Michael Torres is the Class of 2022’s salutatorian. I sat down with him to hear his reflection on the past four years and his projections for the future. 

What were some clubs you were involved in at Northport High School?

So, I definitely was involved with a lot of different clubs. A lot of them were STEM related. I was the president of Mathletes, Science Olympiad, and I was also the president of the Academic Team. I was part of the Robotics TEam, even though I didn’t have a leadership position in it, but I did work with the programming side of things and competed in the first competition this year. 

Are there any clubs or activities outside of school that you enjoy?

It’s technically still academic related, but, for example, I participated in the Stony Brook STEP Program which was an introduction to science and technology. And I did a ton of presentations for them. I was also part of the SPARK Internship Program for Brookhaven National Laboratory for some time. Other stuff I do outside of school is walk dogs and tutor. 

Who would you regard as the most influential teacher, advisor, or coach that you’ve had at Northport High School?

I’d probably say Mr. Perrico just because he really pushed me to further my understanding of math, and to really look into the deeper meaning of things. For example, instead of memorizing something, he really taught me to make sure I understand the thing fundamentally; to make sure you are able to reproduce it out of thin air.

Which college will you be attending, and what attracted you to it?

So I’m going to be attending MIT. What attracted me to that school was the student body. Everybody’s incredibly like-minded in the sense that they are eager to share their ideas, to learn new things from people. I do a lot of research with stuff that I’m unfamiliar with. And having people who are already familiar with that stuff is definitely a huge help to anything I really want to do. 

What do you intend to major in?

Although I’m not really supposed to choose my major yet, I’m 90% sure I’m going to be a pure mathematics major just because that’s what really interests me. 

Where do you see yourself in the future?

I intend to get a degree in mathematics and will probably be pursuing research. I’d probably get a teaching position as a professor as I’m doing that.

What advice would you give to incoming freshmen?

I’d probably say, take advantage of all the opportunities at Northport High School. All the teachers, if you start talking to your teachers and you get to know them well, that is going to open up different things for you. For example, I got to know the science department and the science teachers really well. I got a lot of research opportunities from that. I got to conduct my own research and then I got to use all that research to do community outreach projects. A lot of these new freshmen may be intimidated to go deep into the school infrastructure, but you should really take advantage of those opportunities.