Traip Academy names co-valedictorians and Latin honors students for the Class of 2022

KITTERY, Maine — John Drisko, principal of R. W. Traip Academy, has announced the co-valedictorians and Latin honors students from the Class of 2022. Commencement exercises are slated for Friday, June 10 at 5 p.m. at Fort Foster Park in Kittery, Maine. If weather does not permit the outdoor venue, Commencement will be held in the school gymnasium. The commencement address will be given by Sonny Young, a 1979 Traip Academy graduate with a 31-year career in sports broadcasting at Voice of America. Students in alphabetical order are:

Graduating Summa Cum Laude

Emma Dawson Webb

Emma Dawson-Webb is the daughter of Rebecca and Tim Webb. She is an intellect at heart and strives for excellence in her academic and personal pursuits. She chooses her academic path with intention to nurture her interests and challenge herself. Emma’s strengths do not stop with her academics. She continues to shine in other areas including the arts. Emma has a passion for creativity and observation. Her acute sense for design is apparent in her role as the Creative Director for Traip Academy’s Publications course. The group is responsible for publishing the annual yearbook. Emma is a member of the National Honor Society and has served four years on the Traip Academy Student Council, two years as Secretary and two years as Vice President. She is committed to advocating for civil rights and social justice. As the Civil Rights Team leader, she has a strong voice and takes an active role in making positive change. She also spends time volunteering for different organizations. Emma plans to attend Tufts University in the fall of 2022 where she can continue to nourish her intellectual curiosity.

Julia Durling

Julia Durling is the daughter of Barbara and David Durling. She is hard-working, adventurous and athletic. Her perseverance and hard work are apparent in her academic success as well as in her commitment to athletics. She is thoughtful in her approach to communicating with others and sharing her knowledge in class. She works hard to accomplish her goals. She challenges herself by taking honors, advanced, and AP courses and is a strong math and science student. She earned honors status her freshman year and high honors her sophomore and junior years. Julia is a member of the National Honor Society. The leadership she demonstrates in the athletics arena is evident through her interactions with her teammates and her ability to motivate them to give their all. She shares her love of sports with younger children in her role as a ski instructor at Gunstock Mountain and coach for the U13 Girls Soccer Team. Julia plans to attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the fall of 2022 to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering.

Margaret Johnson

Margaret Johnson is the daughter of Susan Johnson. She is a hard worker who puts time and effort into all that she does. She wants to be remembered by her high school peers as someone who brings joy to others, while maintaining a strong work ethic in school. Maggy strives for excellence by setting high goals for herself and taking advanced, honors, and college level classes. She advocates for herself and is not afraid to challenge herself and take academic risks. Maggy serves as the Business Manager in Publications, the course where students produce the Traip Academy yearbook. Maggy is a member of the National Honor Society. She was the captain of Traip Academy’s Field Hockey Team for three years. She is also a member of the Traip Academy Indoor Track and Softball teams. She has a passion for athletics and is a dedicated team player. Her future goals involve helping others and being an advocate for children and families. Maggy plans to attend the University of Maine in the fall of 2022 to pursue a degree in psychology and pre-law.

Sarah Robillard

Sarah Robillard is a co-valedictorian of the Class of 2022. She is the daughter of Lawrence and Patricia Robillard. Sarah is an active member of the National Honor Society (Vice-President of Tutoring), Math Team, math tutor, participated on the Soccer Team all four years and was a key member of the State Championship team. Sarah is the current School Committee Student Representative. She also has been a lifeguard and swim instructor at the local pool for all four years. In addition, she volunteered at a local nursing home where she says she has learned compassion and patience. Sarah is a student recognized for being secure in her own education, unafraid to chart her own course and eager to challenge herself academically. Sarah would like to be remembered by her classmates as “someone who took pride in being friendly to others and helpful to  people when they needed it.”  Sarah will attend Villanova University in the fall to pursue a major in statistics.

Arianna Rubianes

Arianna Rubianes is the daughter of Abygail and Richard Rubianes. She is a member of the National Honor Society, participated in UNH’s Project Search, played Varsity Field Hockey and is a member of the Student-2-Student program. Outside of the classroom, Arianna is a founding member of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Youth Sponsorship Program, which keeps her actively involved with military-connected activities. Arianna is a true “server.” Her community service and volunteerism have always been directed to helping families, especially military families in need. She is a student with strong ethics and purpose in all that she does. She would like her classmates to remember her as a “hard-working student who offered a lending hand to others.” Arianna will attend Bowdoin College in the fall to pursue a major in biology.

Emily Sweeney

Emily Sweeney is the daughter of Karen and Daniel Sweeney. During her time at Traip Academy, Emily played soccer and basketball, participated in the Interact Club, the Student-2-Student program, and Project Search. She is a member of the National Honor Society and worked in the Traip Garden Summer Internship program. One of Emily’s passions is the field of medicine. She participated with “Inside Medicine” which is a program through Maine Medical Center and Tufts Medical Pipeline. There she worked directly with doctors and medical students exploring various medical fields. Emily is attentive and adaptive. She is rarely ever seen without a smile on her face. She would like her classmates to remember her as “a kind and motivated individual who strives for success.” Emily will attend Endicott College in the fall to study nursing.

Lily Watts

Lily Watts is a co-valedictorian of the Class of 2022. She is the daughter of Brenda Bladen and Joseph Watts IV. Lily served on the Student Council (President 2021-22, Treasurer 2020-21) and is a member of the National Honor Society (Current President).  Lily is the student representative on the Kittery Climate Adaptation Committee and the student representative for the Kittery School District Visioning Committee. Influenced by these committees, she co-founded the Traip Sustainability Club. She participated on the Math Team, played JV and Varsity Lacrosse, and ran Varsity Indoor Track. She participated in the drama program (musical and one-act productions) as an actor and as tech/stage manager), and earned the District I Honors in Chorus and a spot in the Maine All-State Chorus. She joined the Civil Rights Team and participated in the Student-2-Student program. Lily chose to defer her attendance to Bowdoin College until the fall of 2023 in order to travel across the United States as a participant with WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). Lily would like to be remembered by her classmates as “a caring and interesting person and friend; someone they trusted.”

Aili Webb

Aili Webb is the daughter of Deborah and George Webb IV. She is a member of the National Honor Society (Secretary), participated in Band and Jazz Band for all four years and has volunteered her time at toy drives, trash clean-up and local blood drives.  She also served on the community playground project. Aili has an incredible talent for art and music and was a member of The Mill, a creative interdisciplinary student-driven club for artistic exploration. Aili would like her classmates to remember her as “someone who was considerate and gentle.”  Aili will attend the University of Maine at Farmington in the fall to study psychology.

Graduating Magna Cum Laude

Conrad Burke, Kaleb Cassinelli, Josephine Considine, Isabella Harris, Alexis Hernandez, Benjamin Mandani, Kerri McCann, Olivia O’Leary-Curcio, Joshua Phillips, Stephanie Reilly, Bowman Rollins, Brinly Seward, Carly Walker, Owen Woollacott.

Graduating Cum Laude

McKenzie Blasi, Sydney Blasi, Oscar Byron, Banning Crowley, Matthew Ford, Nora Gilbert, Kevin Kulyk, Colin Martin, Aubrie Murdock, Molly Sawtelle.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Traip Academy Kittery ME names co-valedictorians, Latin Honors students