WATERBORO — Massabesic High School senior Kyle Little of Lyman, who will graduate with his peers on Thursday, has turned adversity into advantage.

He knows what it is like to work from a young age, and he knows where he’s headed in the fall: the University of Maine in Machias, where he will study wildlife biology with a view to perhaps one day entering the research field. He will receive help with college tuition as a Horatio Alger Scholar, an award with a nice national scholarship.

But it wasn’t always this way. As a youngster, Little said earlier this week, he wasn’t interested in school work – for a couple of reasons.

He was bullied at school, and there were family issues. His father, he said, was incarcerated shortly after his parents divorced, so he went to work at age 14, pulling evening shifts on the weekends washing dishes and cleaning at an Old Orchard Beach restaurant.

And during his early school years, his interests – space exploration and STEM, which stands for science, technology engineering and math – were not taught in his classes.

“I didn’t care about school,” he said.

Then came middle school, and a language arts program taught by Sue Watson.

“It was a big change for me,” he said, recalling that students were encouraged to do projects on topics that interested them, such as NASA and the New England Patriots – though, Little said, he isn’t as passionate about football as some of his classmates.

“It improved my writing,” he said.

Little credits two other teachers with helping him progress in his academic career – music teacher Peter Stickney and history teacher Jason Cote. His guidance counselor, Marianne Tozier, has watched his progress since he was a youngster, he said .

His interest in school bloomed, and led him to apply for the Horatio Alger Association national scholarship award. Winners must show critical financial need, be involved in extracurricular activities, and display integrity and perseverance in overcoming adversity.

Little’s work ethic came early, moving from washing dishes and cleaning to adding salad making to his repertoire and then fry cook. He’s still pulling those weekend shifts, and he works full-time in the summer.

“It’s a good thing for kids to do,” he said.

Little started taking Advanced Placement classes his junior year, and still managed to be involved in extracurricular activities. He’s a past president of the school’s Amnesty International club, and is president of the Gay, Straight, Transgender Alliance.

Being named an Horatio Alger Scholar meant a five-day, expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., and he was among national award winners chosen to do a video interview for the Horatio Alger Association. He met some top executives, including the CEO of IBM and actor Tom Selleck. His award medallion was presented by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

“It was amazing,” he said of the experience.

As well as the Alger award, which is valued at $22,000, Little won what was called a “pizza and ice cream” award – $1,000 over two semesters to purchase non-school items.

He’ll be off to Machias in the fall, a small university in a small town with a 13-to-1 student-faculty ratio.

“I’d like to get to know my professors,” he said, “and a small school is nice.”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].

Massabesic High School Class of 2016

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: Cross Insurance Arena, 1 Civic Center Square, Portland

No. of Graduates: About 220

Valedictorian: Emily Wasina

Salutatorian: Nathan Baert

Honor Essayist: Steele Muchemore-Allen