Student Spotlight: Class of 2015 Salutatorian Liam Flanagan

As June begins, the final weeks of the school year are filled with senior activities to make the remaining weeks go by very quickly. Last week held the Chandler Cup and Powder Puff tournament, this week Prom, and the next weeks the Banquet and then graduation for MHS’s Class of 2015. With graduation only a couple weeks away, Madison Dodger Online thought that it seemed appropriate to interview first this year’s class salutatorian and valedictorian. This week MDO interviewed Liam Flanagan (LF), this year’s salutatorian, asking him questions about his high school experience and his future.

MDO: Where are you attending college next year? Why did you choose it?

LF: I’m going to Georgetown University next year. I chose it for several reasons. First, it has strong academics and the perfect major for my interests. I don’t know exactly what I would like to do for a career, but I am interested in the health sciences. The Georgetown Human Science major, which focuses on biology as it relates to human health, is just what I was looking for. It is broad enough that it doesn’t limit possible career paths, but specific enough that I can focus on what I’m interested in. Second, Jesuit philosophy at the foundation of the school, which emphasizes the strengthening of one’s beliefs through questioning, educating students in various subjects to form well-rounded individuals, and challenging oneself in all aspects of life, corresponds to the experience I am hoping for in college. Third, the school’s student body and location in Washington D.C. both make the school seem like a place I will enjoy attending.

MDO: What was your high school experience? How has your experience affected you?

LF: In high school, I played baseball and basketball for a year, and soccer for all four years. My experience throughout high school getting to know classmates and teachers has been positive for the most part. It has helped me to understand the importance of relationships with teammates, classmates, friends, teachers, family, etc., as it is the interactions with these people that have had the greatest impact on shaping me into who I am today.

MDO: Do you have any advice for future MHS students?

LF: I would tell future MHS students to make sure that they stay interested. If you no longer enjoy something, like an extracurricular or class, then do your best to re-discover what made you interested at first, or stop doing whatever it is. At some point, whatever subject/activity you’re doing had to have interested people or else you would not be doing it. Work becomes a lot less demanding if you look to understand why something is the way it is, instead of just memorizing the motions, material, or formulas.

MDO: What is your biggest take away from your high school experience?

LF: My biggest takeaway from the high school experience has been the people I’ve gotten to know and become friends with through the years. Though I’ve learned a lot and done many things, none of it would really matter if there weren’t any people to share it with. There would be no point learning soccer if I could never play it with anybody, and no point learning biology if it would never affect anybody. The relationships I’ve formed will last a lot longer than some of the things I’ve learned.

Good luck to Liam at Georgetown next fall and the rest of the Class of 2015 as their high school experience comes to a close!

Shira Buchsbaum’s interview with Valedictorian Steph Deeb can be found here.