Star Student Megan Bennett aspires to help others through biotechnology
Resourcefulness, or the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties, is a valuable trait to have in any setting, whether it be academic or professional.
This attribute, along with a healthy dose of integrity, empathy and leadership skills, shines through recent Norton High School graduate Megan Bennett. So, there was little surprise from staff when she was selected as this year's No. 2 Star Student. The annual program by the Akron Beacon Journal, The Record-Courier, The Canton Repository and The Daily Record recognizes the region’s outstanding high school graduates.
“I can’t say enough good things about her. She is a remarkable student,” said Leah Cascaldo, who teaches Yearbook, one of Bennett’s favorite courses from her senior year. “I have zero doubts that she'll be successful in whatever she does. She doesn't wait for something to come to her, she can go out and find it. She can go out and find the story, she can go find the picture, she'll make something happen out of nothing.”
Bennett received numerous academic recognitions and awards throughout her four years at Norton High School and ultimately graduated with a 4.90 grade-point average. She feels that her biggest accomplishment to date was being named valedictorian.
“It was nice knowing that my hard work paid off, all the dedication that I put in really paid dividends,” Bennett said.
She was also voted as the recipient of the school’s Panther Pride Award/Scholarship for being the best representative for a Norton High School student.
It’s safe to say that the alumna was just as busy outside of the classroom as she was within it. While attending Norton High School, Bennett participated in its superintendent advisory committee, prom committee and Pep Club. She also served as the president of Key Club and Spanish Club as well as the vice president of student government and secretary to the National Honors Society.
Through Key Club, she volunteered at the Akron Marathon, Salvation Army, One of A Kind Pet Rescue, Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank and over a half-dozen additional organizations. In 2020, she founded and oversaw a tutoring group for middle school students. Norton’s Key Club members will continue running the program now that Bennett is moving on to college at Ohio State University.
For the last 15 years, Bennett played soccer and was captain of Norton’s varsity soccer team her senior year. On top of everything else, Bennett has worked part time in the child watch center of a national gym franchise for the last year and a half.
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Bennett’s dedication to academic success and community involvement stemmed from her mother, who also plays many roles throughout the Norton community.
“I always want to follow in her footsteps,” Bennett said. “I just think she's so cool because she’s such a hard worker. She's really involved in our community, so that's how I wanted to model myself.”
In the fall, Bennett will move to OSU’s main campus in Columbus to study biomedical engineering, a passion that was sparked initially through tragedy.
“I just think that the science that goes into (biomedical engineering) is super interesting,” she explained. “My mom had breast cancer, so researching into different cancer technologies or things like that would be cool or radiation therapy — anything, really, in health care I just find very interesting.”
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The semifinalists: These are the 2022 Star Students semifinalists selected from more than 100 nominees
The finalists: Meet the 2022 Star Students for Summit, Stark, Portage, Wayne, Medina and Holmes counties
Selection process: These are some of top area high school seniors. Here's how 2022 Star Students were picked
For Bennett, the flexibility of the degree itself is a major benefit. There are many forms that biomedical engineering can take career-wise, such as working on prosthetics, x-rays and other types of biotechnology.
“I don't have a specific job in mind,” she said. “If I were to change my mind, I could get an engineering job through mechanical engineering or chemical engineering. Just because I have a major in biomedical engineering, I can still become an engineer in any of those areas as well, which is interesting.”
Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Twitter @TawneyBeans.
Meet Star Student Megan Bennett
High school: Norton High School
College/post-high school choice: The Ohio State University
Intended major(s): Biomedical engineering
Social media sites you use the most: Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok
TV shows you binge watch (or plan to binge watch): “Bridgerton,” “Stranger Things,” and “You”
Favorite subject in school: Math
Person (other than a parent) who has been the biggest influence on you and why: My friends have had a huge influence on me. It’s hard to choose one person because they have all played a huge part in encouraging me and pushing me to be the best version of myself.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I hope to be happy, financially stable, and surrounded by family and friends.
Briefly describe your favorite high school memory: My favorite high school memory would have to be winning Homecoming Queen this year.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Norton grad Megan Bennett recognized as Star Student
