Laconia’s top ten seniors ready for varied careers

By MICHAEL KITCH, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — While three of the top 10 students at Laconia High School intend to return to the classroom as elementary school teachers, the other seven all have different aspirations.

Taylor Sullivan and Lizzie Davis, two of the three women with their eyes on a teaching career, will be following a a family tradition. Sullivan's mother and aunt are both kindergarten teachers and Davis's mother teaches special education students.

"I love little kids," said Sullivan, who worked with a fifth-grade class as well as alongside her mother in pursuing her Extended Learning Opportunity at the Huot Technical Center. She said she expects to explore special education, adding that "I love helping people and seeing them achieve their goals." At the same time, she recognized that teaching young children "requires lots and lots of patience."

Davis said she is enrolling at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her mother earned her master's degree. As a student, she has worked with third- and fourth-graders and at the end of her school day assists with the after-school programs at Elm Street Elementary School. "I love making a difference in children's lives," she said, stressing the importance of "caring and teaching life's lessons" along with the three Rs.

Robin Friend, the third aspiring elementary school teacher will prepare at Thomas College in Waterville, Maine. Like her counterparts she has worked with preschool children as well as kindergartners and first- and third-graders.

"I like kids," she said bluntly.

She also enjoys art and writing and confessed she was somewhat surprised to find herself in the top 10 after finishing just out of the money in the past. Sullivan, Davis and Friend are all members of the National Technical Honor Society.

Nick Shastany is going not only to college but also to sea as a student at the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York.

"I want to be the captain of a ship," he said, adding that much of his degree in marine transportation would consist of engineering courses. Shastany said that he hopes to command tankers and container ships, but not cruise liners.

"Cargo doesn't complain," he said.

He said that, despite his size, he was coaxed into playing football only during his senior year and next year hopes to row and shoot at the academy. When the sailor comes home from the sea, he said he may try his hand at stand-up comedy.

"I don't want to come in dead set on something and I find out I don't really want to do it," said Jackson Lawrence, who will attend Saint Anselm College in Manchester in the fall. He is interested in both computer science and liberal arts, particularly political science. In the next breath, he spoke about software engineering, picking Google as "my dream job," then confessed his passion for video games.

"I may transfer to a tech school," Lawrence said, "or go onto graduate school."

An admitted geek, Dan Romprey got his first computer — "a Windows 95 PC" — when he was 5 and never looked back. He intends to study computer science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, with the aim of working in cyber security for the federal government.

"I've been into computers for as long as I can remember," he said, "and I want a chance to serve my country."

Natalie Compton said that for some years she has worked with a cousin who is physically impaired and the knowledge and rewards she has gained from the experience has led her to pursue a career in occupational therapy, beginning with the five-year master's program at the University of New Hampshire. An accomplished athlete, she has played on the successful basketball and lacrosse teams in high school, but said she would reluctantly give up sports to focus on schoolwork next year.

"I want to work with people," Compton said.

Her interest piqued by an advanced placement course in psychology, Jessica McDermott will continue her studies at Colby Sawyer College in New London, where she expects to choose between forensic and clinical psychology. Meanwhile, she said she was fascinated by a biotechnology class at the Huot Technical Center and may also consider preparing for medical school.

A regular performer on the high school stage, she said, "I love acting and would like to perform on the side," confessing that she dreamed of appearing on Broadway.

Taylor Gagne is bent on a career as a neurologist or neurosurgeon and will take the first step by majoring in chemistry on a pre-med track at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. "I've always wanted a career in medicine," he said, explaining that his choice was confirmed by the the advanced placement course in psychology that pointed him toward studying the brain. While on a scientific track that included biology and chemistry, Gagne, like McDermott, also took time for the performing arts by joining the cast of dramatic productions.

Kyle Johnson is the poster child for STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics — education among the top 10 of 2016. After four years at the Huot Technical Center, he said he will graduate with a Solidworks certification, confirming his proficiency with computer-aided design. This summer he will intern at EFI (Electronics for Imaging) in Meredith, which together with his certification will give him a head start towards an associates degree in mechanical engineering at New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord. And he is already looking beyond to an engineering degree at the University of New Hampshire.

Despite their different interests and aspirations, all ten have shown they have one thing in common, a commitment to success that will serve them well as they continue their education in pursuit of the professional goals they have chosen.

The top 10 members of the class of 2016 at Laconia High School are, front to back and left to right: Lizzie Davis, Robin Friend and Jessica McDermott, Taylor Gagne, Taylor Sullivan and Kyle Johnson, Natalie Compton and Jackson Lawrence, and Dan Romprey and Nick Shastany. (Michael Kitch/Laconia Daily Sun)