Berlin High School Names Class of 2022 Valedictorian and Salutatorian
Berlin High School is pleased to announce that Jacob Smalley has been named the Class of 2022 Valedictorian and Saige Beatman has been named the Class of 2022 Salutatorian.
From advanced and honors to AP and UConn Early College Experience courses, Jacob has challenged himself academically since entering Berlin High School. He has earned numerous academic awards and achieved High Honors status throughout all four years of high school. Jacob is a U.S. Presidential Scholars Program nominee, recipient of the Harvard Book Award, and has been named an AP Scholar with Distinction. He is a member of the Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society and the National Honor Society. In addition to rigorous academics, Jacob has been actively involved in multiple activities both at school and in the community. He serves as a house leader in the Upbeat peer leadership program, has coached Berlin youth flag football, and has volunteered at Sacred Heart Church food drives and McGee Middle School drop-ins. Jacob is an athlete, having played four years of both basketball and football at Berlin High. He has been named a CCC All-Academic for both football and basketball during all four years of high school. Jacob has spent the past couple of summers employed by the Berlin Parks and Recreation Department as a summer camp counselor. He plans to attend the University of Notre Dame after graduating from Berlin High School to study chemical engineering.
Saige Beatman exemplifies teamwork, commitment, and dedication not only to academics but also her extracurricular activities. She has taken advantage of extensive AP and UConn Early College Experience course offerings resulting in selection as an AP Scholar. She has earned numerous academic awards in a variety of courses, High Honors status for 15 consecutive quarters, the Seal of Biliteracy for Spanish, and has received the Gettysburg College Book Award for Distinguished Study of American History. Saige was one of three students selected to represent Connecticut at the Conference of National Affairs in 2021 and will be attending the 2022 conference with a Holocaust Education proposal. She was nominated as a Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Hartford Executive Representative where she is the sole teen voice to engage, educate, and mobilize the local Jewish community regarding social justice, diversity, and antisemitism. Saige’s extracurricular activities include serving as an Upbeat house leader, team leader of the BHS Unity Team, and serving as a BHS student ambassador. She was selected as a student representative to the BHS Equity Advocate Committee and the Safe School Climate Committee and is a member of the Debate Team, Youth and Government Club, and National Honor Society. Saige is co-president of the Interact Club and president of the Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society. She has volunteered at Willard Elementary School and Berlin Peck Memorial Library and is employed at Emanuel Synagogue. Saige is very involved in the dance community as a member of a competition dance team and as a teacher and mentor to younger students. Saige plans to attend the University of Richmond in the fall to pursue a degree in accounting on the pathway toward law school.