The Class of 2016 will forever leave their legacy as one of the more academically gifted classes in recent history, and their salutatorian, Alok Puranik, is another example of this exemplary scholarship in this clearly exceptional class.

“It’s a great honor […] just because this class has so many accomplished students and really to be recognized for my achievements is great in that respect because there are so many people qualified for something like this,” Puranik said.

With his successes in hand, Puranik will be attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with a planned major in mathematics and computer science. He believes MIT offers a community where students are encouraged to challenge themselves and work towards the ultimate goal in the field of their choice.

“It really has a culture of people who enjoy pushing limits and driving themselves […] that kind of appealed to me because I feel like there is so much further I wanna go and I need an environment where I can keep doing that,” Puranik said.

While never shooting for a high GPA, Puranik tended to challenge himself throughout high school with vigorous coursework and did his best to achieve high marks in classes such as AP European history.

During college, Puranik hopes to continue his love for research, most specifically in the topics of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Socially, he hopes to meet like minded individuals, and has already enjoyed this during preview weekends at the college.

Regarding a potential career, Puranik hopes to work in a lab or company where artificial intelligence is being used, citing companies such as Google and Apple as potential locations to begin a career.

Beyond his coursework at WA, Puranik was a member of the jazz band for several years, playing the alto saxophone, while also playing the tabla, an Indian drum. He also enjoys hiking when not playing music or working on academics.

Teachers such as  history teacher Mrs. Kanvanaugh, who helped Purnaik get to a point where he could not only learn to enjoy the material he was learning, but he also learned to love that material.

“The passion they show for the subjects really made me interested. […] Even in classes like English where they haven’t necessarily been my passion, the teachers made it so interesting and something I really wanted to learn,” Puranik said.

Puranik felt that his parents allowed him to develop self awareness in academics by easing up on the pressure to achieve, allowing him to handle and appreciate his own successes.

“They definitely kind of instilled that culture of holding myself to a very high standard and pushing myself […] they definitely had a great influence on getting me to where I am today,” Puranik said.

Puranik also found an occasional push from friends certainly didn’t hurt to help keep him on the right track, collaborating with friends such as Michael Colavita, class of 2016 valedictorian.

Lastly, Puranik is thankful for attending WA and is ready to move on to the next part of his young life.

“There are too many people to thank. It has been a great experience […] I feel like WA did prepare me well for where I’m about to go,” Puranik said.