Each year The Rangeley Highlander sends questions to the Rangeley Lakes Regional School graduating class. The questions vary each year and the graduating students have a lot on their plates so they are given the option of skipping questions for any reason.

Yes, it was a challenging year with varied schedules and some limited opportunities, but a positive outlook along with a strong foundation made for bright outcomes. Perhaps unexpected and unplanned situations became the impetus to discover new skills and previously undiscovered interests.

The Rangeley community is very proud of the young adults in their community and so we really appreciate the students taking time to share with us.

I hope the students know that the people of this town are rooting for them on every step of their journey, now and always.

Luke Beaulieu

Parents/Guardians: Jake and Lisa Beaulieu

What are your plans for the immediate future? Attend EMCC

What are your future goals? I want to go to some form of secondary education.

Who would you like to give thanks to? Friends and family.

What are your favorite songs, bands, movies or hobbies? Playing golf and baseball.

What or who will you miss the most from RLRS? The staff.

What advice do you have for the Class of 2022? Don’t wait to do your work.

Will Brey

Parents/Guardians: Mary and Bill Brey

What are your plans for the immediate future?  Going to diesel mechanic school at Lincoln Tech.

What are your future goals? Make my way through school, find a good job and hopefully one day have my own shop.

Which of your accomplishments at RLRS are you most proud of and why? Accomplish high school and finishing.

Who would you like to give thanks to? Parents, teachers, Scott Ash, Michael Haley, Mike Koob, Lee Libby, Kyle Haley, AJ Ash, Jonny Wakefield.

What are your favorite songs, bands, movies or hobbies? Hunting, fishing, snowmobiling- outdoor things.

What or who will you miss the most from RLRS? My friends.

How would you like to be remembered? As someone who was always laid-back.

What advice do you have for the Class of 2022? Keep pushing forward.

Garrett Burgess

Parents/Guardians: David Burgess and Jennifer Napoli

What are your plans for the immediate future? Work

What are your future goals? Make a lot of money

Which of your accomplishments at RLRS are you most proud of and why? Graduating

Who would you like to give thanks to? My parents

What are your favorite songs, bands, movies or hobbies? Snowmobile, dirt bike, work on trucks

What or who will you miss the most from RLRS? Nobody

Anastasia Champagne

Parents/Guardians: Jeremy and Lori Champagne

What are your plans for the immediate future? Go to work.

What are your future goals? Become a paramedic.

Which of your accomplishments at RLRS are you most proud of and why? Getting into NHS

Who would you like to give thanks to? The staff for putting up with my shenanigans

What are your favorite songs, bands, movies or hobbies? 7 Miles South, Uncle Lucas, Nickelback, Seven Seconds to Mars.

What or who will you miss the most from RLRS? Tony Clark

How would you like to be remembered? As someone who likes helping others

What advice do you have for the Class of 2022? Do not put off your history homework

Connor Hall

Parent/Guardian: Steve Hall

What are your plans for the immediate future? U.S. Navy

Which of your accomplishments at RLRS are you most proud of and why? Home run senior year

Who would you like to give thanks to? My dad. My sister.

What are your favorite songs, bands, movies or hobbies? Dukes of Hazzard

What or who will you miss the most from RLRS? Tim Straub

How would you like to be remembered? Most handsome

What advice do you have for the Class of 2022? You will never be better than me, so give up now.

Jacob House

Parents/Guardians: Crystal and Vincent House

What are your plans for the immediate future? Work

What are your future goals? Get a bachelors in information tech

Who would you like to give thanks to? All of my teachers

What are your favorite songs, bands, movies or hobbies? Epoch- Savlonic (Living Tombstone Remix) Hobbies- working on AI and computers

What or who will you miss the most from RLRS? Going to school

How would you like to be remembered? As a person that liked technology

What advice do you have for the Class of 2022? Don’t slack off in your senior year

Connor Irvine

Parents/Guardians: Janet and John Irvine

What are your plans for the immediate future? Be a chef in a local restaurant

What are your future goals? Obtain vast amounts of riches

Which of your accomplishments at RLRS are you most proud of and why? The friends I’ve made

Who would you like to give thanks to? Mrs. Woodman for putting up with my BS

What are your favorite songs, bands, movies or hobbies? Good f*cking music by Solence, Movies: the new Godzilla movies Hobbies: games

What or who will you miss the most from RLRS? The simplicity of the routine

How would you like to be remembered? Infamously

What advice do you have for the Class of 2022? Don’t fret about the one thing ou messed up that time. No one else remembers it.

Emma Jacot-Descombes

Parents/Guardians: LA and Michael Jacot-Descombes

What are your plans for the immediate future? After this academic year I will be taking the National Registry exam for my EMT license. I’ll have jobs lined up in EMS, and I am also attending Floriday Institute of Technology for bachelor’s degree in meteorology and atmospheric science.

What are your future goals? I’d like to be a government meteorologist and eventually work in probing severe weather to study the effects climate change has on extreme weather phenomena.

Which of your accomplishments at RLRS are you most proud of and why? I’m proud of completing my Foster Tech EMT course. That class was challenging and I had to be so diligent with work and study. I made it though, and it’s my favorite class I ever had.

Who would you like to give thanks to? Mrs. Woodman and Ms. Simonds for nurturing my love for earth sciences and helping me discover my calling in life. Mrs. Smith for helping me explore the music in my soul and showing me how music can heal and change the world.

What are your favorite songs, bands, movies or hobbies? Song-Cardiac Arrest by Bad Suns, Book-The Great Northern, Band- Cage the Elephant, Movie- The Amazing Spider Man, TV Show- Blue exorcist, Sherlock, Avatar: The Last Airbender

What or who will you miss the most from RLRS? Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Emami, Mrs. Woodman, & Ms. Simonds

How would you like to be remembered? I’d like to be remembered as someone who had fun learning. A nice human. A cool cat.

What advice do you have for the Class of 2022? Learn to stop living life from an outside perspective. Live from your own. The only standards you need to live up to are your own, and once you have that, you’ll find that it’s a lot easier to be happy.

Mathieu Lessard

Parents/Guardians: Isabelle and Sebastien Lessard

What are your plans for the immediate future? Forestry work

What are your future goals? To be the next one to own my grandfather’s business

Who would you like to give thanks to? My parents, my sister, teachers, all the coaches I’ve had.

How would you like to be remembered? For being Canadien

What advice do you have for the Class of 2022? Do your homework. Not last minute.

Ellah Smith

Parents/Guardians: Beth and Chip Smith

What are your plans for the immediate future? To attend Endicott College in the Fall to study business

What are your future goals? To work as a CNA part-time in the summer while in college in hopes to move back and help market the family business

Which of your accomplishments at RLRS are you most proud of and why? I’m proud of my growth and how far I’ve come. Specifically in my high school sports career which has opened so many doors to play at college.

Who would you like to give thanks to? I would like to thank my mom and dad, all of my grandparents, Sage, Quincy, Jacksyn, Auntie and Uncle, Ali, Auntie L., the rest of the Haley’s, Furbish Fam, Emmelyn and the Boys.

What are your favorite songs, bands, movies or hobbies? Favorite songs include Good 4U by Olivia Rodrigo, Mr. PerfectlyFine by Taylor Swift. Movies: High School Musical and Grownups. Hobbies- working out, hunting, fishing, shopping, and hanging out.

What or who will you miss the most from RLRS? I am going to miss seeing everyone every morning.

What advice do you have for the Class of 2022? Senior year is going to go by fast. Cherish every single moment.

Kenny Thompson

Parents/Guardians: Ethna and Ryan Thompson

What are your plans for the immediate future? College at CMCC

What are your future goals? Live steady

Which of your accomplishments at RLRS are you most proud of and why? Graduating because it took 12 years

Who would you like to give thanks to? My family

What are your favorite songs, bands, movies or hobbies? Favorite hobbies are all sports

What or who will you miss the most from RLRS? Tim Straub and Kate Philbrick

How would you like to be remembered? As the G.O.A.T.

What advice do you have for the Class of 2022? Enjoy it while it’s here

Autumn-Skye Williams

Parents/Guardians: Shannon Webber-Williams and James Williams

What are your plans for the immediate future? To go to UMO for my basic Civil Engineering and then transfer to another school that specializes in more sustainable/renewable Energy Engineering

What are your future goals? To make colleagues and find and take advantage of opportunities to expand my learning into the field. As well as make connections in hopes that it will help me with my ultimate goal of helping the world with climate change and the progression towards renewable energy.

Which of your accomplishments at RLRS are you most proud of and why? I can’t really say a specific award or recognition per se, but what I will say is that I am proud of the recognition and awards that I have received this year, showing that my hard work finally paid off. Getting first place in the National History day competition felt unreal, but it was real! I spent agonizing days working with a small program and shrinking my huge research of almost 30 sources to 1200 words! That’s insane! As well, writing and drawing controversial aspects of America for scholastic competition that started a chain reaction of my AP Art portfolio. I have never thought so meticulously for art before (my brain feels a little friend, to be honest…). Still, I got it done, and hopefully, the judges will see the research I did behind it!

Who would you like to give thanks to? I would like to thank all of my teachers (RLRS and college professors) for they have helped me learn and grow in different learning styles. As well as for them and my friends and family for believing in me and my goal in life.

What are your favorite songs, bands, movies or hobbies? I like a little bit of everything, to be honest, so I don’t have many favorites. However, I like the genre of 60’s – 80’s rock and indie a lot. Movies: Nightmare Before Christmas, Mamma Mia, to name a couple. Hobbies- reading, walking, photography, listening to music, driving in the woods, etc. I like a lot of things, to be completely honest, ha ha.

What or who will you miss the most from RLRS? How some of the teachers became like family for me. Though some of them I only have experienced four years with, they make me feel comfortable and that I can trust them. To give a few names, Sonja Johnson, Maryam Emami, Rowena Hathaway, Tim Straub, Lucy Simonds definitely were my biggest supporters.

How would you like to be remembered? I want to be remembered for my integrity and perseverance. Yeah, some people might just remember me with good grades, but I don’t want that. I want Heidi Deery or someone else in the school to use me as an example of pushing forward when things get tough. Sometimes it can be a lonely path, but there are choices that we have to make to better ourselves to achieve the goals we want. With that being said, though, I hope if I am ever an example, I also want to be a lesson. Though you can push yourself to be the very best you can and work your butt off, it is okay to have fun and be a kid while you can.

What advice do you have for the Class of 2022? My advice for the Class of 2022 is to figure out a way to push through the last year and to stand up for yourselves in what you want because you deserve it. You didn’t spend your entire childhood and adolescence not having fun and relaxing for your last year of high school, but knowing what I know about you guys, I think you have that handled. Good luck next year, and even if it gets tough, communicate, divide the workload, and find common ground. The goal is graduating, right? You got this!

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