NEW LEBANON, N.Y. — Yuntao Ma, who hails from Dalian, China, has been named valedictorian, and Alexis Cooper of Matamoras, Pa., and Kekoa Lopez of Sand Lake, N.Y., have been named co-salutatorians of the class of 2012 at Darrow School, a college-preparatory school.

The three students, who have earned the school's top two academic honors, will be recognized at Darrow's baccalaureate ceremony on Friday, June 1, and at the 80th commencement on Saturday, June 2, in the historic Tannery building on the campus.

 

A three-year student at Darrow, Ma is the son of Jiefu Ma and Hairong Wang and has excelled throughout his time at the school. In addition to high academic honors, he has also competed on the school's tennis team for three years and on the cross country team for two years. A resident adviser in his dormitory, Ma has also volunteered at a local assisted-living facility as part of Darrow's Hands-to-Work program, which employs students in various community-service and campus-improvement endeavors. Academically, Ma has a passion for economics and business, which he will study when he attends the University of Washington in the fall.

 

Cooper, daughter of Barbara and Marshall Cooper, has also excelled at a number of different leadership positions during her time at Darrow, including as a dormitory resident adviser, as a prefect in admissions, math, fitness and activities prefect, and a core leader. In her senior year, she helped establish a new prefectship for college counseling, organizing materials, developing a time line to help undergraduates navigate the college-admission process, and organizing seminars for students and parents. An outstanding student, particularly in history class, she is also a soprano who has performed in the school chorus and the theater workshop. She has been a co-captain of the girls' soccer team and an editor of the yearbook. Cooper plans to attend Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., this fall.

 

Lopez, the son of Steven Lopez and Larrilynne Paguyo, has been a high honors student, a dormitory resident adviser, and has held a number of leadership positions, but his greatest passion and achievement has come through art. As a prefect in Darrow's Joline Arts Center, he has not only created a number of works that grace the campus and the galleries (a mixed-media work he created using one of his passions, origami, is now on display in the Heyniger Memorial Library), but he also manages the studio spaces and assists others with projects and technique. Additionally, Lopez was instrumental in helping facilitate the school's participation in Empty Bowls, a benefit for the local food pantry and Oxfam, by working with elementary school students to create ceramic bowls that were sold to raise funds. Kekoa will also attend Brandeis University.