VOL. 23, NO. 23	MAY 20, 1998

Valedictorian Zita Ann Peterlin and salutatorian John Ng. Record Photo by Eileen Barroso.

ost people are not aware that science plays a role in everything in our lives,” said John Ng, salutatorian of the Columbia College Class of ‘98. “Everything is science.”

  Both the school’s top graduates and another outstanding senior are science majors with a keen appreciation of science’s role in society. Ng, a physics major, has enrolled in an M.D.–Ph.D. program at Harvard next fall and plans to conduct medical research and practice medicine.

  Zita Ann Peterlin, valedictorian, double-majored in biochemistry and neuroscience and behavior, was co-captain of the Columbia varsity archery team and will graduate with 185 credits, almost a degree-and-a-half. She attended a semester at Annapolis before deciding military life was not for her.

  Asked who they most respected in science, they named Columbia researchers: Brian Bent (Ng) and Walter Bock (Peterlin).

  Roger Lehecka, dean of students said of Peterlin’s accomplishments: “It’s quite unusual for a student to take that many credits and still get the kind of grades she’s gotten. We expect great things of Zita.”