By John Seidenberg
The top ten students of the class of 2021 at Londonderry High School are about to embark on their chosen fields of study as the next level of education approaches.
The students will be honored at a Top Ten Dinner in June. They will be recognized at the LHS Graduation June 11 on the school campus.
The Londonderry Times asked each about their plans and interests.
Valedictorian Madison Walden is the 2021 class president and has held that position in her class all four years of high school. She has lived in Londonderry since age 4. In the fall she’ll attend Boston College with a planned Political Science major. As a class project through her AP government teacher Vera Prough, who teaches social studies, Walden volunteered on both the Buttigieg and Biden campaigns in the state and continued doing so beyond the class given her interest in politics. She also has worked with the American Cancer Society Relay for Life helping raise funds to fight cancer.
Salutatorian Caden Elghazal plans to attend Northeastern University in Boston, pursuing a combined degree of computer science and math. He has lived in Londonderry for six years, having been born in Dallas, Texas, before moving abroad with his family to Lebanon, Africa, and Mexico. Elghazal returned to the United States at age 8 living in Massachusetts before coming to New Hampshire. He creates songs and does longboarding for enjoyment.
Finishing third in the class Adhvika Arunkumar will pursue a biomedical engineering major at Case Western Reserve University and has a conditional acceptance to the School of Dental Medicine in hopes of becoming an orthodontist. She is originally from Massachusetts and at LHS was involved in the robotics and math teams, and international club. Arunkumar had internships at TiE Young Entrepreneurs in Boston, with BAE Systems, and with Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals. Her interests are STEM, history, and literature, and she gardens in her spare time.
Jordan Galluzzo, who was the fourth highest student, is preparing to attend the University of Miami to study marine science and biology. Londonderry is her hometown and she attended all four years at the high school. Galluzzo was captain of the volleyball team, and has been on the boards of several groups including the community service and student activities clubs.
Fifth in the class, Delaney Root is attending Northeastern University in the fall with a major in cellular and molecular biology. At LHS she was involved in cross country and track all four years. With the pandemic the girl’s indoor track team was unable to go to outside meets during this year’s season but continued to hold practices without them. Root also was a reporter for the Lancer Spirit Online, the school’s student news site.
Nicole Longua, who finished sixth, is interested in biology and chemistry. She is still deciding between schools and plans to go into the sciences, working in research and technology. She is a three season varsity athlete and has done cheerleading and track. Longua was captain of the cheerleading team for six seasons. She also is president of the National Honor Society, was on the math team, in the student activities club, and is a class officer. She is an avid reader and looks forward to seeing more of the world.
The seventh class member, Carly Butler plans to attend Boston University for biomedical engineering. Her interests are math and science. At LHS she participated in the math team, National Honor Society, and has been a class representative. Outside of high school Butler has been a dancer for 13 years at Londonderry Dance Academy.
Londonderry native Katherine Marshall was eighth in the class. She will be attending Clemson University and majoring in biology and mathematics with the intention of following a pre-med track. In high school she was involved in several extracurricular activities, such as Project Lancer where she was historian, secretary of the National Honor Society, and class representative. Marshall played basketball all four years.
Sarah Clegg, who was the ninth student, will go to St. Louis University and plans to major in criminology. A native of Rochester, NY, she moved to Londonderry at age 4. She played basketball throughout high school and was a member of the community service club and a student representative. Clegg also has done volunteer work. Outside of LHS she was a rides attendant at Canobie Lake Park in Salem, a sales associate at Vans, and a crew chief for elementary and middle school recreational basketball games.
Ranked 10th in the class Emma Detellis has been in the Londonderry School District since kindergarten. She will attend the University of South Florida in Tampa, majoring in environmental science and policy. Detellis also hopes to play on a club team in college having participated in varsity volleyball throughout high school and been a co-captain in her senior year. She was secretary of her class, took part in the Big Buddy Program with South School, and was a member of the Green Council club.