Meet Coginchaug High School's Valedictorian and Salutatorian

Politics and health care.

They are two of the most talked about topics in daily life and for two of Coginchaug High School's brightest students, they are a future.

Seniors Carli Wallace and Justin Etheridge, both of Durham, have earned the distinction of being the Class of 2013's valedictorian and salutatorian.

This fall, Wallace, the school's top student, will head to the University of Connecticut to start a career path in medicine. She hopes one day to be a neurologist.

Etheridge will attend American University in Washington D.C., where he plans to study political science. His future will undoubtedly include some role in the Beltway.

Wallace and Etheridge have been friends since the fourth grade and are co-presidents of the French Honor Society. She's also a member of the National Honor Society and the Shoreline champion Coginchaug Quiz Bowl team while he's a member of the ECO and Diversity clubs at the school.

Patch caught up with the pair this week for our "Top of the Class" interview:

Patch: What will you remember most about Coginchaug?

Etheridge: I will certainly remember the educators at Coginchaug the most. I've found a lot of great people working as teachers and they've been inspirations to me in a lot of ways.

Wallace: I feel that the community has been most beneficial to me. I've never felt really uncomfortable or shy around these people because I've known them for so long and I can really be myself.

Patch: What's unique or makes you proud to to be a member of the Class of 2013?

Etheridge: I think we have a really compassionate class. We've grown up in an interesting time. We were in first or second grade when 9/11 happened. There's been a decade of war, a recession and economic troubles and recently the tragedy in Newtown, so I think we have a class that really notices what's happening in the world and really cares about it.

Wallace: We have a really active group of kids.

Patch: Is there someone in your life that's influenced you?

Wallace: My step-dad has been a pretty big influence. He's always pushed me to be more than I thought possible and he always said that I was going to do great things. He was the one that really influenced me to do those great things.

Etheridge: My parents of course. They have been there for me in so many ways,   being supportive of the decisions I've made. My history/government teacher (Mrs. Selberg) has been a huge influence in my life because I want to go into political science. She sort of opened those doors for me and changed the way that I look at the way people interact and how we live in this world.

Patch: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Wallace: I will be completing a fellowship at a hospital, hopefully with a focus on neurology. Let me see, 28? Yeah I will have been done with med school at that point.

Etheridge: That's a scary question. I hope to be working in D.C. for interest groups, advocacy groups, hopefully in the legal department. I hope to work my way up. 

Patch: What will you miss most about home?

Wallace: Hopefully some other people at UConn will bring their cars so we can drive down to the Durham Fair. The Durham Fair is so much fun.

Etheridge: I'll definitely miss the fair but I think I'll miss the school the most though. I'll miss the people here. You've been with them so long it's amazing. We have such a perfect size, we get to know everybody's name and what they like and who they are and appreciate them.