as well.

"At competitions, I was intimidated to see huge, laminated poster boards with students in suits coming from big high schools. Our science research program is extremely small compared to other large high schools, and their science research programs receive much more support and donations from their schools and local companies. For me to win at a tri-state competition like MASC in front of those students and poster boards was stunning. I was not at all expecting to win and go above them, but even now I am still really happy that I represented my school and won those awards and honors for ASR," said Asif.

Saljooq continues to get recognized for his success. At the Senior Awards Assembly Saljooq received the Foreign Language Award, Social Studies Award, English Department Award, Science Department Award, Math League Award, and the President's Award for Educational Excellence.

He also won the American Legion Certificate of School Award, which recognizes the "high qualities of Courage, Honor, Leadership, Patriotism, Scholarship, and Service." He won the a Certificate of Achievement from the Rockland County Legislature, "in grateful appreciation for service rendered" to Rockland County as well. He won the New York Microscope Company, Inc. Biology Award, which is given to only one senior who has shown dedication and interest in the sciences.

Saljooq has worked as a Math tutor at the Kumon Math and Reading Center in Spring Valley.  In addition to being a tutor he has completed the Kumon Math program. The Math Program gives students the chance to understand and learn high level math outside the classroom, and prepares students for advanced mathematics. The Program consists of more than 20 levels, and he finished with Level O, the final level that includes advanced differentiation, applications of differential calculus, indefinite and definite integrals, and differential equations.

Upon completion of the program Saljooq received a $500 bond.

"I was given six packets of math work that I had to complete at home while I went one day a week to the Kumon Center to go over my work and continue the lesson. Kumon has been an enlightening experience, especially because much of the math taught to me at Kumon is more complicated and difficult. Now as a tutor, I enjoy helping students with math and teaching them the concepts that I was taught as well. Seeing students understand the math and all of the processes makes me really content, mainly because I've given them knowledge that no one can take away from them," said Asif.

It has been shown that Math & Science come from Left brain functions.  After reading about all Saljooq has achieved in math and science it can be argued that his left side is the dominant hemisphere. However, he has a very creative side as well. 

In fact, he was a recipient of the first-ever 2010 Edward Hopper House Scholarship for Artistic Curiosity.  (pictures of his artwork attached)

"The Edward Hopper House Scholarship was definitely a surprise and still means a lot to me. Literally, the award is supposed to recognize and support artistic love and curiosity, along with creativity. For this award, I was selected by my high school guidance counselor in consultation with my art and English teachers from last year. I really have respect for the scholarship and Edward Hopper House Art Center, because they know that art is not just some small, useless thing. They understand that art is important and love or affection towards it should be applauded, and I was extremely grateful to receive the scholarship. Art has always been a part of me since I was young and I still love to draw. Writing and English have also been one of my great passions as well. Drawing allows for an outpouring of emotions and creativity, while writing gives us the ability to communicate, defend our ideas, and effectively express our beliefs.  I am just lucky that my teachers could recognize and see my adoration towards the arts, and I owe it all to them for being selected," said Asif.

Where will Nanuet High School's Salutatorian go to study in the fall? It could not have been an easy decision, but in the end he chose Boston College. He got into the Honors Program in the College of the Arts and Sciences, which is open to approximately 140 students of the incoming class.

The other colleges that he considered and was awarded scholarships to were New York University, Union College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS), and St. John's University (full).

• "I really liked Boston College (BC) because of their rather secular atmosphere, their desire to grab everything and teach a variety of different subjects and topics. BC ultimately won because I was in the highly selective Honors Program, something I was not at all expecting, and because the college is located in the Boston area. Also, Boston College is a huge research university with many correspondences, and I would love to be a part of the research and soak up those experiences," said Asif.

Well done Saljooq. Best of luck with your future!

ASR ABSTRACT: 

The southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) that inhabit the Salish Sea have been well-documented and researched, and they are the only group of killer whales that are protected by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Their spring and summer ranges have been identified within the Salish Sea, and studies indicate that they have a high dependency upon chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), which peak from spring until autumn. However, the winter range of southern residents remains less-known and mysterious.

In order to assess the winter range of the southern resident killer whales and discover any correlations between winter movements and prey, I listened to five different live hydrophones made available by the Salish Sea Hydrophone Network and the WHO Listener Database Viewer and Annotator each day from December 25th, 2010 to February 12th, 2011, a period of exactly 50 days.

The total number of minutes recorded accumulated to more than 520 minutes, and after subsequent data analysis, I have come to the conclusion that the lack of southern resident vocalizations (specifically echolocation clicks) and abundance of acoustic pollution may support the idea that the whales do migrate to the central North Pacific in pursuit of salmon and possibly in order to evade the harmful anthropogenic noises that pervade the waters.

Ultimately, to be certain and to learn more information, more extensive studies must be performed on southern residents and their winter ranges.