NORTH HARFORD HIGH SCHOOL
211 PYLESVILLE ROAD, PYLESVILLE MD 21132
410-638-3650
June 7, 2021
Class of 2021 Valedictorian, Salutatorian announced;
Seniors honored for academic achievements CHLOE WARD Reporter
After surviving a global pandemic, and as a result, a modified school year, The Class of 2021 from North Harford High School graduated at Ripken Stadium on Tuesday, May 25. Among those who walked the stage to receive their high school diplomas were Valedictorian Erin O’Leary and Salutatorian Anna Boegner. O’Leary says that she began her journey to becoming first in her class at “the end of sophomore year,” around 2019 when she realized her high status in her classes. She said she naturally succeeded, even in AP classes, and decided to make it a goal. “I have always really liked school and learning, and the subjects that were more commonly weighted higher happened to be the classes I was most interested in,” she says. O’Leary has taken a total of 16 AP classes, in addition to other weighted classes, throughout her school career. “Math and science classes happen to be
my area of interest,” she says. She always made sure to take classes she was interested in, which was key to her success. For her, thinking about AP classes as fun, rather than being pressured by their weight, helped make it easier for her to get such high grades. “I am really happy I did this,” and she emphasizes that she is ready to put forth all her effort in the journey ahead. She believes that her Valedictorian title is an amazing accomplishment, however, “that position will only bring me success if I use it to help me continue the same level of work I put into high school into college,” she says. She thinks of being Valedictorian and taking AP classes as important practice for her future course load. She will be going to Lafayette College, where she will also compete in track and field. Second in her class, Anna Boegner earned the title of Salutatorian. She agrees it was not an easy accomplishment. “It was never really a goal of mine to be top of my class,” she says. The student-athlete, profi-
cient in swimming, took classes recommended to her. She always kept her GPA in mind and took honors and AP classes to boost it. Like many students, she struggled but ended up on top. “I wasn’t expecting to end up here,” she says, and describes the struggle she was faced with to reach
ics.” The teacher was prompted to commit to this because of the protests of 2020. “I realized that if I wanted to see change, I had to take a step off the curb,” James says. “I had to stop being an observer and cheerleader and start doing something.” The start of the 2020 school year was when the club “hit the ground running,” James expresses. “At first it was just me and another student, but once word got around, we quickly added new members.” Meetings of the Voices of Equity take place every Friday from 11am to 12pm and usually start with an open-floor discussion, according to James. “Students can bring up topics to discuss, sometimes they are about their lives and sometimes they are about the world.”
Voices of Equity offers a chance to speak your truth to a group that is open and welcoming, according to James, and the club offers a movement for positive change a n d
this point. In her speech at graduation, Boegner opens up to these issues publicly. “When struggle arises, we may be tempted to turn and run away,” she admits, “...and yet this struggle can lead to growth.” She believes that to become successful, one must grow from
complications that go their way, including herself. Boegner says she plans to carry her accomplishment with her to the University of Maryland. “I am so proud of myself,” she concludes, “I look forward to what this can do for me in the future.”
Left: Anna O’Leary Photo Credit: Pamela Harvey photography Right: Anna Boegner Photo Credit: Staff
School organization bans together; Seeking justice for student voices VICTORIA HANNA SILVIA MARTINEZ Reporters
Voices of Equity is a club devoted to discussing problems not only at North Harford but all around the world. On April 30, Members of the Harford County Voices of Equity club delivered a virtual presentation to administrators and members of head office. Students in the North Harford Voices of Equity club participated in this event along with their advisor, Mr. Michael James. Currently, there are 30 active students in the club, “everyone is busy,” says James, “so our meetings range from 8-10 to over 20.” He also expresses that one of the “key aspects of the club is ally ship, so we are looking for those who may not have the time to commit to active membership but are willing to become an ally when needed.” Although James didn’t initialize the start of the club, he “re-branded an older club Mosa-
“We need allies who will not speak for others but rather will uplift their voices.” -Mr. Michael James
growth in HCPS and Harford County. “Already this year, students have met with Mr. Pawlicki to discuss ideas they have for change here at
NHHS, some have even presented and held discussions at a meeting with over 150 principals, supervisors, and leaders of HCPS.” The club held two sessions at the virtual presentation, each with different administrators in attendance. The presentation included two videos made by students about why Voices of Equity is important and the impact of microaggressions, followed by breakout rooms with student leaders sharing their experiences of intolerance. Student leaders also asked administrators different questions about how they could move forward in facilitating a change and shared statistics from a survey that was given out a week in advance to the administrators. Sophomore Andi Fetter feels that “the most difficult part had to be the breakout rooms... It was really hard to share my experiences and just face a lot of things head-on.” Regardless, Fetter was glad to be part of the conversa-
tion that will “start the path to making change and building a better environment for all students.” Administrators were given the chance to express their feelings and ideas about creating a more equitable environment in their schools and could respond to the different experiences they were being made aware of. Members of the Voices of Equity club believed their audience was understanding and willing to listen and were glad most administrators were actively engaged in the conversations. “I think it was easy to reach the staff but harder to not sound as though we were blaming them for these problems,” comments Junior Courtney Warns. She wanted administrators to acknowledge that there was a problem and think of ways to take action. Warns believes the presentation was successful in making the necessary connections with student stories.