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06/20/2018 08:30 AMEvery year at graduation time, a bit of wisdom is imparted by valedictorians in speeches to their graduating class. While Caroline Erickson says she’s kind of glad Branford doesn’t include a valedictorian’s speech as part of the high school commencement ceremony, she’s also happy to share her parting message to her peers, when asked. In short, Caroline’s message is to “be in the moment.”
On June 12, Caroline was seated on the Town Hall stage as Branford High School (BHS) Principal Lee Panagoulias Jr. announced her name for earning the school’s top academic honor, valedictorian of the BHS Class of 2018. She accepted her valedictorian’s silver cup from Panagoulias to a huge round of applause from the big crowd in attendance. Then, Caroline exited the stage and took a seat among her classmates on the Town Green.
“I don’t necessarily need all that spotlight on me,” says Caroline of the moment when most valedictorians would have launched into their speech. “But if I could give a message, it would be that it’s important to be in the moment and appreciate what you’re doing. Parts of high school can be a grind, and now, it’s kind of like I blinked, and it’s over. So I would have shared that with my classmates.”
Talk about being in the moment—Caroline waited until just about the last moment to apply to the Ivy League school she’ll attend in the fall, Yale University.
Despite her obvious academic prowess, “I didn’t really think I was going to get in!” says Caroline, laughing. “It was one of those things where I literally applied the day before it was due. When I got in, I was shocked.”
In fact, Caroline’s heart had been set on attending Boston College (BC), which accepted her in a heartbeat and seemed like the perfect fit. Even after Caroline learned of her acceptance to Yale, BC still had the edge, she says—until she visited the New Haven Ivy during its accepted students’ Bulldog Days.
“When I visited Yale, that’s kind of what helped me,” says Caroline. “One of the things that really resonated with me was that, within first couple of minutes after I got there, I was trying to find my host, and at least two people came up to me and asked if they could help. That’s really important to me, because even though it’s a top-tier school, I don’t want to feel I’m in some competitive, pressure-cooker environment. I want to be where people love to learn and support each other in that learning. When I went there, I felt that.”
That sense of a caring learning community pretty much also describes the support Caroline says she received during her years with Branford Public Schools, especially at BHS.
“The teaching staff that they have at the high school, especially in the science field, they teach at a high level. They know their stuff, and they’re always willing to sit down with you and help to make sure you can succeed to your fullest potential, which has been invaluable to me,” says Caroline.
She says she’ll follow her interest in science at Yale, and is leaning toward biology as a major, but adds, “I’m still willing and accepting of the fact that if I take a couple of classes in something else that interests me, I might go that way.”
Caroline’s interest in medical research showed through in her independent Capstone project this year at BHS, “Researching Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.” Caroline says she was especially motivated to research the inherited condition, which can result in serious lung disease in adults and/or liver disease at any age.
“It’s a genetic disorder that runs in my family,” says Caroline. “Two years ago, my grandma passed away due to complications from it, so doing the research gave me a little closure and helped me prepare for my future with my genetic history.”
Pursuing such research to help others is also one of the reasons why she’s considering studying biology, says Caroline.
In 2017, Caroline immersed herself in the world of research as a Yale New Haven Hospital youth volunteer in the Smilow Cancer Genetics Prevention Program.
During her academic career at BHS, Caroline earned the Yale Book Award (2017) as well as awards for Academic Achievement for Excellence in AP (Advanced Placement) Chemistry and Academic Achievement for Excellence in AP Calculus; the Certificat de Mérite for Excellence in French 3 Honors and French 4 Honors, Academic Achievement for Excellence in English, and American Association of Teachers of French Certificat d’honneur Honorable Mention (2016-’17).
Caroline served the Class of 2018 as secretary of the National Honor Society and a member of the Science National Honor Society and World Language National Honor Society, as well as BHS class treasurer (2015-’16) and a Student Council member (2016 -18). Caroline also played viola with the BHS Orchestra (2014-17).
Her impressive extra-curriculars included four years with BHS Model Congress (BHSMC), serving as an officer in years two and three and as a president during 2017-’18. Caroline helped BHSMC rack up gavels and awards while also personally earning Harvard Model Congress’ Honorable Mention for Best Delegate (2016).
In sports, Caroline was a member of the two-time State Championship BHS girls’ lacrosse team (Class M, 2017 and 2018) and was named an Academic All-American for lacrosse as well as a member of the first team, All-SCC for lacrosse. She also played with BHS girls’ soccer (JV Girls Most Improved, 2015) and ice hockey teams (SCC Girls Champions, 2015) and was a member of the BHS cross country team (Most Improved Cross Country Runner 2017).
From Model Congress to sports, being part of a team meant a lot, says Caroline, even more than her personal academic achievements.
“For me, the things that were accomplished on a team where probably my biggest and most happiest moments, like winning awards for Model Congress or the state championships. Because it’s not just me, it’s everyone around me, and I helped them,” she says.
Packing in so much to her four years at BHS, on top of keeping ahead of her academic work, is something Caroline says she’ll never regret.
“I do get asked, ‘How do you do it all?’” says Caroline, who found it helped to try to go to bed by 10 p.m. “even if I had work to do,” as well as spending some of her weekends working on projects or finishing her school work.
That being said, she adds, “I wish that’s something I balanced a little better, and something I’ve definitely learned from. In the long run, I think it paid off, because I saw what I wanted to do, and I knew that getting good grades was important to me, so it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.”
She also thanks her parents for never pushing her to be the top of her class, but always encouraging her in everything she did.
“My parents are super smart people, but they never pushed me. I didn’t feel any pressure from them growing up. It was more me pressuring myself!” says Caroline.
Even though her years at BHS have come to an end, Caroline says she’ll always remember the support she received from her classmates, teammates, friends, teachers and the community.
“In high school, with all the different things I’ve been involved in, it allowed me to feel support in a lot of different ways,” says Caroline. “I’m sad to leave, but I’m also ready.”