Student of the Month April 2020: Emi Vaughan
May 18, 2020
The floodgates opened when an email went out soliciting input for April’s Thetford Academy Student of the Month Emi Vaughan. Some common themes quickly emerged and were summarized by Mr. Mann, who writes that Emi Vaughan is “a scholar, a natural leader, and one of the kindest people I have had the privilege of knowing.”
Mr. Deffner writes, “I don’t think I have ever witnessed, or know of, Emi Vaughn being unkind to anyone. She accepts people at face value and welcomes them––regardless of who they are. For this reason, she was a leader in my Civil Rights Literature course last year, despite being the only tenth grader in the room. Her leadership is not showy; her leadership is not loud. Rather, she leads with a style that can be both playful and serious.”
Ms. Silver describes her style of leadership with these words, “If her classmates are responding in a lackluster way to my description of an assignment, she sort of looks around, waits for others to chime in, and then bravely uses a positive, that-assignment-sounds-great tone to get things started. By responding in this way, she brings the whole class along.” Senora Brettell adds that “Emi works closely with her class friends (even remotely) to ensure complete understanding and is always willing to lend a hand when others have questions.”
Mr. Engler writes, “As a sophomore, Emi completed her assignments with mature thoughtfulness and depth unusual for a sophomore. Emi’s work always had a strong individual character – whether she was working individually or as a member of a lab team. And to this day, as my advisee, she remains unfailingly cheerful and polite – never failing to thank me, or to extend her wishes for me to ‘have a good day’ when she leaves my classroom.”
According to Mr. Burkins, “Emi Vaughan is an enthusiastic, unfailingly polite, and genuine person who kindly interacts with everyone in our small community and she clearly has a deep sense of purpose that guides her approach to life. She is the type of person you hope to have in every school to bolster and strengthen the strong sense of community.”
Emi’s leadership and role in establishing community with all students was also noted by Mr. Mellinger, who praised Emi as an “outstanding natural musician” with an “amazing sense of pitch”, and went on to note that “Emily is a kind and caring individual who is popular with her peers. She is well respected by her friends and is a role model for younger students. Emily has a positive outlook on life and always manages to find the rainbow in the clouds when life throws a curveball.”
Summing things up, Ms. Barton writes that Emily “is a wonderful human being who shares care and respect to all of the people around her. Watching her grow from a cautious 7th grade student to a confident and capable junior, both in the classroom and in her athletic career, has been a real treat. Although one of the top students I have ever taught in terms of writing ability and overall achievement, her modesty and inclusion of all of her classmates will always leave a lasting memory with me. She is one of the most earnest and genuine students I have ever had the pleasure of teaching, and Thetford Academy is truly a better place thanks to Emi Vaughan!
Scholarship, leadership, and kindness – these are the attributes we are celebrating here. Congratulations to Emi Vaughan, Thetford Academy’s Student of the Month for April 2020.