After being named as Newtown High School’s valedictorian and salutatorian for 2019, Bryan Ingwersen and Hailey Pankow shared school memories and advice ahead of the school’s commencement ceremony, scheduled for June 11.

Bryan and Hailey, the valedictorian and salutatorian respectively, learned along with the rest of the school’s top demi-decile students on May 10 they had earned placement at the top of the Class of 2019.

The Valedictorian

“It was exciting to find out,” Bryan reflected later.

While he did not know for sure that he would be named valedictorian ahead of time, he had an inkling. Bryan said the accomplishment makes him feel happy, like his work “over the years” is reflected in the honor.

Hailey was also surprised by the news.

“It was a very nice surprise,” Hailey said after the announcement. “I’m glad to hear that all my work I’ve done has paid off.”

With the June 11 graduation ceremony looming, both students said they were thinking and planning for their commencement speeches. Hailey said she was preparing for the speech by talking to friends and thinking about how time is measured in memories.

Both Bryan and Hailey reflected on their own school memories.

Bryan attended Sandy Hook Elementary School.

“I’ve been here all my life,” he said. He enjoys studying physics, math, music, and other subjects.

“I’m a really math/science-orientated person,” Bryan shared, adding that he plays the trumpet now, and he used to play the piano. When studying, Bryan said he sometimes turns on rock or pop music from the ‘80s, like Billy Joel or similar artists. Bryan said he has taken a few music classes, including music theory classes with NHS music teacher Christopher Lee.

One thing that stands out from his high school career, he reflected, is taking the Applied Science Research (ASR) class with NHS teacher Tim DeJulio.

“That was a really big thing for me, and Mr DeJulio was a really big inspiration for getting me into that,” Bryan said.

As previously reported in The Newtown Bee, the ASR course guides students interested in pursuing research in biological, physical, medical, and engineering sciences. The course also allows students to work on a multi-year project. Bryan previously described his ASR project as “using computer simulations to study turbulence in fluids.” According to Bryan, his project earned multiple awards at the Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair: Student Finalist, Second Honors Physical Science Category; Computer Science Awards, Senior High Finalist, Medallion; United Technologies Corporation Awards, $500 in UTC Common Stock, Plaque, Backpack, and Annual Report; Office of Naval Research, US Navy/US Marine Corps, High School, Certificate, $75 gift certificate given by ONR; John S. Kendall Memorial Awards, $500 John S. Kendall Award for Excellence In Mechanical Engineering, High School; and the Maplesoft Awards for Applied Mathematics and Modeling, Maple software, For Excellence in Mathematics.

Many teachers have influenced him over the years, and Bryan said those teachers include, along with Mr DeJulio and Mr Lee, NHS Math Department Chair Eugene Hall, NHS English Department Chair Abigail Marks, and retired NHS social studies teacher Martha Parvis.

Other classes Bryan has enjoyed at NHS include advanced placement physics, math, and English. Bryan has been part of the Science Bowl club, Math Team, and Jazz Band.

Being a member of Boy Scout Troop 770 was also “a big thing for me.”

“I met a lot of people and made a lot of great friends through that experience,” Bryan said about Troop 770. His Eagle Scout project was revamping a garden at St Rose of Lima School.

Bryan said his family — mom Sally, dad Kevin, and older brother Matthew — has also been a source of inspiration.

“My parents have always been a great support for me and encouraged me to follow my interests.”

When asked for his best advice for other students, Bryan said he tries to make the most out of his free time while also balancing enjoyment.

“I try my best to do time management,” he shared. He added later that he tries to understand concepts more than “raw facts” while studying.

Meet The Salutatorian

Hailey said she grew up in Ohio and Canada before her family moved to Newtown when she was in the fourth grade. That first year in town, she was a fourth grader in then-Middle Gate Elementary School fourth grade teacher John Sullivan’s class.

Over the years, she has been a member of multiple clubs, including the NHS Best Buddies club, the Quiz Bowl club, and the Math Team.

Her favorite subjects include math and physics. Hailey explained that both her parents were sources of inspiration for those fields of interest. Her mom, Juli, was a math and physics high school teacher, Hailey said, and her father, Dale, is an engineer. Hailey’s younger brother, Jeremy, is a freshman at NHS this school year.

When asked if she has ever shared school advice with her brother, Hailey said she has told him to “manage his time and join lots of clubs.”

Time management, she explained, is something she learned through her school career.

“If you don’t think about what is coming up, you get stuck doing it the night before,” Hailey reflected.

Joining clubs, she said, was a great way to make friends and mentor younger students. Hailey said she would share the same advice she gave her younger brother with future NHS students. She also said students should not be afraid to seek help through the school’s writing center or by visiting teachers’ offices.

“Just get involved,” she said.

Along with her involvement in clubs, Hailey said she has worked at C.H. Booth Library since the start of her junior year.

“It’s been really fun, because I work in the children’s section most of the time,” said Hailey.

When asked what book she would recommend future NHS students read, Hailey said one non-fiction book she found interesting was The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson.

There were many teachers who inspired and helped her throughout her school career in Newtown, like Mr Hall, NHS math teacher Shawn Tierney, NHS science teacher Kim Lowell, and NHS world language teacher Alison Flannery.

Ms Lowell, she said, is “an amazing teacher and was always encouraging, even when the topics were tough. And Ms Flannery, Hailey said, “is a lot of fun and also a great teacher. I am a lot more fluent after taking her class, and I’m looking into a minor in French because I love it so much.”

Hailey plans to study engineering at Northeastern University, Boston, in the fall.

Bryan plans to attend the University of Notre Dame, Ind., in the fall to study either applied math or computer science.

To his fellow 2019 graduates, Bryan said, “It’s been a really fun time over the last four years in high school, and I wish everyone the best of luck in future endeavors.”