CARTHAGE, NY — On behalf of the Carthage Central School District, High School Principal Emily Remington-Burker is pleased to announce its academic leaders for the Class of 2023.
Our Valedictorian is Hannah Elizabeth Makuch, daughter of Charles [Chip] and Heather Makuch, of Carthage, NY and our Salutatorian is Corey William Decker, son of Troy and Kristyn Decker of Watertown, NY.
As the top students in the class after 3 1⁄2 years, Hannah achieved an average of 99.575%, and Corey attained an average of 99.278%. The Carthage School Community wishes to congratulate the Makuch and Decker families on these worthy achievements.
Designated as the top student in the Carthage High School’s Class of 2023, Hannah’s academic accomplishments are showcased by her receiving President’s List honors at JCC [2020-2023], the George Eastman Young Leaders Award [2022], membership in the National Honor Society [2022, 2023], and Elks Club Student of the Month [September 2022]. As a highly motivated student, Hannah also earned the Seal of Bi-literacy [2023] for Spanish. She received the “Flight Path Scholar Award” from Hartwick College based on
her academic achievements.
As an involved and dedicated member of the student body, Hannah is involved in many school-based and extracurricular activities. From her freshman to senior year, she served the Class of 2023 as its President. In that role, she’s a member of Student Government [9-12]. She was also hand selected to represent the Class of 2023 as a member of the Superintendent’s Advisory Council. She participated in Math Club [12], Spanish Club [9-12], and Carthage All-Sports Booster Club [9-12]. Hannah is also a member of Carthage Youth Coalition [12], Key Club [9-12], and Future Business Leaders of America [FBLA] as its Secretary [12]. As part of these various club activities and as a member of the Social Studies 12 Honors class, Hannah collaborated with her peers for numerous events, such as: Backpack Program, Powder Puff Football Game, Elementary Fun nights, Veterans Day Dinner, Blood and Can Drives, Carthage Circus, Key Club Fall Rally, and the Copenhagen Pee-Wee Basketball Tournament.
As a student-athlete, Hannah was a member of the Varsity Soccer [11,12] and Varsity Basketball [9-12] teams, where she received awards and accolades for both, including NYSPHSAA Section III Scholar Athlete-female for both soccer / basketball [2022-2023] . As a member of the soccer squad, she was appointed Captain [12], Exceptional Senior [12], Frontier League Honorable Mention [12], 3x WWNY Athlete of Week JV [10] and Varsity [11,12] and Scholar Athlete [9-12]. During the winter sports season, Hannah performances on the hardwood earned her MACSFA MVP [12], Frontier League All-star [12], Exceptional Senior [12], Scholar Athlete [9-12], and 2x Carthage Athlete of Week [11,12]. She was also named a team captain her senior year.
As a member of the Carthage Trap Shooting Team [7-12], Hannah finished 2nd in conference-female, 5th in state-female, and qualified and shot in Nationals in Mason, Michigan [individual and team] her junior year. She also shoots for the Northern Tier Adults League.
A community-minded individual, Hannah illustrates this through her participation as a Alter Server at Lady of Sacred Heart [5-9], a volunteer at the Annual Irish Festival, Carthage Middle School 4-H After School Program [spring 2023] and Advisor of Fitness club [12]. She also found time to be an accountant intern at Stebbins Engineering & Manufacturing [summer 2021, 2022].
The District wishes Hannah countless future achievements at Hartwick College in the Honors Program where she will participate in the Accelerated Bachelors Degree Program to double-major in Biology and Business Administration on a Pre-Med track to become a Reproductive Endocrinologist.
Ranked second in the class, Corey’s academic accolades include being a member of the National Honor Society [11,12], AP Scholar [11], President’s List Honors at JCC [11, 12], Math League School Champion [9,10,11,12] all 4 years], Section III Senior Scholar Athlete [12], and the American Legion Academic Excellence Award [9]. He was also named Elks Club Student of the Month [12]. Corey was selected to attend the HOBY leadership conference [summer 2021] and participated in the American Legion Boys’ State Convention [summer 2022].
Actively involved in JROTC, Corey’s participation in and achievements include: Executive Officer, Member of Drill, PT, Color Guard, Marksmanship, Archery, and JLAB Quiz Teams [9-12], Superior Cadet Award [10] and Association of the US Army Achievement Award [11]. Additionally, the JROTC events in which Corey participated included Winterfest Carnival, Carthage Parade and the 5k SLAM Run.
As a student-athlete, Corey was a member of the Varsity Soccer [10-12], JV Soccer [9], and Varsity Lacrosse [9-12] teams. In soccer, he was Team Captain [12] and earned Frontier League All Star Honorable Mention [2022]. In lacrosse, Corey was the starting goalie for his four years of high school. He was appointed Team Captain [12] and also received accolades as 2nd Team Frontier League [spring 2022].
Besides being an active member of our school class and club activities, Corey has served as CHS Student Government President [12] and Class of 2023, Treasurer [9-11]. He participated in Whiz Quiz [11, 12], Whiz Quiz Team Captain [12], IMPETUS Engineering Club [11, 12], Math Club [9-12], Math Club treasurer [12], Spanish Club [10-12], Spanish Club treasurer [11], Key Club [9-12], FBLA Club [12], Film Club [12], and Sustainability Corps [12]. As a member of the class, clubs, and Social Studies 12H, Corey participated in various events / programs to support the school and surrounding community. These included: Trunk or Treat, Exceptional Games, School Orientation Guide, Blood Drive Volunteer, Carthage Youth Lacrosse & Flag Football Coach, Salvation Army Bell Ringing, CCSD Backpack Program, Sorting Compost, and Elementary School Carnivals/Events/Collections.
Outside of school-related activities, Corey has demonstrated commitment and leadership as a Cub Scout [K-3], Boy Scout [4-11], Eagle Scout [12], and a Senior Patrol Leader [10-12]. He also organized a county-wide Eagle Scout Flag Collection and Retirement ceremony. Corey also helped to create a scout campsite and participated in trail preservation & cleanup. For the last three years, Corey has been a waiter/server at the “The Coal Docks” restaurant in Cape Vincent.
The District wishes Corey great success at Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] next fall on a Space Force ROTC scholarship to study electrical engineering.
The Carthage Central School District and Robert G. Wallace Chapter of the National Honor Society will present Hannah and Corey with award plaques and gifts to signify their outstanding achievements.