Gilford High School's top ten graduating seniors are in a helping mood

The top 10 graduating seniors from Gilford High School are all town residents. They're a group of young people with diverging interests, interests that they'll follow as they leave their hometown in the coming months.

Tyler Murphy is the valedictorian of the class. He'll be matriculating to Babson College in Wellesly, Mass. to study business. "I'm very interested in running my own business in the technology sector," he said. That is more than just a dream to him, as he's already had a taste of what that's like. Using his skills to help an acquaintance turned into an impromptu website-creation business for him, and he's sold about 200 items pulled out of the family basement on eBay. That earned him a few thousand dollars, which will soon be spent on textbooks and college expenses.

Murphy doesn't worry about entering a business program in the current recession. As he sees it, the economy will have made a healthy recovery by the time he's on the job search in 4 to 6 six years. And he might be looking to go into business for himself, anyway. As an entrepreneur, he likes "being in control and watching your dream become a reality."

Lindsey Nelson, salutatorian, will be studying speech and language pathology at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. She's signed up for the six-year master's degree program. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do until she spent some time shadowing professionals in their jobs. "I shadowed a speech pathologist and I liked it — I like being able to work with people and help them," she said.

Sam Chapin will be off to Tufts University in Medford, Mass., where he will major in comparative religion. "I find it a fascinating subject — I love studying different religions." He will also enroll in the Reserve Officer Training Corps, also known as ROTC. With this decision, he will commit to serving in the military after graduation from Tufts. "The Army will give me a job," he said.

Sarah Ayer will be traveling the furthest of the 10 graduates when she matriculates to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She's undecided in her major, and chose the university because she used to live in Utah and has family and friends in the region. Although she's leaving her options open, some possible career paths include physical therapy or teaching. "I want to help people," she said.

Ian Rice, a Gilford native, will be studying mechanical engineering at Boston's Northeastern University. He chose Northeastern because he liked the many opportunities to apply his learning to the real world. He picked engineering because he likes math and science and he wants to work on some of humanity's technical problems, such as the need to find and develop alternative energy sources.

Megan Buckner will further her education in graphic design at Cazenovia College in Cazenovia, N.Y. after graduation. She picked the school because it's small and has a nice campus and she can major in visual communications. "I've always liked art," she said, and would like to be an illustrator some day.

Ethan Simoneau will be studying at Villanova University in suburban Philadelphia next year. He knows his favorite subject but doesn't have a specific career in mind. "I know I like science but I don't know what I want to do with it." He picked Villanova because "I went down there and it seemed like the right school for me," and he'll bring with him "good memories with friends" from his time in Gilford.

Sarah Snow has been interested in biology since about the seventh grade, and she'll be pursuing that study at Houghton College in Houghton, N.Y. She's not sure exactly what she'll do with that degree, but she thinks it will likely have to do with horticulture. "I like plants," she said.

Gordon Scott is hoping to follow in his father's footsteps and become a surgeon. First, though, he'll be attending the pre-medical program at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. "I enjoy helping people — the whole idea of being a doctor or surgeon appeals to me," he said. He likes the highly-specialized career path, and the opportunity to train to be as good as he can be at his specialty. "You're going to literally save lives — you know when you do it well and you've taken the steps to do it well."

Christina Gangi said "I've always loved numbers" and she'll be applying that aptitude when she matriculates to Bentley University in Waltham, Mass. this fall. She will study business there, and she will get a head start on that education this summer when she'll be working as a teller for the local Franklin Savings Bank branch. She's already started her training for that job. "It's exciting. It's a lot to learn but it's fun," she said.

Gilford High School's Class of 2009 will hold its graduation ceremonies at Meadowbrook Performing Arts Center in Gilford on Saturday, June 13 beginning at 10 a.m.