Seaford High School Salutatorian Profile: Matthew Provenzano

The following is courtesy of the Seaford School District:

salutatorian Matthew Provenzano lives by the advice he recently offered underclassmen: “Take advantage of every possible opportunity. Try every club, every sport…expand your horizons because you never know where new interests will take you.”  

With a 110.612 weighted grade-point average and a host of leadership and extracurricular activities to his credit, Provenzano is heading to Cornell University this fall to study computer science.

Provenzano's success has been fueled by his passions — playing trumpet, reading political and historical non-fiction, working on computer software and hardware, and traveling. A leader among his peers, he was president of National Honor Society, president of Model Congress, and vice-president of Freshman Buddies, a support program for incoming high school freshmen.

His natural talent for public speaking of the Nassau County Theodore Roosevelt Public Speaking contest, the first Seaford has ever seen, and his talent as a trumpet player was evidenced in jazz band, pit band, community band and Brass Ensemble. He was also a marching band drum major and a member of the Tri-M Honor Society for music excellence.

His greatest achievement, he said, was winning the public speaking contest, something he worked towards throughout his high school career, particularly through his experience in Model Congress. There he made lifelong friends, had “a voice” and felt part of something special.

Provenzano earned a bevy of academic excellence awards and recognitions, including the President’s Award for Educational Excellence, the Principal’s Recognition

Award and the Award for Overall Excellence in Physical Education. He also logged in numerous hours volunteering as a tutor and fundraiser to benefit the community.

His drive for success, he said, stems from his greatest strength, his “endless persistence,” and his greatest weakness, “perfectionism.” But his greatest source of inspiration comes from his late brother Daniel, who is a constant reminder that “not only is every day a miracle, but that the most important day is today.”