Newtown resident Kenneth Canfield, Jr, is the Class of 2021 valedictorian at Henry Abbott Technical High School in Danbury, and it is an accomplishment he has been working toward for years.

In a recent phone interview, Kenneth explained that he learned in his freshman year at the school that he was in the running to be valedictorian of his class.

“When I found out that I was in second, my racing part of me — I race go-karts — sort of refused to get second. I knew I had to work harder and push harder to stay in first,” Kenneth said.

And he did.

Kenneth attended Sandy Hook Elementary School, Reed Intermediate School, and Newtown Middle School before selecting Henry Abbott Technical High School, which he chose to attend due to the school’s “trade system.” Kenneth studied precision machining technology.

“It kind of embraces the more technological side of me, where it includes math... and I originally considered automotive, because my father is a mechanic,” said Kenneth, adding that he knew his father could teach him “anything automotive.”

Kenneth’s parents — Kenneth Canfield, Sr, and Erica Canfield, Newtown’s Republican Registrar of Voters — have encouraged him and taught him “my whole work ethic.”

“Growing up, both of them have just taught me the importance of working hard and earning everything you have,” said Kenneth.

His older sister, Sam, has been “my biggest cheerleader,” said Kenneth. She was also the first person in his immediate family to attend college.

Kenneth said he plans to complete an apprenticeship with Arch Medical Solutions in Newtown while learning part-time at Naugatuck Community College; then he plans to apply to a four-year college. He plans to study manufacturing engineering and business.

When asked if anything from his early educational career stands out to him, Kenneth said his third grade teacher told him he would be “an engineer and she could see me buildings things one day. At the time I thought it was absurd, but it kind of fits now.”

While at Henry Abbott Technical High School, Kenneth was secretary of the school’s National Honor Society, and he participated in the work-based learning program working at Arch Medical Solutions–Newtown.

Kenneth said he is grateful to Henry Abbott Technical High School’s precision machining technology instructor Steven Bova for knowing machining was the right fit for him and making it a priority to support him in reaching every goal he had in the trade.

“He was really in my corner from the beginning,” said Kenneth.

“For now, I want to work through the different steps of becoming a model maker at [Arch],” Kenneth said, adding that he hopes to open his own engine building shop one day.