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06/19/2024 08:30 AMNorth Branford High School (NBHS) Valedictorian Kiley Mullins says she always put her best foot forward to excel in academics and athletics. Now, the hard work has landed her at her dream school, the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, where she will study nursing and play Division 3 softball with the varsity team.
“I’ve been looking into the University of Scranton since I was very little because my very first pitching coach went there,” says Kiley.
Kily said another early interest to become a nurse crystalized in the process of developing her NBHS senior capstone project.
“I was originally setting out to be an occupational therapy major, but through the capstone project that we do at our high school, I realized I wanted to change that. I wanted to be a nurse when I was little. My mom’s a nurse. So I switched into nursing because I’ve always been interested in that.”
Another factor making University of Scranton this valedictorian’s top choice is its legacy as a top Jesuit university.
“My religion is really important to me, so that was something that I wanted in my college experience, and University of Scranton is a great Jesuit school,” says Kiley.
During her high school experience, Kiley became an NBHS softball pitching standout. Playing varsity since freshman year, she helped her team celebrate four straight seasons at the top of Shoreline Conference, continuing a winning streak that now adds up to nine back-to-back conference championships for NBHS softball.
Whether she was on the mound or running with NBHS indoor track, Kiley, a member of the National Honor Society, was also acing challenging courses at NBHS, including many Advanced Placement (AP) and Early College Experience (ECE) programs.
Her senior year course load included classes with ECE Seminar in Academic Writing (UCONN), ECE Creative Writing (SCSU), AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Spanish, and AP Psychology. During her junior year and prior, she excelled in several demanding courses, including AP U.S. History, AP Language and Composition, AP U.S. Government, and several honors-level courses.
Kiley says she was extremely comfortable in balancing her academic and athletic pursuits.
“My family always jokes that I need to stay busy. I find that I do my best in school when I have a lot going on, whether it's because of sports seasons or with work,” says Kiley. “I perform best when I’m under a little bit of pressure because I have to get stuff done on time or early.”
She also gives props to her parents, Jeanne and Robert, for keeping her busy from a young age with a range of activities and for helping her to learn to schedule her time to make the most of it and accomplish goals.
Additionally, Kiley holds herself to a high standard academically, athletically, and in her community involvement. She has volunteered in the community at several summer camps, assisting intellectually disabled children. Mullins has also served as coach at the USA Elite North Branford summer softball clinic, working with students ages 7 to 12. At NBHS, Kiley was also a member of the Art Club and the Unified Circle Organization.
Kiley says she had no hard and fast goal of becoming the valedictorian of the Class of 2024.
“It wasn’t something I was shooting for, but I always tried to turn in the best performance I could in my classes, and I always tried to challenge myself with the classes I was taking,” she says. “I was also lucky to be surrounded by a lot of talented kids in my grade who were in a lot of my classes with me. We all worked together and held each other accountable, which I definitely think helped me to do well in my work.”
The hardest class she feels she experienced was also her favorite, AP U.S. History. It was Kiley’s first AP class.
“I’ve always been really interested in history, and that was the first class that involved a lot of times studying and reading, but it was definitely rewarding,” she says. “I would take that class every year, if I could!”
In her address to her classmates at commencement on June 11, Kiley shared a lot of insightful advice and imparted several examples of words of wisdom that she’s learned in her own life. One such statement Kiley shared was, “He who stands for nothing will fall for everything.”
“That’s something that’s always been really important to me and to my family. I think my dad has that saying on a t-shirt somewhere!” says Kiley. “It’s always been emphasized in our family that we keep ourselves informed and that we know what’s going on. It’s always been really important to me to keep myself informed and to try to take stands for things that I believe in.”
Kylie also gives props to her older brother, Robert (Jr.), for adding to the family discourse from what he’s learning currently while studying political science and philosophy at Assumption University (Massachusetts).
As a North Branford Public Schools student from the time of her first half-days in kindergarten, Kiley has made many close friends. As a group, she says the Class of 2024 stuck together during high school years, which included navigating challenges such as becoming freshmen in a global pandemic.
“We made the best of it. In our freshman year, when we were experiencing that weird type of year with COVID, we were lucky because we didn’t know anything different from that. It just made junior and senior year that much more awesome,” says Kiley.
Kiley says the small Class of 2024 enjoyed another benefit.
“With only 99 of us, you know everyone’s name,” she says. “In such a small class, you can be friends with a whole bunch of different groups.”
Asked if she has any some advice to students who may aspire to be the valedictorian of their class, Kiley has a few ideas.
“I would say keep busy. Learn how to manage your time wisely. Do work in different pieces, and don’t overwhelm yourself. Put your best foot forward in every class and every assignment that you do. High school is relatively small time in terms of your life, so for that short time, put in your best effort.”