Alice Pandaleon lauded as Millbrook’s valedictorian
Alice Pandaleon Photo submitted

Alice Pandaleon lauded as Millbrook’s valedictorian

MILLBROOK — This year’s Millbrook High School valedictorian, Alice Pandaleon, has been busy and productive throughout her academic career — and she’s loved every moment of it. Her enthusiasm, studiousness and attention to detail will likely keep her just as busy when she attends the University of Virginia this fall as a Rodman Scholar in the School of Engineering. 

Alice is rightfully proud of that accomplishment, as only about 5% of the incoming class qualifies for the engineering program. These scholars are leaders with superior academic success who have engaged and made an impact on the world around them. Pretty impressive for a senior in high school.

As a student at Millbrook High School, Alice has always had an impact on those around her, in the sports programs and music programs she participated in, including the Jazz Band, the Pit Orchestra and the Brass Ensemble where she played the trumpet. 

She was also a member of the National Honor Society, the Student Council and she participated in the Mock Trial Team.

Like most of this year’s seniors, Alice had curtailed activities over the past year-and-a -half due to COVID-19, but ever an optimist, she stayed as active as possible. 

She said she will remember her years in the Millbrook district with fondness and a sense of gratitude. She loved being in a smaller school system, taking many different courses and doing extra-curricula activities. It gave her self-confidence and an academic background that provided her the ability to compete, which she admits she enjoys. It also provided the basis for studying aerospace and problem solving in biomedical engineering.

Alice said she’s looking forward to seeing her college campus in person; she loved the virtual tour and what she heard about the university from others who went there. She’s also looking forward to experiencing life on of a larger campus and meeting other students with like interests. 

The idea of being away from home is exciting, but she knows she’ll miss her parents, dad Alec, mom Leslie and older brother Nick. She is grateful for their support, and for the support of the community and the entire Millbrook school system.

After starting her senior year remotely, Alice was glad she could end it in person. She understands the heartbreak of students who graduated last year socially distanced, and is grateful her own graduation will be closer to normal. 

Alice is anxious to see graduation caps fly in the air come June 25. In August she’ll depart for college, ready to study aerospace, which, many will point out, is basically rocket science.

Related Articles Around the Web

Latest News

All are welcome at The Mahaiwe

Paquito D’Rivera performs at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington on April 5.

Geandy Pavon

Natalia Bernal is the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center’s education and community engagement manager and is, in her own words, “the one who makes sure that Mahaiwe events are accessible to all.”

The Mahaiwe’s community engagement program is rooted in the belief that the performing arts should be for everyone. “We are committed to establishing and growing partnerships with neighboring community and arts organizations to develop pathways for overcoming social and practical barriers,” Bernal explained. “Immigrants, people of color, communities with low income, those who have traditionally been underserved in the performing arts, should feel welcomed at the Mahaiwe.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Living with the things you love:
a conversation with Mary Randolph Carter
Mary Randolph Carter teaches us to surround ourselves with what matters to live happily ever after.
Carter Berg

There is magic in a home filled with the things we love, and Mary Randolph Carter, affectionately known as “Carter,” has spent a lifetime embracing that magic. Her latest book, “Live with the Things You Love … and You’ll Live Happily Ever After,” is about storytelling, joy, and honoring life’s poetry through the objects we keep.

“This is my tenth book,” Carter said. “At the root of each is my love of collecting, the thrill of the hunt, and living surrounded by things that conjure up family, friends, and memories.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Clued in

The first play in four years returned to the Webutuck Auditorium Friday, March 28. The production of Clue was put on entirely by students from the Webutuck Middle School and starred an ensemble cast of, from left to right, Jacob Dean as Mr. Green, Caroline Eschbach as Mrs. White, Brooke Bozydaj as Yvette, Liam Diaz as Wadsworth, Nolan Howard as Colonel Mustard, Mariah Bradley as Miss Scarlett and Lois Musgrave as Mrs. Peacock who is pictured on the floor of the stage.

Photo by Nathan Miller