MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury Union High School has announced valedictorian and salutatorians for the Class of 2017
Charlotte Keathley of Cornwall is the class valedictorian. She is the daughter of Christian and Beth Keathley. In the past four years Charlotte has pursued a rigorous curriculum and has set the bar for academic excellence at MUHS. Teachers value Charlotte’s genuine sense of academic inquiry and her valuable contributions in the classroom. The faculty regard Charlotte as a student who is extremely intelligent, kindhearted, thoughtful, and hard working. She gives unconditionally to her peers and has always set high standards for herself both in and outside of the classroom.
Charlotte has spent time volunteering at Shelburne Farms as part of the “Steward in Training” program. A gifted writer, she traveled to Iowa City, Iowa, last summer and enrolled in the Iowa Young Writers Workshop, where she immersed herself in the written word. She has taken Introduction to Creative Writing and Environmental Writing at Middlebury College, and both courses provided her an opportunity to further expand on her love of composition.
Charlotte has served as a Peer Leader and has enjoyed mentoring our ninth graders during their first year of high school. She has also played singles on the varsity tennis team for the Tigers, has created a film documentary and is an avid hiker. She will leave Cornwall in the fall to enroll at Yale University in New Haven, Ct.
This year MUHS has selected three salutatorians. Jakub Kraus of Middlebury is the son of Allison Stanger and Michael Kraus. He has been involved in all aspects of the life of MUHS and defines the term “well-rounded student.” Jakub is a musician, a three-sport athlete and in January was named as one of Vermont’s Presidential Scholars, which is a national recognition from the U.S. Department of Education.
Jakub values the time he spends outside of school as an active member of the youth group at the Congregational Church and participating in community service with fellow members of the MUHS National Honor Society. Jakub is a National Merit Finalist and he will, after taking a gap year, enroll in the Honors College at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the fall of 2018.
Ronan Howlett is a resident of Cornwall and the son of Brian and Sigrid Howlett. Ronan’s talents are vast. He has been involved in a myriad of activities while enrolled at the high school. A gifted student, Ronan’s name regularly appears on the school’s honor roll, he was named an AP Scholar with Distinction and a National Merit Finalist. He has been involved in Model UN, Scholar’s Bowl, and the Student Senate. He has volunteered as a peer tutor in various subjects and has enjoyed helping fellow students with their homework.
Athletically, Ronan has represented the Tigers as member of the tennis, soccer and cross-country teams. In the fall Ronan will head to Williams College, where he is the recipient of the Tyng Scholarship — is one of the college’s most prestigious awards. The award is given annually to ten entering first year students and offers four paid summer opportunities, allowing Ronan to do internships, research, and travel while enrolled at the college.
Meigan Clark is the daughter of Gregor Clark and Gaen Muphree of Middlebury. A talented musician and vocalist, Meigan has been a member of the MUHS choir and takes private voice lessons with Beth Thompson, an instructor at the college. She has delighted the MUHS community with her theatrical style in her numerous performances, most recently as Ursula in “The Little Mermaid.”
In addition to her love of music, Meigan is a gifted writer. She has remained closely connected to her eighth-grade Language Arts teacher at MUMS and has assisted with the school’s Creative Writing Club. Meigan is passionate about world languages and has studied French extensively. She successfully completed a French Language and Culture class at Middlebury College during her senior year.
After graduation, Meigan will take a gap year as an au pair in France and enroll at Princeton University in New Jersey in the fall of 2018. Inspired by her love of the written word, and particularly by her experience at the New England Young Writers Project at Bread Loaf, she hopes to one day be an English professor at a college or university.