The Sidney Central School District has named its valedictorian and salutatorian for the Class of 2026.
The valedictorian is Dejah Taylor, and the salutatorian is Michael Morrissey.
The two will speak during the annual graduation ceremony on June 27.
Valedictorian
Well-rounded in so many ways, Dejah Taylor has excelled in and out of the classroom.
Academically, she is consistently on the Superintendent’s List, and has earned awards for academic excellence and achievement. Those awards include multiple subjects, as well as the Elmira College Scholarship Recipient, and the RPI Scholarship Recipient. She also earned the DAR Citizenship Award, and has been named a NYSPHSAA scholar-athlete and the MAC scholar-athlete multiple times.
Outside of the classroom, she serves as National Honor Society president, and the vice-president for student council. She’s also vice-president for Sidney Students Against Destructive Decisions, and is in the yearbook club, and has been part of the Teen Institute.
Athletically, Taylor has excelled in field hockey, as well as indoor and outdoor track and field. It’s hard not to be impressed by her athletic prowess, but she also represents Sidney and the section in several ways, including being a Section IV States Sportsmanship Representative, and a winner of the Section IV Character Counts award. She’s been the WCDO Athlete of the Week, won the Douglas Quinney Award, the Triple C Award, and has been an all-star in field hockey and track. She’s also won multiple Section IV, Class, and MAC championships in a variety of events. She also owns several school records.
Outside of the classroom, she also serves at SFCU’s ambassador with the school.
Beyond graduation, Taylor plans to attend Binghamton University to study in the School of Management, as well as compete on the Division I track and field team.
She is the daughter of Stacey Sullivan and Antoine Taylor.
Salutatorian
Michael Morrissey is a highly active student, thriving in both the classroom and on the fields.
He’s been a steady name on the district’s Superintendent’s List, and has earned academic awards such as the RIT Engineering scholarship, the Rochester junior scholarship, and a MAC scholar-athlete. He was also chosen to attend Boys State. He’s been a NYSPHSAA scholar-athlete, and has earned student of the month.
A member of the National Honor Society, he also is active in SSADD, InterAct, and was part of the Science Olympiad.
Athletically, Morrissey excels. Last year, he won the Class C state championship in discus during the outdoor track and field season, and has also earned MAC and Section IV championships. He participates in football, as well as indoor and outdoor track and field. He’s earned accolades as MVP for track and field, a sportsmanship award for football, and WCDO athlete of the week honors.
Beyond high school, he plans to be a foreign exchange student to Chile, and then attend college for mechanical engineering.
He is the son of Tanya and Mark Morrissey.