MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury Union High School has announced its Valedictorian and Salutatorian for the 2017-2018 school year. The two students will address their classmates, families and friends at MUHS Graduation on Saturday, June 9.
Laura Whitley of Weybridge has been named class Valedictorian. She is the daughter of Pat and Lisa Whitley. Laura is an academically talented and intellectually curious young woman who has pursued a rigorous curriculum during each of her four years at the high school.
Her coursework has included some of the school’s most demanding courses, including six Advanced Placement classes, four years of Latin, and Psychology at Middlebury College. MUHS teachers describe Laura as attentive, thoughtful, smart, and positively engaged in the classroom. They respect her thoughtfulness and find her to be a motivated student.
Outside of the classroom, Laura captained the school’s gymnastics and field hockey teams, served as a peer leader, is a member of the National Honor Society, and has been active in her church where she teaches Sunday School. Laura was recently named a recipient of the Governor Phil Hoff Honor Scholarship from VSAC. Criteria for selection is based on scholastic excellence and participation in extracurricular and community service activities. She will enroll in the Honors Program at Northeastern University in Boston in the fall and pursue a major in the sciences.
The Salutatorian honors go to Julian Schmitt of Middlebury. He is the son of Samantha Farrell-Schmitt and John Schmitt. Julian is academically gifted and a talented musician. While enrolled at the high school, Julian has taken some of the school’s most demanding classes and his teachers describe him as committed, confident and dedicated to his educational endeavors. Julian has completed eight Advanced Placement courses and taken a college course at Middlebury.
He’s a member of the school’s National Honor Society, he plays lead trumpet in Midd Jazz and the All State Jazz Band, has participated in the Discover Jazz Festival and a summer program at Berklee College of Music with his fellow Tigers. He captains both the varsity cross country and track teams and has participated in Boys State. Julian will head to Cambridge, Mass. in the fall to enroll at Harvard University, where he will pursue coursework in mathematics.
Both Laura and Julian were part of a team of MUHS seniors who participated in the M3 Math Modeling Team. Their team made it to the final six of 900 teams in a nationwide competition. They were recognized by the United States Department of Education and were named as candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.