Inter-Lakes top 10 focused on giving back

MEREDITH — The Inter-Lakes High School class of 2024 will graduate on Saturday morning. The academic top 10 seniors include students who are interested in careers in business and finance, medicine and engineering, wildlife management, teaching and social betterment.

Etta Wobber, from Sandwich, completed her academics early so she could spend the last semester traveling and practicing her foreign language skills, which will come in handy next year when she’s studying sociology and French at McGill University in Montreal.

Wobber, who is motivated by concerns such as human rights and equality, and climate change, said she became interested in sociology after taking a course in the subject at Inter-Lakes. “I was like, ‘Hey, this combines a lot of my interests,’” she said.

After university, Wobber envisions herself leading an advocacy or service organization. She said she was inspired many years ago, when she found out the grandmother of one of her friends did such work.

“I always thought it was interesting that people could run these things and help people,” Wobber said.

Wobber’s favorite memories from high school were some of the in-between times, she said, such as the dance parties her French teacher would throw once all the work for the day had been completed. “It was just those little moments that always stuck with me,” she said.

Wobber was part of the international club for a while, a member of National Honor Society, and in the first semester of her senior year she joined the robotics club — something out of her normal interests but an experience she said she “really enjoyed.”

What would Wobber hope to be like as an adult?

“I hope that I’m someone that people look to for advice, a genuine person that people are comfortable with and people can turn to in any situation,” Wobber said. “I also hope that I can be influential in social inequities and changing them in my community.”

Olivia Kimball, a Meredith native, will be heading to Purdue University in Indiana, to study biomedical engineering.

“I’ve always been interested in math,” Kimball explained, adding she picked her major so “I can use my skills in math and physics to help people.”

Currently, she’s intrigued by the idea of developing prosthetics, replacement heart valves, or better robots for surgery. “Once I get to college and start experimenting with the major, I will start narrowing it down more,” Kimball said.

Kimball played on the tennis and basketball teams, and was also a long-time volunteer at the summer camp run through the town’s community center.

Kimball said school traditions are among her treasured memories. “I loved all the homecomings, that was really fun. Senior skip day, we all went to the beach, played football and volleyball and hung out,” she said.

As an adult, Kimball said she would like to be “successful, comfortable enough to provide for my family and be there for my kids. Finding that balance of work and fun, so I can enjoy my life.”

Meredith native Peyton Hoyt will be studying wildlife management at the State University of New York Cobleskill this fall. She said her interest in that subject was sparked by a class in plant and animal science she took last year through the Winniquam Agricultural Center. Ultimately, she sees herself working for a state agency that manages local wildlife populations.

Hoyt plays softball and soccer, is a member of NHS and Future Farmers of America, and volunteered to help with trail cleanup for the Squam Lake Association.

Hoyt’s favorite high school experience was the FFA state convention last year, when she spent three days at a hotel in the White Mountains with like-minded students. “I got to meet a lot of people from around the state,” she said.

When she’s an adult, Hoyt said, “I just want to have a job I enjoy and a life I’m happy with, do adventurous things with my job or on my days off, exploring.”

James Copland, of Meredith, is heading to Connecticut State Community College, with the intention of later transferring to the University of Connecticut to study business administration.

“I’ve always had a passion for business and entrepreneurship,” Copland said. He sees the Connecticut area as ripe with opportunities when he’s ready to start his professional life. He could see himself selling luxury cars or boats, or maybe starting his own business.

The school trip to France is something he said he’ll never forget.

“In Paris, standing on top of the Eiffel Tower at night, it was something you dream about,” Copland said.

Copland was a volunteer for the NH Veterans Home, where he helped with the recreational staff, and sometimes just visited with residents.

As an adult, Copland said, “I want to be a good person, kind, take care of my family. I want to be rich, and help out the people I care about.”

Ayden Anderson, from Meredith, will be enrolling in an accelerated doctorate of pharmacy program at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts. “I’ve wanted to go into the medical field for a while,” Anderson said. Pharmacy, which allows him to leverage his skills in math, was something he decided was right for him after interning at Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth.

“I want to help people, I feel like the medical field is the best way to do that,” while also offering good earning potential, Anderson said.

Anderson was on the school’s Granite State Challenge trivia team and captain of the golf team. Outside of school, he worked as a pharmacy technician and at Moulton Farm. He said his favorite memories from high school were in his French IV class. “It was just me and James [Copland],” in the class, Anderson said. “It was the best class in high school, a lot of fun.”

As an adult, Anderson said he wants to be “helpful, resourceful, and teach people things,” and has the goal of retiring early so he can spend more time on the golf course.

Riley Ferrante, of Meredith, is heading for the warmth of Florida Atlantic University, where she will study finance this fall.

“I know I wanted to go into some aspect of business,” Ferrante said, “I want to learn more about the stock market and how finance, that whole system, works.”

Such an education could be applied in a broad range of jobs, and Ferrante plans to narrow her focus once she learns more.

Ferrante played soccer in high school, and worked at Moulton Farm, Y Landing Marina, and at BankNH Pavilion.

Her favorite memory from high school was a trip to Spain during her second year. She was struck by “just how pretty everything was. They gave us a lot of freedom to explore.”

As an adult, Ferrante hopes to be “very successful and generous, a joyful person.”

Justin Knowles of Meredith is jumping straight from high school into the professional world. He is already employed at Lovering Volvo, in Meredith, where he helps to maintain the lot, check-in cars and inspect trade-ins.

“I really enjoy the cars,” he said. “Also, this is a stepping-stone job. Hopefully I’ll be a salesman within a year.”

Knowles was on the golf team, a member of NHS and a class officer. He said his favorite memory from high school was the lip sync performance his class did for winter carnival.

“You got a lot of different people together who don’t normally hang out,” Knowles said, “You work together and make something out of it.”

As an adult, he said, “I want to keep moving forward, make a name, be able to help the community through volunteering, hosting fundraisers and donating.”

Kami Lamarre, of Meredith, is heading to the University of New Hampshire this fall. She hasn’t declared a major, but is interested in biology and psychology

Lamarre is president of NHS, was a member of the chorus and the Destination Imagination team, helped put on Altrusa Club community dinners, and works as a cashier at Hannaford.

Her favorite high school memory was the prom of her senior year. “It was fun to see all the seniors have their last moment together, dancing and having fun,” she said.

As an adult, Lamarre said, “I want to be adventurous, kind and helpful. Through NHS, I really loved helping people in my community, and I want to travel,” adding that Spain’s historic Camino de Santiago is at the top of her list.

Calvin Despres, of Meredith, might soon find himself back in a local high school classroom. The Meredith resident will be heading to Saint Anselm College, in Manchester, to study education. He intends to become a math teacher.

“I’ve always wanted to teach my whole life, help people do what they want to do, get them to be a better person,” Despres said. Math, he said, is one of the best ways to do that. “It’s the problem-solving skill. Are you going to give up or power through it?”

Despres said he will likely pursue his teaching career in New Hampshire. “It’s a beautiful state,” he said.

Despres is a member of NHS, plays the cymbals in the marching and concert bands, and works at Sal’s Fresh Seafood.

“I want to remember all the fun and good times I’ve had with my friends and good teachers,” Despres said about his time at Inter-Lakes. “There were a lot of laughs, a lot of good jokes. The humor is something I’ll take with me.”

Despres said he wants to grow into a helpful adult. “I want to stay true to myself, I want to help people be the best they can be. I want to be someone who tries to do good for the world and encourages others to do the same.”

The teaching bug has also bitten Lily Richardson, who is heading to Southern New Hampshire University to study elementary education.

As she was pondering her future, Richardson said she thought back on the years she’s spent working at the Ashland summer day camp. “I like working with kids, I could picture myself working with kids for the rest of my life,” she said. “I like making a difference in their lives, a little bit.”

She also has a good window in the life of a teacher, as both of her parents are educators at Holderness Central School.

Richardson was on the soccer and track teams and served as president of her class. She said her favorite high school memory was the trip to France.

Richardson wants to begin her teaching career in New Hampshire, but perhaps not in Meredith. She wants to work somewhere she can establish an adult persona from a clean slate.

Richardson said she wants to be “somebody people can count on, look up to. I want to be a teacher kids can go to if they have issues, somebody they will remember.”