RANGELEY – She could have done just enough to get by in high school, but that’s not Abigail Madira’s style.
“I don’t think anything is worth doing if you’re not doing it in a way that you’re not getting anything out of it,” she said. “I challenge myself to make myself better.”
Her philosophy earned her the valedictorian’s seat in the Rangeley senior class. She admits that academics come easily to her, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a hard worker. She does independent studies, plays soccer, basketball and softball, is a member of the Interact Club and is a teacher’s aide in the kindergarten class every other day.
The latter helped her decide on a future in child psychology. “It’s something I’ve always been interested in,” she adds.
Madira will study psychology at the University of Maine Orono campus, meaning that she will move from one of the smallest high schools in the state (she is graduating with a class of 17) to the state’s largest college. But Madira thinks she’s ready.
“My sister just graduated from there, and I visited her there,” she says. “You can be really sheltered at a small school, but I try to take advantage of things that will broaden my perspectives.”
She counts among her experiences the 10-day National Student Leadership Conference at the University of Maryland, which students from all over the country attended.
Being involved in the Interact Club, a service club that acts as a branch to the Rotary Club, also helped introduce her to the larger Rangeley community.
And growing up in a small school has its advantages.
“I don’t know what it’s like to go to a big school, but I see all the benefits of going to a small school,” she says. “I play three sports, and I wouldn’t be able to do that at a bigger school or be involved in things like the Interact Club. Plus there’s the getting to know people so well. Most kids in my class have gone to school together since kindergarten. We’re like brothers and sisters.”
Rangeley Lakes Regional School Class of 2006 will graduate Saturday, June 10.
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