Stissing salutatorian Aaminah Syed prepares for the future

PINE PLAINS — Even as she looks forward to pursuing her passions beyond the Pine Plains Central School District (PPCSD), Aaminah Syed has been looking back on her years in school with appreciation as she prepares to say goodbye to Stissing Mountain High School on Friday, June 25. Come Graduation Day, Aaminah will help pave the way for her fellow graduates as the Class of 2021’s salutatorian.

Aaminah’s student career in the PPSCD officially started in the eighth grade when she moved to the area from Pakistan at age 13. Before Pine Plains, she was enrolled as a student of the Army Public School.

Throughout the next few years, Aaminah joined a variety of activities offered by the PPCSD, some academic and some extracurricular. Starting her freshman year, she engaged in the Photography Club where she learned advanced photography skills and mentored other students. By her sophomore year, she joined the Yearbook Club and was not only the club’s photographer but also served as its treasurer in her senior year. 

From her sophomore to her junior year of high school, Aaminah served as class treasurer and served as treasurer of the National Honor Society. Other activities include her involvement in the group, Diversify, her participation in the Dutchess County Model UN and her work as sound manager of the fall play held at The Stissing Center.

Reflecting on her accomplishments as a student, Aaminah reminisced about the moment she received Honorable Mentions for Photography in the 2020 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, a national competition. She also remembered her involvement in Diversify and the school equity meetings with Stissing Mountain history teacher Eric Sullivan and Pine Plains Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Brian Timm, “because I got to share my experiences as a Muslim and Pakistani student and give suggestions about what the school should do to make our environment more equitable.

“It really felt that I made a difference,” Aaminah said.

Looking toward the coming fall, she anticipates majoring in fashion design and minoring in fashion merchandising and journalism at New York University in New York City. 

She also plans to start an online fashion business in college and hopes to expand it after graduation, as well as to continue to write and spread her message about reducing Islamophobia through journalism and photography.

For the future generations of Pine Plains students, Aaminah advises that they work hard and follow their passions.

“I was not scared to try new things and others should not be too,” she said. “While others were involved in sports, I took a different route and became involved in photography and established my own identity in high school. So don’t be scared to be different as you might never know where it could lead you.”