Top NHS Students Consider The Past And Look To The Future

By Jeff White

Taking on the competitive and demanding ascent of Newtown High School over the last four years, Clare Beams and Laura Hammond find themselves, at the end of their journey, standing on top.

They are the valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, for the class of 2000.

Getting to the top of a class can be, at times, a fierce, almost cutthroat competition, wherein students remain keenly aware of who is ahead of them and who is behind them. A top ten ranking is seen as a doorway to prestigious universities and scholarships, with some students separated by mere fractions of a grade point.

But cutthroat competition was far from the minds of Clare and Laura over the past years. Sure, with class rankings printed at the bottom of their report cards at the end of each marking period, they knew they were at or near the top. But despite admitting that their class was “very competitive,” they say that they really didn’t think much about that number given to them on each quarterly assessment.

By all accounts, Clare and Laura went another route: each excelled academically while looking at the other not as the competition, but as a friend. Their high school years brought them closer, as taking the same classes will do, and as they prepare to make their final farewell to their classmates June 9 in the graduation ceremony at Bruce Jenner Stadium, they will give one speech, together.

Balancing Academics    With Activities

Clare Beams and Laura Hammond have managed to practice pretty much the same scholastic philosophy over the past four years; they have supplemented their coursework with other activities that showcase their talents. Both believe this is an important ingredient to a successful student.

For Clare, the daughter of Mark and Ann Beams of Dodgingtown Road, music has helped to define her as a person, ever since fourth grade at Head O’ Meadow Elementary School, when she started to take her musical talents seriously.

Since then, she has learned to play the piano with proficiency appropriate to 10 years at the keys. Once high school rolled around, the myriad musical opportunities presented to students drew her in. Over the past four years, she has played the violin, at various times, for the school’s orchestra and chamber ensemble, as well as for several theatrical productions as a member of the pit orchestra.

“You miss a lot of learning if you don’t participate in other things,” Clare says.

And Laura would agree. The daughter of Bob and Gayle Hammond of Swamp Road and alum of Middle Gate Elementary School, Laura has the same drive on the sports field as she does in the classroom.

Throughout high school, she has been a member of the varsity volleyball and softball teams, and she was captain of the volleyball team this season.

Laura also spends a fair amount of her free time doing community service. She is a member of the high school’s Youth Advisory Board, an arm of Newtown Youth Services, and she teaches Sunday school at her church, Monroe Congregational.

Laura says that outside activities help students make the most of their high school careers, because there is a good chance that they might stumble onto something they really enjoy. “It’s important to get out there and to search for things you like.”

Not surprisingly, from their perch atop four years of high school experience, Clare and Laura find themselves looking in two directions: out into the future, where college awaits them, and over their shoulders at a high school career now past.

They find themselves thinking about the students who will soon roam the high school’s hallways.

Parting Advice

For Incoming Students

However similar their hard work and philosophy on school might be, throughout their four years at the high school Clare and Laura found that they had an affinity for different types of classes.

Clare says that she has always liked English courses, an interest that she plans to carry with her to college in the fall as a potential major. Not surprisingly, her English classes have been her favorite classes at the high school, and she singles out her current AP English class as perhaps the best. “I really liked it this year. There was a lot of reading and discussion,” she says.

As for her favorite teacher, her AP English teacher, Kerry Baldwin, is way up on her list, as are veteran social studies and math teacher Bob McHugh and longtime Newtown social studies teacher Bob Dilzer, who retired last year.

In contrast, Laura has always gravitated to science classes, and she plans to take her love of biology and major in it at college.

AP biology and AP psychology have been her two favorite classes at the high school, and she says that the two teachers who teach the classes, Susan Henderson and Bob McHugh, respectively, have been teachers who have stood out over the last the four years.

 Both Clare and Laura say that if they could give any advice to eighth graders who will start their high school careers in the fall, it would be to simply make the most out of the school’s opportunities, and to work hard to find your own way in the school.

“Get the most you can [out of school] when you’re here,” advises Clare. “Much of what you learn in high school you do yourself. You have to do it yourself.”

“They are going to have to be here for the next four years,” Laura adds. “Make the most of it, because you might find something you love and want to pursue in the future.”

Looking To The Future

The future for Clare Beams and Laura Hammond looks bright and promising.

Ever since her first visit to Princeton’s manicured, green campus, Clare has been in love with the Ivy League school, and will start a new chapter in her life when she enrolls there in the fall. Although she can’t say exactly what she will major in, she has a good feeling it will be something involving English.

Laura is a little surer, however. Knowing that she wants to study biology, next fall she will begin enjoying the view over Lake Michigan at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Laura found choosing a college difficult, and thus took the common approach of applying to scores of them. But after a visit to Northwestern’s campus two weeks ago, she knows she made the right decision.

But there’s a summer in between now and next fall, and both Clare and Laura already have their plans set. Laura will continue to work at the Danbury Center for Pediatrics, where she currently spends most Saturdays working as an office manager.

Clare will weather this summer’s predicted heat at Dickinson Park, as a camp counselor.

For those expecting traditional salutatory and valedictory addresses at the class of 2000’s commencement exercises next week, what Clare and Laura have in mind will be a little different. Instead of separate speeches, this year’s two top students plan to put their heads together and share one address, ala faculty members Bob McHugh and Ed Obloj, who will share the keynote speaking duties at the ceremony.

“We didn’t want something too traditional,” Laura muses.

And for Clare, having someone else to share the podium with will no doubt cut down on speaking jitters. “I’ll be a lot less nervous knowing someone will be up there.”

But that is all they are saying about the speech, except that they will touch upon both the past and the future.

Whatever thoughts they have already shared about the last four years and the looming future notwithstanding, they are saving their best recollections and advice for the end, for their class.