Oxford High School Class of 2019 Valedictorian and Salutatorian Announced

Oxford High School’s 2019 Valedictorian Marawan Elgohry says not being a procrastinator helped him succeed in school. 

“Start assignments early, as doing so has always made my life easier,” said Elgohry, who will lead the Class of 2019 Commencement as valedictorian with fellow OHS student Siena Cizdziel as salutatorian. “I’ve also found listening to some instrumental music while studying has made time go by much faster and has made it much easier for me to stay focused.”

Valedictorian Marawan Elgohry
Photos provided by the OSD

Graduation is set for 6 p.m. on May 24, 2019, at the Tad Smith Coliseum on the campus of the University of Mississippi.

Elgohry is leading his class with a 4.69 GPA. He has chosen to attend Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia to study Economic Statistics.

He has also been recognized as a National Speech & Debate All-American, and a two-time Ocean Bowl National Competitor. At Emory next year, he said he is “looking forward to the new challenges that come with rigorous academic courses, especially in my chosen field of Math.

“I’m very excited to learn new techniques, new material, and new levels of analysis that come with these classes,” Elgohry said.

Elgohry is the son of Mona Haron and Moustafa Elgohry.

Salutatorian Siena Cizdziel

Salutatorian Siena Cizdziel

Salutatorian Siena Cizdziel has a 4.57 GPA. She has chosen to attend Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut to study Engineering.

She has served as the Envirothon captain, placing sixth and eighth international competitions, Lincoln-Douglas Debate Captain, two-time National Speech & Debate Qualifier, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Finalist and is an MIT Women’s Technology Program alumni.

“I’m looking forward to the wide array of classes that I’ll be able to take at a liberal arts college in subjects I’ve never really been exposed to before, like bioethics in law or philosophy,” Cizdziel said. “I absolutely love the interdisciplinary nature of Yale.”

When asked about her study habits, Siena said “I’ve always studied by going to a quiet place (alone) and teaching myself the material out loud. I’ll read over the notes, repeating important information until I have it memorized. In general, I try to understand and follow a thought process to get to the answer rather than rely on rote memorization. To do that, I’ll stop after important information and explain the information again to myself in my own words.”

Siena is the daughter of James and Liming Cizdziel.

Courtesy of the Oxford School District