Madeline Seidman ’13 first opened the Staples High School student handbook on the long bus ride home from her first day of freshman year in 2009. Outlined inside the blue spiral-bound guide were the qualifications necessary for high honors upon graduation.

“Well that would be spiffy,” Seidman thought.

Little did she know, being announced valedictorian four years later far surpassed “spiffy.”

“I was so happy I started crying a little bit,” Seidman said. “Then I asked if I could still sing with the choir at graduation after I make my speech.”

On Feb. 15, Seidman was called down to the office during period five to be given the honor. With the announcement, Seidman becomes the first female valedictorian in recent memory—predating at least 2008.

“I knew I was a contender, but didn’t know my rank until it was told to me,” Seidman said. “My grade is full of really smart and motivated students; it’s hard to know where you stand until late junior year.”

Among those other smart and motivated students is Robert DeLuca ’13, who was also called down to the office on Friday. While Seidman was told she ranked No. 1 in the class, DeLuca learned of his No. 2 ranking, crowning him the 2013 salutatorian. This means DeLuca will give a speech the night before graduation, at the class’s Baccalaureate service.

“I was shocked and really kind of amazed,” DeLuca said. “I pretty much went around laughing at everything for the next thirty minutes, and I had no idea who to tell or how to tell people.”

However the word gets out, both Seidman’s and DeLuca’s past four years of work are self-evident. While neither of the two chose to disclose their grade point average—in fact, DeLuca claims his GPA is “classified military information”—between them, they’ve taken 17 Advanced Placement classes and 24 that are designated honors.

“I can’t tell you how much total time I’ve spent working on school because I’m not exactly sure how I’d define that concept,” DeLuca said. “Does singing Italian in the shower count?”

Still, Seidman and DeLuca are not all about school. DeLuca is co-captain of boys’ water polo and co-hosted this year’s pep rally, and, yes, while Seidman has had to “pull [her] fair share of all nighters,” she is also an active member of Staples Players and has been involved with 16 musicals and plays in her Staples tenure.

“Some weeks (like during ‘hell week’ of a Staples Players show) I’m in Staples High School for 14 hours a day,” Seidman said. “I really do like school—even though I occasionally complain about lack of sleep.”

Next year, Seidman will try to get a better night’s sleep as a freshman at Williams College. For DeLuca, however, plans for college are still being determined.

“Honestly, I’m pretty confident that I will find a vibrant intellectual environment at whatever school I end up attending,” DeLuca said. “As for the future, who knows? Hopefully life will be exciting.”

And for upcoming Einsteins, while Seidman suggests taking a rigorous courseload of “classes you love,” DeLuca voices a bit of a different stance.

“The best advice I can give to an aspiring high honors student is: don’t aspire to be a high honors student. Aspire to learn, aspire to be well-rounded, and aspire to be passionate about what you are doing,” DeLuca said. “Titles and competitive distinctions are great, but they are emergent properties of your experience in high school. Your experience should be a reflection of who you are, and, perhaps most of all, it should be fun.”