To say Spruce Mountain High School senior Austin Gilboe is active would be a colossal understatement. The list of things he’s involved in at school and in the community is far too long to detail here, but to give you just a taste:

Two varsity sports (baseball and soccer) and two KVAC team selections, youth soccer coach, Envirothon Team (state champs and 28th in the U.S.),  Robotics Team, Safety Team (captain), Chairman’s Award Team (co-captain), Build Team, a judge for LEGO League State Qualifier, a table setter for State LEGO League Competition, Math Team, National Honor Society (treasurer), senior class treasurer, Drama Club, Senior Choir, participated in Thanksgiving Food Basket program, performed water quality tests on Moose Hill Pond in Livermore Falls, assisted with the Wilson Lake Watershed Survey in Wilton, and an active Lion’s Club volunteer.

And that’s before breakfast. 

He says he often puts in 12-hour days at school, which is just another reason why he was named September Student of the Month.

All of that involvement has, just in the last year, taken him to St. Louis, Missouri, Ontario, Canada, and many Northeastern states. And the idea is not to slow down too much. On his to-do list: become a chemical engineer.

Here’s a glimpse into Austin’s world.

Name: Austin Gilboe

Age: 17

Hometown: North Jay

School: Spruce Mountain High School, Jay

Class standing: 9th in a class of 103

Favorite subject: While he says he likes all subjects, he notes a fondness for computer-aided design class with Mr. Lemieux. “I try to take one of his classes every year.” 

Fluff class: “World Foods. . . . Gives me two lunches. I like to eat.”

Most difficult class: “Calculus. . . . Mr. Jewett was a good teacher. It was a team effort; we struggled through it together.”

Motivators: “I give a lot of credit to Mr. Lemieux (SMART advisor), Mr. Taylor (Envirothon advisor, SMART assistant advisor) and Ms. Girardin (Math Team coach).”

How do you balance your time? “My motto is: ‘Don’t think beyond the hour.’ There are a lot of late nights. Sometimes I can be at school from 6 to 6.”

Why so involved? Austin says it all started in the 4th grade, when he went to a LEGO Track Meet with Mr. Taylor. “I have a hard time saying no. I’m Mr. Taylor’s little minion. He ropes me into everything he does.”

Most enjoyed: He says it’s a tie between the Envirothon and Robotics teams. While in Ontario with the Envirothon Team, he met kids from 59 areas of the world. While in St. Louis for the robotics competition, he was next to a team from Israel. “My No. 1 fear is that these programs will die.”

Potential downfalls to being so active: Austin says the pitfalls include less sleep, sometimes forgetting things and not having as much time for a social life. “I have to be organized. Everything is color coordinated, neat and tidy. If not, it bugs the crap out of me.” 

Girlfriend? Yes. Camryn Berry, who he’s in four classes with this year and spends a lot of time studying with. “We’re co-captains in the SMART program.”

Family: Mom Melany is a chemical engineer at Catalyst Paper in Rumford. Dad Ron works at Verso in Jay. Sister Baylee is a freshman at the University of Maine Farmington. “Family is really important to me.”

Colleges applied to: Brown University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of Maine, Mass Maritime Academy, University of Maine at Farmington.

What you’ve learned about yourself: “I’m capable of almost anything. Anything is possible. It’s pretty incredible the things I’ve done.”

Tip for others: “Just get involved.”