Valedictorian & Salutatorian

Lisa Cardillo, Principal and Fred Hutchinson, Assistant Principal of the Taconic Hills Junior/Senior High School are proud to announce the Valedictorian and Salutatorian for the Taconic Hills graduating class of 2023.

Haley Olson, the daughter of Bruce and Eileen Olson and sister of Luke Olson of Philmont, has been named Taconic Hills Class of 2023 Valedictorian. Haley is a member of the National Honors Society, and was president of the Foreign Language Club. She spends her summers working at Eger Brothers Farm Stand. She has participated in varsity cross country, volleyball, swimming, alpine ski racing, and outdoor track. She has been co-captain of the swim team,  outdoor track, and captain of the alpine ski team. Haley was on the Catamount Alpine Racing Team for eight years. Haley has been a high honor student and scholar athlete throughout high school.  She was the recipient of the math, science, and English achievement award for maintaining the highest overall three year average.  Haley received the Rural and Small Town Recognition Award for outstanding performance on PSAT and AP exams in a rural area. She is currently attending the Questar III New Visions STEM Program where she spends her mornings at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute(RPI) in Troy, New York taking a college class. Haley will attend RPI in the fall where she will pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering.

Emma Avenia, the daughter of John Avenia and Margaret Bower-Avenia of Hillsdale, has been named Taconic Hills Class of 2023 Salutatorian.  In addition to being salutatorian, Emma has participated in both club and varsity swimming throughout her high school career.  Emma was the co-captain for the swim team and holds the Taconic Hills school records in 500-freestyle, 200-freestyle, and the 400-freestyle relay. Emma is the historian of the National Honor Society and spends her free time volunteering for a non-profit organization called Hathaway’s Helping Hand. Every day she works to further her education at the Bard Early College program in Hudson, NY. Emma plans to attend a four-year college, and is currently undecided in her field of study.