Berwick Academy Announces Class of 2024 Top Scholars

Cameron "Cam" Bitter is the son of Craig and Allison Bitter of Rye, New Hampshire. He has attended Berwick Academy for all four years of high school. He was inducted into the National Latin Honor Society in eleventh grade and the Cum Laude Society in twelfth grade. He earned a Math Department Recognition Award in twelfth grade and graduates with a STEAM Pathway distinction. Cam pursued projects in Robotics for four years including this year’s Innovation Pursuit®. Cam and a classmate built and programmed a “micromouse” autonomous robot to solve a maze. 

Outside of academics, Cam played tennis year-round for all four years including three seasons on varsity. In twelfth grade, he served as team captain, played #1 Singles, and won the Coaches Award. Cam challenged himself by joining the cross-country team his senior year and earned his place in the varsity races of both the EIL and NEPSTA Championships. Each winter, Cam spends his free time in the mountains, skiing and exploring. Cam helped revive the Berwick Academy Ski Club, completed an avalanche safety course, and focused his Senior Project on exploration of Mount Washington. Cam looks forward to planning more back-country skiing trips in the future while attending Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. He plans to major in Computer Science. 

Andre is the son of Hongxuan Jin and Michel Charpentier of Lee, New Hampshire. He has attended Berwick Academy since ninth grade. As a bass guitar player, Andre has been selected to join the Maine Jazz All-State twice and volunteers at St. Mary’s Church in Dover, NH. Andre has rowed on the varsity crew team for all of his four years at Berwick. Andre enjoys the outdoors and is often found with his friends skiing and fishing. Andre is passionate about science and technology and will attend Cornell University in the fall to pursue a degree in engineering.

Alexandra “Ally” Brown, daughter of Nikki Brown, is from Dover, New Hampshire. She has been attending Berwick Academy since ninth grade and graduates with a Global Citizenship Pathway diploma distinction. During this time, she has been a member of the JV and varsity volleyball and varsity crew teams. She also managed the girls varsity basketball and varsity swimming & diving teams. Outside of athletics, Ally has been a leader of Berwick’s Diversity Club and Teens for STEAM in addition to being a member of various other clubs. She was also a member of the Student Wellness Advisory Team (SWAT), an admissions tour guide, and a Blue Key Admissions Ambassador. 

Outside of school, Ally has been a volunteer at Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth since seventh grade and the Seacoast African American Cultural Center during tenth grade. Ally spent the summer after tenth grade in Riga, Latvia studying Russian through the U.S. Department of State’s National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y). She also spent the second half of her junior year in Johannesburg, South Africa through the School for Ethics and Global Leadership (SEGL), where she was the only permanent Student Representative in the Hearing Committee. Throughout her time in high school, Ally received the Coaches Award for JV volleyball, the Science Departmental Recognition Award, the Cogswell Award (for outstanding academic achievement), the College Board African American Recognition Award, and the Brown Book Award. She was a candidate for the Presidential Scholars Program and a member of the National Latin Honor Society and Cum Laude Society. Ally will attend Harvard University in the fall to study Government.

Maia Cook, daughter of Matthew Cook and Phoebe de Larrabeiti, is from Newfields, New Hampshire. During her time in high school she has been fully engaged in the beloved arts community at Berwick, winning multiple regional Scholastic Key awards for her portfolios and paintings. She was the captain of the varsity cross country team, and in the off-season was lucky enough to be part of the Berwick Outreach Program. Maia graduates with a STEAM Pathway distinction and will continue her academic career studying architecture at Cornell University this fall, with plans to pursue a career in the STEM field.

Kaya Garside is the daughter of Nicole Outsen and Zang Garside and hails from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She came to Berwick Academy in ninth grade, receiving the Cogswell Medal in her first year. During her time on the Hilltop, she has been on the varsity lacrosse and varsity soccer teams, as well as the varsity swim and dive team. Additionally, Kaya has been involved with Math Club, becoming a club co-leader in her junior and senior years. She has completed three Innovation Pursuits®, covering topics including race in history curricula, math and art, and ornithology. In tenth grade, she joined the National Spanish Honor Society, and was inducted into the Cum Laude Society as a junior. That same year, she was awarded the Harvard Book Award. This spring, she was selected as a National Merit Finalist. Next year, Kaya will be attending Brown University, where hopes to study math and political science.

Hannah Hudson is from Greenland, New Hampshire, and lives with her parents, Justyna and Daren Hudson, and her grandparents. Hannah began her time at Berwick in ninth grade and, over the last four years, has made life-long friends, learned new and exciting things, and had a lot of fun. Be it National Honor Societies, departmental recognition awards, being a member of the school’s Student-Athlete Leadership Team, leading the gardening, feminism, and STEAM clubs, or being on the crew team, Hannah's made the most of her time in high school. This past spring, she was also given the opportunity to be the keynote speaker for Berwick Academy’s Innovation Celebration, where she recounted her three past projects: learning how to fly a Cessna 172; researching brain cancer and shadowing a brain surgery; and designing, budgeting, and installing a native pollinator garden on campus. For her Senior Project, Hannah chose to work on her family's vegetable garden, taking up the mantle from her father. Outside of school, she also loves waitressing at a local brunch spot, relaxing in nature, going to the gym, traveling and trying new foods, crocheting, doing her nails, and hanging out with friends! This fall she will attend Carnegie Mellon University to study biology and bioengineering. 

Ella Martin, daughter of Ryan and Shannon Martin and sister to Ava and Luca, currently resides in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. After entering Berwick Academy in the ninth grade, she played varsity field hockey and ice hockey all four years of high school and was named captain of both respective teams her senior year. For field hockey, she was awarded the Coaches Award, All-League EIL, and All-League EIL Honorable Mention. Outside of school, she played club ice hockey with Collegiate Prospect Combine and with Seacoast Field Hockey Indoor and Tournament Teams (attending the National Indoor Tournament in 2022). Maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout each semester of high school, she was also awarded departmental recognition awards in history, Spanish, and art, while also receiving two National Scholastic Art & Writing Honorable Mentions for a singular piece and a portfolio. Next year, she looks forward to playing Division III field hockey with Vassar College and plans to major in Biology with a minor in Studio Art.

Ryan James McLaughlin, son of Mr. Mark W. McLaughlin and Dr. Rekha C. Rao of North Hampton, New Hampshire, has attended Berwick Academy since Kindergarten. Ryan was recognized as a National Merit Scholarship Finalist and received the Cogswell Award for academic excellence in eleventh grade. As a culmination of his growth, personally and as a Mandarin student, Ryan recently traveled solo to Taiwan to immerse himself in East Asian culture. Next year he will be attending UCLA to study neuroscience, but also wants to continue exploring his passions for writing and Mandarin. He hopes to pursue a career as a physician or researcher.

Allie Moore, daughter of Kate and Robert Moore, of North Berwick, Maine, has attended Berwick Academy since eleventh grade. Allie received the History Departmental Recognition Award in the eleventh grade and was inducted into the National Spanish Honor Society in the twelfth grade. During her time on the Hilltop, Allie played varsity soccer and basketball, serving as a senior captain for both sports. Allie was recognized as the Eastern Independent League (EIL) Player of the Year, Boston Globe All-Scholastic, and Boston Herald All-Scholastic in her eleventh and twelfth grade soccer seasons at Berwick. In those same seasons, she was also recognized as a two-time EIL All League-Member, two-time New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) ALL-NEPSAC, NEPSAC Junior All-Star, and team MVP senior year. Allie was also a member of the Seacoast United Girls Academy team out of Epping, New Hampshire. She made the Girls Academy League Northeast Talent ID event in both 2022 and 2023. For her Senior Project, Allie collected, washed, and repaired a variety of youth sports uniforms. She then donated them to sport-specific organizations that will redistribute them. Outside of school, Allie enjoys beach and lake days, listening to Taylor Swift, working out, traveling, and spending time with friends and her younger brother, Nolan. Next year, she will be playing Division I soccer at Davidson College and plans to major in Pre-Law. 

Noah Rich is the son of David Rich and Page Fairman Rich, of Dover, New Hampshire. He has attended Berwick Academy since first grade. During his time at Berwick, Noah has received a departmental recognition award for his work in Mandarin, which he has taken since the sixth grade. He was also inducted into the National Chinese Honors Society in tenth grade. Other academic awards include the Dartmouth Book Award in eleventh grade and Cum Laude in twelfth grade. Outside of the classroom, Noah does many activities. He is a three season varsity athlete, playing soccer in the fall, baseball in the spring, and captaining the swim team in the winter. Noah was awarded all-EIL and all-NEPSAC awards in swimming in both eleventh and twelfth grade. In addition, in twelfth grade, he won the Coaches Award for both soccer and swimming, and received the Bulldog Award for completing twelve seasons of Berwick Athletics. He has completed many Innovations Pursuits®; some examples include studying the principles of steam engines, teaching third graders Mandarin, and designing aerodynamic devices for motorsport. Noah will be attending Vassar College in the fall, and, while he has not completely decided, will likely study physics or astronomy. He is also committed to swim for Vassar at the Division III level. 

Bea Van Campen lives in Berwick, Maine with her parents, Jonathan and Denise Van Campen, and two older siblings. Bea has attended Berwick Academy since Kindergarten and it still hasn't kicked in that she has graduated. For her Senior Project, she traveled around Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts to evaluate sunrise and sunset locations. After being a leader of the Feminism Club and Alliance, a captain of the crew team, and a member of the swim and dive teams, it's safe to say she will miss these communities that she's been a part of for so long at Berwick. Outside of school, Bea loves to try new foods. Last summer, she was fortunate enough to spend a month in Spain with a host family, where her favorite foods were Spanish-style churros and papas bravas. Bea has already started taking courses at Northeastern University where she will be majoring in chemical engineering (and hopefully also neuroscience), though as a kid she wanted to be a water slide fun-tester.

Nathan Weinstein, son of Toni and Josh Weinstein, lives in Newmarket, New Hampshire and has been at Berwick since the fourth grade. He received the Rensselaer Medal junior year, as well as the Science Departmental Recognition Award in ninth grade. Nate was an AP Scholar with Honors his junior year, and was inducted into the National Mandarin Honor Society his sophomore year. He co-led Math Club, and graduates with a STEAM Pathway distinction. Nate joined the swim team for the first time ever his senior year, earning an EIL Honorable Mention. He is a five year varsity rower, three year captain, and two year MVP. Nate is looking forward to continuing his academic and rowing career at Wesleyan University, where he will be majoring in physics and math.