BRHS Class of 2021 Honors students named

Brown, Chatterton on journey to academic excellence
Wed, 04/21/2021 - 7:15am

Boothbay Region High School will recognize 17 honors students at the Mountain Valley Honors Banquet May 13. The conference will be held virtually in Porter Memorial Gymnasium where students will remain socially distant while accepting awards from Principal Tricia Campbell and Dean of Students Allan Crocker. The guest speaker will be Bates College President Dr. Clayton Spence. The banquet will feature a random drawing for four $500 scholarships.

Those receiving highest of honors are the recently named Valedictorian Kylie Brown and Salutatorian Nathan Chatterton who have exemplified the balance of the hard work, determination and spirit to continue achieving academic excellence throughout the pandemic.

“With the pandemic, and it being my senior year, it was sometimes hard to find motivation,” said Chatterton. “I think I countered this by having a balanced work/free time schedule, so when I was doing work it felt more important and I was pressured to get it done in an efficient way. It's like structured procrastination.”

Brown said she believes there are two secrets to academic success: Always keep your hand up in class to ask questions and take classes you are passionate about. “I am a verbal learner and in order to fully understand something, I need to talk it out. My hand is constantly up in class … I email my teachers many times a week, and they are always available, even on the weekends, to answer my questions … It is much easier to find motivation and happiness in taking classes you are truly interested in.”

Brown will attend Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts where she will study mathematics and statistics and play field hockey. Chatterton enrolled with Northeastern University’s College of Engineering in Boston for mechanical engineering. Said Chatterton, “My lifelong goal is to assist in the endeavor of sending humans to Mars. I wish to help in any way I can to make the human race a multi-planetary species.”

Campbell said the broad academic success of this year’s honors students is due to their determination to navigate top-notch courses and curriculum led by quality educators who help foster a lifelong love of learning. BRHS guides each student to distinguish their passions and provides the opportunity to articulate who they want to be and what difference they want to make in the world, said Campbell. “Every day presents us with numerous opportunities to aim high, to build strong habits, to learn by doing. We are proud of the steps taken and hard work demonstrated by all of our students at BRHS!”

The BRHS atmosphere and overall experience made for a much shorter time than expected, said Chatterton. But the lifelong relationships made along the way are invaluable, he said.

Said Brown, “My journey to cap and gown has been really exciting. The teachers, coaches, and support from the community I have had throughout the years have made my experience really memorable.”