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Graduation day: June 13, 2013
Graduation information provided by the high school
Commencement Scholars Class of 2013
VALEDICTORIAN PATRICK WALSH is the son of the loving and
supportive Bill and Lisa Walsh. Born and raised in York, Maine, Patrick
has been involved in a wide range of activities at York High School. He
was a three-year varsity football starting offensive linemen and a
captain in his senior year. He loved playing with his teammates and
under his coach Randy Small. He has shared class presidency for the last
three years with his good friend Ben Gauthier, while also being an
active member of Interact and the Secretary of the club during his
senior year. Additionally, he has been a member of Key Club, the Civil
Rights Team, the Writing Center, Student Listeners, Senior Facilitators,
and co-founded the York High Debate Team in his sophomore year. He has
been an honor roll student his entire four years at York while
maintaining a year-round job. He is honored to be a member of both the
National Honor Society and the National World Language Honor Society in
German. He has received several awards in all subject areas throughout
his academic career at York and received both the Williams Book Award
and the Bausch and Lomb Science Award in his junior year. He has loved
following his passions at York High School. Most notably, he is the
proud owner of two Bourbon Red Heritage Turkeys, Hank and Daisy. He is
looking forward to fulfilling his curious nature at Bowdoin College next
fall, while studying Biochemistry and Biology. He is excited to start
the next chapter in his academic journey.
SALUTATORIAN THOMAS REID, son of David and Megan Reid, was an
athlete and a scholar in his time at York High School. His recent
selection as the Salutatorian of the Class of 2013 proved an excellent
conclusion to his academic achievement over the last four years. His
fifth place finish in the 300-meter hurdles at the recent New England
Track and Field Championships was the culminating event of his high
school athletic career. Named captain of his varsity soccer, indoor, and
outdoor track teams and earning Most Valuable Player honors in each,
Thomas is especially proud of his athletic accomplishments and thankful
to all the coaches who supported him along the way. A four-year member
of Interact and the senior writer and editor for the York High School
Pawprint, he engaged in many extracurricular activities as well. A
senior facilitator, a rather dapper graduation marshal, and a member of
the National Honor Society, Thomas takes pride in his contributions to
his school and his community. Thomas will be attending Northeastern
University in the fall, where he intends to find his path in life and
keep dancing the night away.
WILLIAM MICHAEL BENNETT is the son of Jim and Kathy Bennett. He
was a member of numerous clubs and activities at York High School
including Chamber Singers, Concert Band and Jazz Band, Naturally Sharp
(a cappella group), the National Honor Society, and the World Language
National Honor Society for Spanish. Active in sports, William was a
member of the indoor track, varsity outdoor track, and varsity soccer
teams. William won several awards while at YHS, including the Geometry,
Animation, Art I, and English Top Cat awards. He has achieved high
honors all four years of his high school career. William has been an
active USSF certified referee since the eighth grade, officiating almost
every weekend each fall, has coached five and six year-olds in soccer on
Saturday mornings, and volunteered as cantor and brass musician for his
church, Parish of the Ascension of the Lord. In his free time, William
enjoys reading, running, and playing soccer with his siblings. He was
selected to take part in the University of Maine Pulp and Paper
FoundationâÂÂs Consider Engineering Summer Program and plans to major in
Biomedical Engineering at Dartmouth College.
CHRISTINA BOUTIN, daughter of Rosalie and Daniel Boutin of York,
was an involved student and athlete during her four years at York High
School. Christina was a yearbook editor-in-chief, member of the YHS
Green Team, National Honors Society, and French and Spanish Language
Honor Societies. In addition to maintaining honors, Christina worked a
year-round job. An avid runner, Christina was a varsity athlete and
captain of the cross-country and indoor track teams. Christina has won
the Senior Art Purchase Award as well as the Outstanding Senior in
French Award by the American Association of Teachers of French. This
fall Christina will pursue her interests in art, language, and
environmental studies, as well as run cross-country and track, at Soka
University of America in Southern California.
COURTNEY BURNS, daughter of Debra and Stephen Burns, prides
herself on her participation and hard work at York High School. She was
a four-year member and two-year Editor-in-Chief of her school's yearbook
committee, a Photo Editor of her school's newspaper, and an active
member of numerous other clubs, such as WordPlay, Spanish Language Honor
Society, and Senior Facilitators. Courtney won several awards, such as
the Wellesley College Book Award, honors or high honors all four years,
as well as many academic achievement awards in math, art, and science.
Her artwork has been on display around the school, on the walls of the
public library, and, this past winter, in the halls of the Portland
Museum of Art during Maine Youth Art Month. In the fall, Courtney looks
forward to studying at Emmanuel College in Boston, Massachusetts, with a
potential major in Psychology.
EMILY CAMPBELL is the daughter of Kate and Greg Campbell. She was
a member of the National Honor Society and World Languages National
Honor Society for French. She led her class as vice-president for past
three years and represented the school as a student-athlete member of
the York High School Hall of Fame Committee. She was a four-year member
of the Interact Club and served as a treasurer for the past two years.
As a member of the York First Parish Church Youth Group, she volunteered
her time on a weeklong mission trip. Emily is an avid tennis and
basketball player, receiving multiple accolades in both varsity sports.
As an all-conference tennis player, she has enjoyed the competition of
playing #1 singles. In basketball, she won a state championship and
earned all-conference, all-state, and McDonaldâÂÂs senior-all star honors.
She plans to continue playing basketball at the collegiate level. This
fall Emily will attend Bowdoin College.
NICHOLAS EATON is the son of Nancy and Randy Eaton and was born
in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1994. Nick has many hobbies and interests
but over the years he has discovered that he has a strong love for
surfing. Through surfing he has learned the value of hard work,
dedication, and passion. Nick took these values and applied them into
his everyday life in order to push himself to succeed. Whether it is
creating his videos, placing in the top ten percent of the class of
2013, receiving high honors, or being given the coaches award his senior
year of cross country, Nick pushes himself in everything that he does.
He sets goals for himself and is determined to reach them. In the fall
he will attend Emerson College as a film major. Unsure of what the
future holds, Nick is sure to succeed.
BENJAMIN GAUTHIER is the son of Michael and Naomi Gauthier. He is
co-President of his class, editor-in-chief of his high schoolâÂÂs
newspaper, a founding member of the debate club, and a member of
Interact and the National Honor Society. He attended both the Maine
Youth Leadership and Rotary Youth Leadership Awards camps and has
volunteered at Camp Meridian, an overnight camp for children with heart
disease. He was a the recipient of the Rensselaer Medal, the Phi Beta
Kappa Award, the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen
Award, the Western Maine Conference Citizenship Award, and is a National
Merit Finalist. This fall he will be attending Northwestern University
and plans to be a Radio/Television/Film major. Despite all this, though,
he still canâÂÂt grow normal-looking facial hair.
ISABEL GOODWIN is the daughter of Peter and Susannah Goodwin.
Isabel is a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish chapter
of the World Language Honor Society. She was the recipient of the
Society of WomenâÂÂs Engineers Award and has been awarded with several
departmental recognitions for outstanding academic achievement. Outside
of the classroom, Isabel has been involved in a number of
extracurricular activities, most notably serving as the student body
government representative for the Class of 2013. Athletically, Isabel
has spent her time passionately involved as a competitive gymnast,
having the honor of being a State, Regional, and National team member
for the past few years. Isabel has elected to defer her matriculation to
the College of William and Mary until the fall of 2014 and will spend
the next year volunteering for Habitat for Humanity and doing outreach
in Southeast Asia.
OLIVIA GREER, daughter of Kimberly and Nathan Greer, has lived in
York, Maine, for her entire life. In recognition of her determination
and hard work, Olivia was inducted into both the National Honor Society
and the World Language Honor Society for Spanish. Leading a busy life
aside from her academics, she was a varsity member of the cheerleading
team at York for the past three years and the tennis team for the past
four years. Her outstanding leadership was recognized by her peers when
she was selected captain of the cheerleading squad for both the football
and basketball/competition seasons during her senior year. She has also
been a member of the YHS Chamber Singers for the past two years and has
performed with them at various venues including a concert for Senator
Collins inside the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. For three
weeks in the summer between her sophomore and junior years, she
volunteered her time in a reforestation project on a reserve in the
Galapagos Islands, one of her most valuable service experiences. Olivia
recently received the AP Biology award during convocation and plans to
major in pre-medical biology at Stonehill College in
Massachusetts.
JOSEPH LEROUX, son of Kathryn and Richard Leroux, was born in
Newton, Massachusetts. At a young age, Joseph learned to value community
service. Director of the Vacation Bible School at his church and an
actor in âÂÂTo God be the Gloryâ for fifteen years, it is no surprise that
he became a member of the Interact Club and a captain of the Action Team
while at YHS. His dedication to serving others earned him the Saint
MichaelâÂÂs Book Award and the 2013 Maine PrincipalâÂÂs Award. Founder of
the YHS debate team, Joseph practiced the art of skillful speaking. As a
senior, he traveled across Maine to compete and tied for first at the
state meet in Public Forum Debate. An avid trumpet player, Joseph has
played in the York High School jazz and concert bands. For three years,
he traveled to Marshwood High School where he played first trumpet in
the marching band, and since the eighth grade, he has ventured to Dover
to play trumpet in the Dover Community Band. He began his singing career
as a tenor in the YHS Chamber Singers and since then has founded the YHS
a cappella group and represented YHS in the district and all-state
ensembles. As a member of the YHS Players, Joseph acted in plays and
participated in two improvisation groups during his career. Joseph looks
forward to attending Haverford College in the fall, where he intends to
explore interests in French, economics, and conflict resolution.
SARAH PALMER, daughter of Holly Sargent and Robert Palmer, was
born in Boston, Massachusetts, and moved to York in 2005. Committed to
the arts, she has starred in several performances including Our Town, 15
minute Hamlet, and the Haunting of Hill House. She was also a member of
the advanced YHS improv group, Shtick Sharpens. Sarah was the principal
alto saxophone player for the YHS Jazz Band and for the Marshwood
Marching Band. She was a member of the Societe Honoraire de Français and
was Treasurer of the National Honor Society. She studied abroad in
Oxford, England, at Oxford University focusing on English Literature and
Classical Civilization. Sarah participated in the Rotary Youth
Leadership Awards and attended the Clinton Global Initiative. Sarah was
the Second place Winner in the Rotary International Speaking Contest for
Maine and New Hampshire. She has also had the opportunity to give back
to the community by volunteering and donating to the local food pantry.
She has received several awards for drama and her academic endeavors.
She was the four-time winner of the YHS book challenge, having read over
800 books during her high school career. Sarah looks forward to
attending Cornell University in the fall where she plans to pursue
interests in the social sciences.
JENNA RUMBLE, daughter of Brennen and Elizabeth Rumble, was fully
involved in extracurricular activities at York High School. She played
for the varsity field hockey team and was captain of the varsity tennis
team during her senior season. She also played lacrosse and ran for the
indoor track team, both for one season. Jenna was a team representative
for Student Government for her first two years of high school. She was
also a captain of the Action Team for four years and was a member of
Wordplay, a creative writing club, for three years. She served as a
senior facilitator of a freshman team and student listener for a middle
school student. Academically, she was inducted into the National Honor
Society and Spanish Language Honor Society. She earned numerous awards
throughout her academic career in several subjects, including Spanish,
English, and mathematics. Outside of York High School, Jenna achieved
the rank of black belt in Kenpo Karate after a nine-year commitment to
the art. She volunteered at Sentry Hill, helped run a charity booth for
the Portsmouth Brewery on Market Square Day for the past nine years, and
devoted her time to the PAL program at Village Elementary School. This
fall Jenna will be attending Colby College where she intends to study
mathematics, Spanish, and biology.
ERIN SHEAHAN, daughter of Kathleen and Michael Sheahan, was born
in Seoul, South Korea. Prior to arriving in York, Maine in 2002, Erin
lived in South Korea, Virginia and Spain. During her four years at York
High School, Erin was a member of numerous clubs and activities
including Student Listeners, Senior Facilitators, the World Language
Honor Society, Action Team and Interact. Erin was also a member of the
York High School lacrosse and field hockey teams. As a senior she
received academic achievement awards in English and Holocaust Studies in
addition to high honors for performance in her classes. She was awarded
a presidential scholarship and will be attending the College of
Charleston this fall to study psychology and criminology.
KAYLA SWASEY is the daughter of Steven Swasey of Salem,
Massachusetts, and Lori Langlais of Berlin, New Hampshire. Year-round
soccer athlete, she received the Western Conference Sportswoman of the
Year award in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Kayla was also on the All-Academic
and All-Conference team for her four years at York HIgh School. She is a
member of the National Honor Society as well as the World Language Honor
Society for Spanish. Outside of York High School, Kayla has worked with
New Hampshire Special Olympics and was a volunteer coach for York Soccer
Club. In 2012 she was invited to an Athletic Leadership Conference at
St. Josephs's College to represent the athletes at York. During her
senior year she was selected as a Senior Facilitator for the freshman
class and also received the Physical Education Student Leader award.
Next year Kayla will attend the United States Military Academy at West
Point. She plans to major in Kinesiology with a focus on prosthetic
rehabilitation and looks forward to playing Division I soccer.
Have graduation information or photos you'd like to submit? Email to
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Scholarships
Academic Boosters Scholarship $500 Courtney Burns
Andrew Swiedler Award $1,000 Rafael Mata
Billy
Cheverie Memorial Scholarship $1,000 Eleni Zotos
Billy
Cheverie Memorial Scholarship $1,000 Emily Campbell
Billy Cheverie Memorial Scholarship $1,000 Hayden Pate
Billy Cheverie Memorial Scholarship $1,000 Kyle Cone
Billy Cheverie Memorial Scholarship $1,000 Peter
Carley
Campbell Conference Scholarship $250 Thomas
Kinton
Carter Furber Scholarship $1,000 Rachael
Yorke
Don Morrison Memorial Scholarship $2,500 Kiyana
Reid
Don Morrison Memorial Scholarship $2,500 Theodore
Bullock
Early College for ME $2,000 Adam
Christman
Educators for Maine $12000 loan Kathryn
Brown
Erika Jolie Memorial Scholarship $500 Emily
Campbell
Family and Friends of Linda Masella $500
Kathryn Brown
George N. Perkins Performing Arts
Scholarship $500 Brandon DesmondKiYana Reid
George
N. Perkins Performing Arts Scholarship $500 Sarah
Garfield
Gerety/Kerrigan Scholarship $2,000 Thomas
Reid
Grant Award Silver Bowl Patrick Walsh
HomeHealth Visiting Nurses of Southern Maine Schol. $100 Julie
Walter
John F. Welch Scholarship $1,000 Theodore
Bullock
John K. Schroeder Award Silver Bowl Benjamin
Gauthier
Justin Donovan Memorial Scholarship $500 Luke
Claflin
Justin Donovan Memorial Scholarship $500 Ruby
Cribby
Ken Sullivan Memorial Award $500 Alexander
Mercurio
Kennebunk Savings Bank Scholarship $1,000
Brandon Desmond
Lawrence Ellis Memorial
Scholarship $1,500 Ruby Cribby
Maine State Golf
Association $6,000 Peter Carley
Margaret S. Sewall
Fund $1,000 Haley Byrne
Matthew Cruz Memorial
Scholarship $2,000 Bridget Cronin
Mike Ford Memorial
Scholarship $5,000 Bridget Cronin
Milton F. Todd
Memorial Scholarship $500 Aaron Todd
Mitchell
Scholarship $6,000 Patrick Walsh
Myron D. Rust
Scholarship $650 Thomas Kinton
National Alliance on
Mental Illness- York $1,500 Emilee Duffy
National
Merit Scholarship $2,000 Benjamin Gauthier
Robert "
Bob" Masi Scholarship $1,000 Kayla Swasey
Robert G.
Pacitti Memorial Scholarship $1,000 Josh Brooks
Robert
G. Pacitti Memorial Scholarship $1,000 Rafael Mata
Sanford Institution for Savings Scholarship $1,000 Adley
Palreiro
Sanford Institution for Savings Scholarship $1,000
Madisen Knoepfel
Sanford Institution for Savings
Scholarship $1,000 Victoria Knoepfel
Search for
Knowledge Award Silver Bowl Daniel Leroux
Society of
Mayflower Descendants in the State of Maine 1,000 Shea
Spiller
St. Aspinquid David Rocray Memorial
Scholarship $1,500 Shea Spiller
St. Aspinquid
Elizabeth Haskell Memorial Award $1,500 Sarah Garfield
Stonewall Kitchen Scholarship $2,000 Veronica Sullivan
Stonewall Kitchen Scholarship $2,000 Zachary Leal
The
Bank of Maine $1,000 Danielle Simpson
The
Tyler/Grandmaison MELMAC Scholarship $1,500 Tony Finn
Wolfrett "Sport" Eldredge Scholarship $1,000 Scott
Burnett
York Art Association $750 Eric
Morrison
York Athletic Boosters Scholarship $500
Amanda Kasbohm
York Athletic Boosters Scholarship $500
Marquis MacGlashing
York Fisheries Association $500
Thomas Kinton
York Golf & Tennis Club Appreciation
Award $1,000 Fran Mendoza
York High School Faculty
Improvement Award Silver Bowl Tony Finn/Jared Twombly
York Hospital Auxiliary Scholarship Award $3,000 Theodore
Bullock
York Mentor Recognition Award $1,000 Charles
Holly
York Rotary Scholarship $4,000 Emily
Campbell
York Rotary Scholarship $4,000 Patrick
Walsh
York Rotary Scholarship $2,000 Sage
Rundlett
York Rotary Scholarship $2,000 Thomas
Reid
York Soccer Club Scholarship $1,000 Alexa
Bando
York Soccer Club Scholarship $1,000 Thomas
Reid
York Student Scholarship Fund $1,000 Haley
DeValliere
York Teachers' Association Scholarship $3,000
Rachel Yorke
York Village Business Association $1,000
Veronica Sullivan