JAY – Monica Adams was surprised and honored when she learned she was No. 1 among seniors in her class.

The 17-year-old Jay High School senior plans to attend Elmira College in Elmira, N.Y., near the border with Pennsylvania. She plans to study political science and maybe pre-law.

“I either want to become an environmental lawyer or a politician of some kind in Congress,” Adams said.

She’s always been interested in the environment and caring for it and has had an interest in government.

“I’m from Maine and we have a beautiful state and I don’t want to see it destroyed,” she said. “If I was to become a legislator I would try to create legislation to protect our environment. I want to help others enjoy our environment in the future.”

Adams said school was “pretty easy for her” but the one thing that gave her difficulty was math.

“I just struggle in it,” she said. “I’m not someone who grasps math theories easily. I was still able to succeed, it just took extra work.”

During her free time, in study hall and after school, she went to see her teacher a lot.

Though she struggled with math, she said, other classes were “boring” even though she challenged herself with the hardest classes available.

“Some of my classes were definitely boring,” she said. “I felt like I already knew it. Definitely some classes – not all – but a few, I felt like I wasn’t challenged. I’ve had some teachers that were more helpful than others. They were very valuable to me and the school.”

Adams said she got a lot out of school, not just in education but in life. “I learned how to deal with things that are not easy or you don’t want to do,” she said.

The best part of school for her, she said, was probably the sports teams, not actually the sport but the people involved in them.

“I liked supporting your teammates and I liked what everybody brought to the team and the atmosphere,” she said. She participated in cross-country, track and skiing.

Adams had a few words to say to her peers that she’ll speak to at graduation at 1 p.m. Sunday at the school gym.

“Don’t forget your goals in life and be true to yourself,” she said. The point of her speech Sunday, she said, is “everybody great has made mistakes but they don’t have to stop you from doing great things.”

For the underclassman, Adams said, “Try not to be influenced by negative people and don’t change for anybody.”

Though Adams has worked hard her entire school years, she was surprised to come out on top.

“It wasn’t a particular goal to be valedictorian,” Adams said. “I wanted to be in the top 10 somewhere but when I found out I was valedictorian I was surprised and honored.”

[email protected]