Portsmouth High School names Top 10 students in Class of 2022

PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth High School has announced the Top 10 students in its Class of 2022. A commencement ceremony will be held Friday, June 10 at 5:30 p.m. at the high school. The Top 10 students in alphabetical order are:

Samuel Borne

Samuel Borne is the son of Amy and Steven Borne and lives in Rye. Sam will attend Bowdoin College in the fall, and plans to study government and economics. He hopes to gain a nuanced understanding of international relationships with the goal of becoming a diplomat in the Foreign Service. At PHS, Sam was a Captain on the Debate Team, Vice-President of Model UN and a Varsity Mathlete. Sam has qualified for both Debate and Model UN national championships. He was also the Class of 2022 Treasurer and played alto saxophone in Holiday Ensemble and Jazz Band. Sam was a three-sport varsity athlete, in cross country, track and swim team where he served as Captain. Sam also competed in club swimming for Portsmouth Swim Team and Atlantic Aquatics. Sam was very engaged civically, being selected to be a US Senate Page for Summer 2020, the PHS nominee for the United States Senate Youth Program, attended Boys State, was a member of Civics Unplugged Class of 2020, “When We All Vote” NH Student Leader, volunteered for the Rye Civic League and New Hampshire Rank Choice Voting. Sam completed the two-year CTE track for computer science, and received the Yale Book Award his junior year. Sam spearheaded the Rye ballot initiative to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day and enjoys hiking, running (sometimes), going to the beach, and spending time outside in general. Sam enjoys listening to podcasts, and is a voracious reader, believing there is no better day spent than that at the beach with a book and a bonfire in the evening with friends.

Mya Catino

Mya Catino is the daughter of Jessica and Donald Catino and lives in Rye. She will be attending Wesleyan University this fall and plans on studying political science. Mya has a passion for combating social injustices and hopes to pursue this passion as a human rights lawyer. During her four years at PHS, Mya was a member of the Peer Leadership volunteering club and the WeSpeak activism club. She also worked with the SAU52 Equity Council, an egalitarian-driven team of educators, administrators, and students in the Portsmouth school district. As an athlete, Mya was a captain of the varsity cross country team and participated on the varsity swim and track teams. Outside of school, Mya is a founding board member of Education for All Children Student 2 Student, a student-led organization that raises money for children in Kenya to attend secondary school. She also enjoys skiing, discovering new music, and spending time with friends and family. Mya is a National Merit Commended Scholar, recipient of the Dartmouth Book Award, recipient of the National Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish, and a member of the National Honor Society.

Nikolai Kozak

Nikolai Kozak lives in Portsmouth's South End with his parents, Chris and Tracy Kozak, and his brother Seth. He will be attending the University of Minnesota to study sport management this fall. He wants to continue his education in business that he started at Portsmouth High’s Career Technical Education program and apply that knowledge to the professional sporting industry. During his time at PHS, Nikolai was a three-sport varsity captain for the football team, and the indoor and outdoor track and field teams. He organized “captain’s practices” outside of mandatory scheduled practice times to help underclassmen hone their talent and better prepare for the season. As a member of the St. John’s Church community, he has participated in many "Service Sundays" as well as a mission trip to North Carolina to work with the immigrant community on farms. During his junior and senior years, he has worked and is a certified trainer at Chipotle. By nature, Nikolai helps those around him however he can. Balancing these extracurriculars and work with his rigorous academic work was important, just as a star balances the forces of fusion and gravity to create hydrostatic equilibrium. Nikolai is a recipient of the Bausch and Lomb Science Award, and a member of the National Honor Society and National Technical Honor Society.

Sophia Logan-Barre

Sophia Logan-Barre of Portsmouth is the child of glass artist Kristina Logan and French teacher Jean-Christophe Barre. She will attend Rochester Institute of Technology to study illustration after taking a gap year, in which she will complete an internship at White Pine Programs and work on freelance projects. Among these projects will be a short animatic for the Auricolare storytelling and music troupe, as well as illustrations for the third installment of the series "In Case We're Made Into Coats" by Tessa Charleigh. Sophia created illustrations for the first two novels during her time at PHS. She also played flute and piccolo in the PHS Marching and Holiday Band, volunteered at White Pine, and participated in the Portsmouth Holiday Arts Tour. Outside of school, Sophia enjoys birdwatching and playing piano. When inspiration flows like a lahar, she spends her time drawing original pieces for herself based on the intersection of art, science, and nature.

Lilia Potter-Schwartz

Lilia Potter-Schwartz is the daughter of Sharyn Potter and Mike Schwartz and lives in Portsmouth. She will attend Yale University to study molecular biophysics and biochemistry. With an interest in global health, her current focus includes the CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service and a career in epidemiology. She looks forward to understanding the interconnections between biology, physics, and global health to support communities locally and abroad. During her time at PHS, Lilia served as Student Council President, Executive Board Member of National Honors Society, a Student Facilitator for WeSpeak, and a member of both Peer Leadership and the Varsity Math Team. As a captain of the cross-country, swimming, and track and field teams, Lilia enjoyed serving as a mentor and cultivating positive team camaraderie. Lilia was the recipient of the Cross-Country MVP award (2021), Cross-Country Coach’s Award (2020), and Swim Team Hardest Worker and Coach’s Awards (2018, 2019, 2020). She has been playing the violin for 14 years and performs with the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra and NH All State Orchestra as a first violinist. She became the first student from PHS in 35-plus years to receive a NH All State Orchestra 4-year-award. Outside of school, Lilia is founder and chair of Education For All Children Student-to-Student (EFAC S2S), a student-run organization dedicated to supporting the education of Kenyan secondary students. Since founding the student organization in 2016, EFAC S2S has grown to eight chapters from Michigan to Florida. She also enjoys lifeguarding and loves to explore the outdoors and spend time paddle boarding. Lilia is a 2022 US Presidential Scholar (awarded to 161 high school seniors nationally), and a recipient of the Prize Book Award from the Harvard Alumni Association and the Academic Excellence in Math Award from the Kim Lim Foundation.

Carter Schmitt

Carter Schmitt is the son of Jodi Labonte and Ariel Schmitt and lives in Portsmouth. He will be attending Rochester University to study economics. His interest in economics stems from a desire to create a better system that benefits everyone. He hopes also to pursue a path in computer science as this can act as an essential tool in the digital economy of the future. While at PHS, Carter has had the opportunity to explore many different activities. In the robotics team, he worked as the head programmer, bringing the robot to life. In the debate team and Model UN, he participated in many different competitions, even flying to DC to compete in Academic World Quest. Over two different summers, he wrote historical research papers through PHS Clipper Academy. He enjoys running, especially with friends, and has been a cross country team member throughout high school. Carter is a National Honor Society member, an NH STEM Scholar, and a recipient of Rochester's Xerox Innovation and Information Technology Award. In his free time Carter enjoys playing board games, hiking in the summer, and reading the news.

Michael Schoff

Michael Schoff is the youngest child of Tara and Christopher Schoff. He lives in Portsmouth. Michael earned admission to Dartmouth College as well as an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He will attend Dartmouth College in the fall to study engineering. He aspires to work in the field of renewable energy to help mitigate climate change. During his time at PHS, Michael competed as a part of the varsity indoor and outdoor track and field teams. As a junior, he set a school record in the outdoor 200-meter dash at the New Hampshire Meet of Champions. He was also a member of relay teams that broke school records in the 4x400m, 4x200m, and 4x100m. Michael was named MVP of the team twice. He also earned three varsity letters on the PHS Golf Team. Outside of athletics, Michael was involved in Peer Leadership and the National Honor Society. During the summer after his junior year, he was a student at the St. Paul's Advanced Studies Program. Michael received the Kim Lim Foundation Award for academic excellence in science and the Rensselaer Medal Award. Perhaps his biggest accomplishment was becoming an APStat Legend during his senior year.

Jacob Telford

Jacob Telford is the son of Amanda Telford and Geoff Crosby. He will be taking a gap year to backpack around the world before going to college to study computer science. He hopes to work in software development after college. While at PHS, Jake participated in Student Council for four years, as well as captaining the ultimate frisbee team. He enjoys ultimate frisbee immensely and thinks more people should play. Outside of school, Jake works at Popovers on the Square, and enjoys teaching martial arts. He also loves to ski and read in his free time. Jake is NH STEM Scholar as well as a member of the National Honors Society and National Technical Honors Society.

Julia Welsh

Julia Welsh is the daughter of Lauren Greenwald and Joe Welsh and lives in Portsmouth. She will attend Colby College and plans to major in global studies. She also intends to continue studying Spanish and math. Julia hopes to pursue a career that allows her to combine her love of geography, culture and international travel with her interest in math. While at PHS, Julia was a member of Peer Leadership, SEGA Tanzania Club, and National Honor Society. Julia arrived at PHS a soccer, basketball, and lacrosse player, but went on to also participate in cross country, unified soccer, unified basketball and tennis. Throughout high school, she worked at various local businesses and now works at Em & Elle. Julia was the 2021 Trig Star award recipient for PHS, placing second overall in New Hampshire. She received a 2022 NHIAA and NHADA Scholar Athlete Award and was named a Highest Honors award recipient by the Society of Women Engineers in recognition of excellence in science and mathematics. Julia started a baking business at the age of 12, and still loves to bake in her free time. She had the privilege of traveling to Tanzania with Mrs. McGrimley and to Costa Rica with Ms. Wemple. She hopes to travel all over the world.

Hannah Westlake

Hannah Westlake of Greenland is the eldest daughter of Ashley and Tracey Westlake. She will be attending Endicott College in the fall to study nursing. During her time at PHS, she participated in Peer Leadership all four years where she was able to explore her passion for community service. Hannah was also a member of the National Honor Society and was named a National Merit Scholarship commended student. She enjoyed deepening her knowledge of math and science, and her interest led her to become a New Hampshire STEM Scholar. Hannah was also the recipient of the Society of Women Engineers Certificate of Merit in her junior year. Outside of school, she enjoys singing, playing the piano, and experiencing opportunities with her church, including a mission trip to Costa Rica. Her most memorable high school experience is working at the Edgewood Centre as a staff assistant for the majority of her senior year, learning important skills for her future career while building friendships with the residents. In college, Hannah hopes to further explore her passion for both community service and travel while gaining valuable experience through her nursing courses and clinicals.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth High School Top 10 students in the Class of 2022