Black excellence. Twin sisters at a New York high school graduated with 105.3 and 104.9 grade point averages.
Sisters Gloria and Victoria Guerrier were named valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively at West Hempstead Secondary School.
“We had been working for this for a long time but we never know what can happen in the four years,” Victoria said during an interview with “Good Morning America.” “So we’re very happy that it turned out the way we wanted.”
They excelled in other spaces as well. According to a press release, the Guerriers’ are co-authors of a research presentation with the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute for Standards and Technology; they were Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow finalists, as well as AP Scholars with Distinction. They were also par
t of the Teen Council of the community library, Sources for Strength, Athletes Helping Athletes, New York State Music Association, and the New York University Step Up program.The sisters also excelled in sports. The press release also added that they are All-Country and All-State in track and field; they also competed at the New Balance National Championships, and they received several votes for Nassau County Section 8 Athlete of the Year award.
“It’s like the saying, ‘How iron sharpens iron,’” Gloria said. “We really use each other to improve upon ourselves. I think that level of competition between us was what really helped us.”
“Their latest feat is just one of many accolades that they have achieved both in and outside of the classroom,” the school said in a statement. “They are in the top 5% of the secondary school’s graduating class and have never shied away from a challenging course load. Year after year, they have chosen and enrolled in the most rigorous advanced courses that were available to their grade level and excelled in them all.”
They will attend Yale, where they both will study computer science.