She has a quiet voice and demeanor but Mackenzie Colby is ready for a big challenge. This top ten senior wants to study environmental science, with perhaps a focus on water quality, at the University of Southern Maine.

“I’ve always enjoyed my science classes and it is a field where I can work outside,” said Mackenzie, daughter of Sean Colby and Karen Colby.

“Attending USM will be a new experience. I will enjoy meeting new people. I didn’t want to go to the Boston area. Portland is a large enough area and an easy commute to home,” said Colby.

Last August, she, three other students and an adult chaperone from the Congregatioal Church of Boothbay Harbor traveled to New Mexico to work on a Habitat for Humanity project. During the week-long trip, they helped build a house foundation.

At BRHS, she has been involved with the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club’s Interact Club for three years and has played on the tennis team for four years. As the tennis team’s first singles player, Mackenzie recently advanced to the state singles top 48. That playoff is scheduled to resume May 27.

“I like playing tennis. I have played for eight years,” said Mackenzie.

As a freshman, Mackenzie was a member of ECHO, a volunteer club that evolved into the Interact Club. This year, she has been a member of the yearbook staff, doing “a bit of everything.”

She said she has appreciated her time at BRHS and that “all the teachers have been very helpful. They can help any student succeed but you get what you put into it.”

Mackenzie said she will miss the sense of community, “the closeness of the community,” when she goes off to college.

“I will miss the friends that I’ve made,” said Mackenzie.

As for advice for the BRHS underclassmen, she said, “Stay focused, study hard and don’t let ‘senioritis’ kick in too soon.”