Neel Raut is a senior at Briarcliff High School where he is the valedictorian of the graduating class of 2022. Although he has yet to finalize on a college for the fall, he will be majoring in computer science and potentially minoring in finance. His interest in computer science stemmed from the first time he coded, in a middle school technology class. He learned about the complexity of programming and its usefulness in solving real-world problems, and became inspired to learn more about its applications. Throughout high school, Neel refined and polished his skills and gained a thorough proficiency of Java (through AP Computer Science A, research, and various hackathons) and Python (summer course at Pace University, interning at a robotics company) while aiming to learn other languages like C#, C++, and Objective-C. Neel learned the value of teamwork and leadership through these various experiences and is interested in becoming a software engineer and potentially starting his own tech company some day.