Natalia Orlovsky from Chadds Ford has been named valedictorian of Princeton University’s Class of 2022.

An extraordinary scholar and research scientist majoring in molecular biology, she has also starred in stage plays and written stories and poetry, all while earning 10 A+’s in courses from six different departments.  

At Princeton, A+ grades require written justifications from the professors. Over the course of her four years, Orlovsky earned no grade below an A.

“Natalia has demonstrated all-out intellectual engagement in both coursework and independent research and a level of scholarship characteristic of a stellar graduate student, rarely seen in an undergraduate student,” said Elizabeth Gavis, the director Princeton’s of undergraduate studies for molecular biology. 

She is a two-time recipient of the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence and an early inductee to Phi Beta Kappa. In 2021, she was awarded a Goldwater Scholarship, one of the most prestigious national scholarships in natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. 

Since the spring of her first year at Princeton, Orlovsky has worked in the bioengineering lab of Cliff Brangwynne, a professor of chemical and biological engineering. 

“I love the style of question-asking that science uses,” said Orlovsky. “Getting to build a conceptual basis and then testing it with quantitative work and hands-on experimentation is really fun.”

“My enthusiasm for Natalia could not be higher,” Brangwynne said. “Even as a freshman, she was operating like a new and very good Ph.D. student.” 

This fall, Orlovsky will begin her doctoral studies in the biological and biomedical studies program at Harvard. She looks forward to a career in academic research and is especially excited by the prospect of being an educator and a mentor in the lab and in the classroom. 

“As she goes on to make an impact in her next adventures,” Brangwynne said, “Natalia represents a shining example of the very best that a Princeton education has to offer to the wider world.”

Read more about Natalia Orlovsky from Princeton University.