Berwick Academy Announces Class of 2023 Top Scholars

Rowan Brennan, daughter of Rob and Tana Brennan, of Amesbury, Massachusetts, has

attended Berwick Academy since tenth grade. Rowan received the English Departmental Recognition Award in the tenth grade, the Language Departmental Recognition Award and the Chemistry Award in the eleventh grade, and was inducted into the National Spanish Honor Society in the twelfth grade. She was a three-year player on the varsity volleyball team and served as team captain in her junior and senior years. Rowan received the team MVP award in both the eleventh and twelfth grade, was recognized as an Eastern Independent League (EIL) All-League Player for varsity volleyball and achieved New England Preparatory School Athletic Council ALL-NEPSAC Honorable Mention. She also played competitive club volleyball for 603 United out of Hampton, New Hampshire. Rowan was an active member of the Berwick Outreach Leadership Team (BOLT) and has volunteered for the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) since she was eleven years old and will ride in her third PMC this summer to raise funds for cancer research at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She will be attending Boston College next year and plans to major in Biochemistry with a minor in Management and Leadership.

Emily Currie, daughter of Jeffrey and Patricia Currie of Hampton, NH, has attended Berwick Academy since ninth grade, where she participated in theater and joined the crew team in her senior year. She is a member of Tri-M National Music Honor Society, the International Thespian Honor Society, and the National Latin Honor Society, and has been awarded the Cogswell Medal as the top academic scholar each year since ninth grade. Outside of school, she has received pipe organ scholarships through the Young Organist Collaborative and volunteers in the Faith Formation and Childrens’ Choir programs at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish in Hampton, NH. Next year, she will be studying Biomedical Engineering at Yale University. 

Jack Farrington, son of Mark and Kathleen Farrington of Hampton, New Hampshire, has attended Berwick Academy since sixth grade. Throughout his time at Berwick he has completed five Innovation Pursuits (IPs) all related to politics or international relations. Two of his IPs were related to improving civil discourse, one where he made a podcast trying to provide balanced news and another where he found resources from both sides of political issues discussed in classes. In ninth grade he won the Language Departmental Recognition Award and in tenth grade he was inducted into the Spanish National Honor Society. In his eleventh grade year he was elected as a Student Leadership Council Representative and as an Honor Committee Alternate Representative for his grade. In the same year he was chosen as the recipient of the Yale Book Award. During eleventh and twelfth grade, Jack served as a co-leader of Model UN where he won the best representation of a country’s point of view award at the St. Johnsbury Academy MUN conference. Outside of Berwick, he works as a Recreation Counselor at Normandy Farms Campground running events and activities on the weekends in the fall and the spring and throughout the summer. Next year, Jack will be attending Boston College and majoring in Political Science.

Cameron Hamilton, daughter of Lucy and Jim Hamilton, of South Berwick, Maine, has attended Berwick Academy since eighth grade. She has played varsity soccer, basketball, and lacrosse all four years of high school, serving as a senior captain for all three sports. For her senior project, she is working with fellow South Berwick resident and Berwick senior Ellie Crigler to upcycle fabric from clothing to make pillows, bags, and more. Outside of school, Cam enjoys beach days, spending time with friends, and watching Survivor. Cam will attend Haverford College in the fall where she will play lacrosse and intends to pursue a STEM major.

Natalia Jacuch, daughter of Alexandra and Dr. Michael Jacuch of Newington, New Hampshire, began her career at Berwick Academy in Kindergarten, making this year the thirteenth she has spent on the Hilltop. During her time at Berwick, she has been a part of nine sports teams, playing varsity soccer and JV ice hockey her senior year while also actively mentoring younger students both in After Care and as a camp counselor during the summer. Besides an interest in the Humanities, Natalia also enjoys visual arts and has been a member of Pinnacle studio and portfolio classes during eleventh and twelfth grade, respectively. For her intellectual accomplishments, she was inducted as a member of the National Spanish Honor Society in her sophomore year, and the National Art Honor Society, Cum Laude Society, and National Society of High School Scholars in her junior year. She additionally received the Brown Book Award her junior year and the Departmental Recognition Award for Math senior year. Outside of school, she volunteers weekly at her local library, leading meetings of the Teen Advisory Group and assisting with various programming activities for all ages. For her Senior Project, Natalia spent a weekend at Haystack, where she was invited through the Maine Student Craft Institute to learn the process of enameling and to connect with other artists, including local peers and international professionals. Aside from academics, she enjoys traveling, fishing, and making others laugh. She will attend the College of the Holy Cross in the fall, where she’ll pursue a double major in English and Philosophy.

Mischa Landgarten, daughter of Samantha Curran and Michael Landgarten, of Kittery Point Maine, has been attending Berwick Academy since ninth grade. Since starting at Berwick she has won multiple Scholastic art awards for her drawings including two gold key awards, and currently has a piece in a student art show at the Maine State House. She will be attending Vassar College next year and hopes to major in math.

Rekha Mahadevan, daughter of Dr. Arul Mahadevan and Mrs. Meera Mahadevan of Madbury, NH, began as a third grader at Berwick Academy. During her ten years at the school, Rekha has excelled academically and has been actively engaged in student leadership roles. Rekha has earned the Cum Laude recognition two years in a row at Berwick - her junior and senior years. She also received the Scholastic Arts Silver Key award as a junior and a senior. Rekha has also been inducted into the National Latin Honor Society and the National Arts Honor Society. In tenth grade, she received a departmental recognition award in Science and an athletic award for Varsity Field Hockey. Her dedication and commitment to equity and diversity issues at her school and in her broader community earned her the prestigious 2023 Princeton Prize in Race Relations award for the Boston region. Through this award, she received $1,000 in scholarship money and attended a three-day national symposium on race on the Princeton campus in April. Rekha has dedicated her time to raising awareness of race and equity issues in both New Hampshire and Maine. She has worked hard to bring recognition to neglected gravesites of an African American family from the 1800s in her small, predominantly white, hometown in NH. Rekha testified at the New Hampshire state capitol at a hearing for a bill that calls for African American gravesites to be preserved and marked. Rekha is also a tour guide at the Black Heritage Trail of NH, teaching the community about the history of slavery in Portsmouth, NH. Rekha has been a keynote speaker at multiple rallies and has served on two community-wide panels, sharing her experience as a young activist. As president of the Seacoast NAACP youth council, Rekha helped install a historical marker recognizing the historic site, Rock Rest. She is currently painting a mural to recognize the history of African American and Indigenous people for the 400th anniversary of Portsmouth, Dover, and Rye NH. Rekha also is the recipient of this year’s Youth Trailblazer Award, given by Black Lives Matter Seacoast. Next year, Rekha plans to attend Tufts University and pursue a degree in Physics. There, she hopes to combine her passion for social justice with her passion for science and math.

Josh Rubin, son of Kim and Zach Rubin and brother of Emily Rubin, is a resident of York, Maine. He entered Berwick Academy in 2015 in the fourth grade. He will be attending Colby College in the fall of 2023 and majoring in Classics and Education. He is a member of the Berwick varsity baseball team and spends his summers as a counselor at Birch Rock Camp in Waterford, Maine. 

Max Sidore, son of James and Jessica Sidore of Brentwood, New Hampshire, came to Berwick in seventh grade and has played tennis for all of his six years on the Hilltop. He joined the varsity tennis team in ninth grade, and was named team captain his senior year. He also plays tennis off-campus in several local tournaments. Since junior year, he has participated in the Outreach program, where he packed food for families in need, worked in a food bank, and worked with local kids in a youth group. For his senior project, he and a friend researched the impacts of the Worcester Red Sox and the Portland Sea Dogs on the economies of their respective cities. They also attended their games to get a live feel of their stadiums and the ambiance of the cities. Next Fall, Max will be attending Emory University on the Pre-Med track with an undeclared major, most likely chemistry or biology.