BY DARRELL HALEN

Throughout her high school career, Starsha Kolodziej viewed classmate Bethany Murphy as a friendly rival.

Bethany was considered the top student in their class, and Starsha wanted to surpass her.

When report cards came out, Starsha wanted to know what grades Bethany got – and would sometimes snatch her report card out of her hands.

Neither girl, it turned out, became the valedictorian of Pelham High School’s Class of 2007 – the top honor goes to Matt Libman – but the two girls came close.

Starsha is the No. 2 senior, the salutatorian, while Bethany is class essayist, the number 3 student.

All three will address their fellow classmates and guests when the seniors receive their diplomas on Friday, June 15.

This will be the second time that Matt is a top graduate. He finished first in his eighth-grade class at Memorial School four years ago.

Matt, who spent two years at Phillips Exeter Academy before entering PHS at the beginning of his junior year, is off to the University of New Hampshire.

He plans to study psychology and business, and hopes to go to medical school to become a pediatrician or enter psychiatry.

Matt credits his parents and his own desire to study and learn since middle school for his academic success.

“I always wanted to do well, and this is one of the top things I wanted to do – get ranked in the top three,” he said. “They (my parents) were always there to help me out. They always told me: You need a good education.”

Matt has been a member of Peer Outreach, National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, student council and the prom committee.

Starsha came to Pelham High not knowing what to expect to find at a public school. She had spent eight years at Salem Christian School, a private school, where she was one of only 11 students in her eighth-grade class.

She thrived at PHS, and had a “fantastic time” in biology classes. Lauren Streifer was really good science teacher, she said.

“I found everything so interesting,” Starsha said.

Her brother, Edward, who graduated first in his class from Pelham High in 1994 and is now a university professor, was a big key to her success.

“Whenever I needed help with a project, I would call him and he knew exactly how to help me,” Starsha said. “If I was stressed about something, he’d be able to calm me down.”

She’s competed in cross country and tennis, is a member of NHS and Spanish Honor Society, and has participated in drama club, academic decathlon, Quiz Bowl, and Granite State Challenge.

Starsha is going to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She hopes to eventually earn a doctorate degree and own a business that makes medicines.

She admits to being competitive – she laughed as she recounted about the times she wanted to see Bethany’s grades - and to procrastinating. She recently wrote a scholarship essay on the day it was due.

Bethany credits her success to siblings she’s looked up to – her sister was valedictorian of her class – and to her parents.

“They’ve always been supportive,” she said of her parents, adding that they told her the hard work she put into school was more important than the grades she earned.

Bethany is a member of NHS and the French Honor Society, and has participated in Peer Outreach, the drama club, cross country, indoor track and tennis.

Her current plan is to study kinseology and exercise science at UNH, and go to medical school. But she has a lot of ideas, she said, and her plans could change.

“I enjoyed coming to school. I liked seeing people, coming to classes,” Bethany said of her time spent at Pelham High. “You always have a teacher to go to, someone to talk to. It’s a good community.”