Senior Jade Hawkesworth was named salutatorian for the class of 2021, with an overall GPA of a 99.224. Jade is a National AP Scholar and a member of the National Honor Society, along with several other clubs and organizations. 

Throughout high school, Jade took 17 different AP classes. Her favorite one was AP Biology with Mr. Grodski, which sparked her interest in science. “Grodski is such an engaging and dedicated teacher, I don’t think my experience would have been as successful or memorable without him.”

The hardest class she took in high school was AP Physics I. “Physics was really hard for me because I wanted to find the answer and move onto the next question, but I was constantly stopping my flow to do more work for a question.”

The easiest class she ever took was AP Comparative Government. While it was a lot of work, “the material was relevant to today’s world, it was easy to stay motivated, and Mr. Hilly is an amazing teacher.”

Becoming salutatorian was a bit of a surprise for Jade. She knew her grades were high, but was always convinced there were a few people ahead of her. She is incredibly grateful to receive this honor. “It was so rewarding. I feel like this achievement allowed me to look back on my four years of high school and really go… wow.”

Jade has always had a passion for learning. To stay motivated, she said, “I always focused on taking classes I was actually interested in.”

Jade wants the underclassmen to know that it’s important to focus on yourself and your grades. “Trying to figure out other GPAs or the other classes people are taking will turn high school into a competition.”

Next year, Jade will be attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study Brain and Cognitive Sciences. She plans to minor in Political Science and attend law school in the future. Jade is hoping to work for the Boston Organization Beyond Conflict, which uses a scientific approach based on behavioral sciences to solve international social and political conflicts. 

Congratulations and good luck to Jade!