Two students who developed a passion for learning at a young age have been rewarded for their hard work, determination and exemplary character as the top two graduates of Wantagh High School’s Class of 2027. Lauren Furer, with a weighted grade point average of 109.417 is the valedictorian, and Matthew Como is the salutatorian with a GPA of 109.009.

They both got their start at Wantagh Elementary School and have been on a trajectory to greatness ever since. A few weeks after their senior year began, they were each called down to Principal Dr. Paul Guzzone’s office to get the good news, followed by phone calls to their parents. Lauren and Matthew both admitted being a bit surprised, knowing how many high-achieving classmates they have, but were also proud of the accomplishment. 

In June, Lauren will graduate with 17 Advanced Placement courses on her transcript. She said AP Biology has been one of her favorite classes in high school. In addition to a rigorous academic schedule, she has been involved in many extracurricular activities. Lauren is a violinist in the orchestra, president of Model Congress, a two-time medalist for Science Olympiad, four-year player on the varsity tennis team including a two-time MVP, a member of the Academic Team and has been selected to the National, Science, Tri-M Music and World Language (Spanish) honor societies. 

Lauren has done science research over the past two summers at The Zeglis Laboratory at Hunter College in Manhattan and was part of a team that authored a paper published in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal. After high school, she would like to pursue a career in neuroscience. Her primary interest is cognitive neuroscience and Lauren would like to earn a doctorate to either practice psychiatry or conduct research. 

Matthew will graduate having taken 16 AP courses, and said his favorite classes were biology and physics. He plans to attend college to study biomedical engineering with a goal of working for a company that designs new medical technology, and is considering earning a Master’s of Business Administration degree. Over the summer, he did research at Hofstra University studying eye-tracking technology. 

Music has been a primary interest for Matthew, who plays the trombone in the brass ensemble, jazz ensemble and marching band. He is co-president of the band council and earned All-County honors as a sophomore. Additionally, Matthew is a three-sport athlete, including four years on varsity cross-county, four years on varsity swimming and a co-captain for the coming season, and a member of two Long Island championship lacrosse teams. He also is part of Science Olympiad and has been inducted into the National, Math, Science, Tri-M Music and World Language (Spanish) honor societies. 

Lauren and Matthew are both original members of the Science Research Academy, which launched during their freshmen year. They have participated in Toshiba ExploraVision and Barcode Long Island competitions, and this year plan to enter their research into the Regeneron Science Talent Search. Shared accolades include being named AP Scholars with Distinction and National Merit Semifinalists, as well as pursuit of the AP Capstone Diploma, Seal of Biliteracy and Seal of Civic Readiness. Lauren is a recipient of the Harvard Book Award and Matthew earned the RPI Medal. 

Outside of school, they have both volunteered with the Wantagh Public Library, assisting with summer reading program events. Lauren has taken part in cleanups of the local Twin Lakes Preserve through Environmental Advocacy and Matthew has volunteered at St. Francis Hospital, works as a lifeguard and has run in several local races including the Freaky 5K and Wantagh Warrior 9/11 Memorial 5K. 

“They put a lot of time and effort into getting to this point and what’s important to remember is not necessarily the GPAs that they got, it’s that work ethic that they have and their commitment to achieve at a high level,” Dr. Guzzone sad. “It’s not just about academics for them; they’re also very involved with the school.”