Mayor Menino, School Committee and Superintendent Payzant honor Boston's Valedictorians

Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Boston School Committee Chair Elizabeth Reilinger and Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant co-hosted a ceremony today to honor the Boston Public Schools students who were selected valedictorian of their graduating class (list of honorees below).

More than 200 people attended the luncheon at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. The 7th annual event was co-sponsored by Reebok, Harvard University, and other partners. Each valedictorian received an American Heritage college dictionary from Houghton Mifflin, a gift from Harvard University, athletic gear from Reebok and other gifts.

Shaneka Davis of Mattapan, the valedictorian at Monument High School at South Boston Education Complex, was the student speaker. A member of the National Honor Society, Shaneka will graduate with a 3.97 Grade Point Average. She is a member of the Urban Scholars Program, and has received an Abigail Adams Scholarship, Norma Kornegay-Clark Scholarship and Boston Teachers Union Scholarship. She is a member of the first cohort of Advanced Placement students at Monument High. In addition to her studies, Shaneka has also been involved in student government, and worked as a volunteer at Marian Manor Nursing Home. She will attend the University of Massachusetts at Amherst next year, where she will major in Chinese Linguistics and International Relations.

WCVB-TV (Channel 5) News Reporter Jorge Quiroga, a former elementary school teacher in the Boston Public Schools, served as guest host of the program. Students were joined at the event by their headmaster and family members, as well as elected officials, business and community partners, and other guests.

The first Valedictorians Luncheon was held in 1999 at the City's Parkman House. Its success enabled the luncheon to become an annual event and a fundraiser for the City of Boston Scholarship Fund, which provides financial assistance to Boston residents attending college in Massachusetts.