Two outstanding seniors from Minuteman High School are recognized for their achievements

Pictured left to right: Minuteman Assistant Principal / Director of Admissions George Clement, students Andrew Blair and Tristin O’Connor, Minuteman Director of Career and Technical Education Michelle Roche, and Minuteman Principal Jack Dillon. Photo by Brian Tildsley.

TWO OUTSTANDING SENIORS FROM MINUTEMAN HIGH SCHOOL IN LEXINGTON ARE RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS

Tristin O’Connor of Bolton and Andrew Blair of Lincoln are spotlighted for their capability in and beyond the classroom

By Judy Bass

Two exceptional seniors from Minuteman High School in Lexington are being recognized for their achievements, character, leadership qualities, and scholastic excellence.

Tristin O’Connor of Bolton, who is studying Environmental Technology, is Minuteman’s 2016 nominee for the Walter J. Markham Award sponsored by the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA) and the Massachusetts Vocational Association (MVA).

Andrew Blair of Lincoln, a student in the HVAC program at Minuteman, is the school’s MAVA/MVA Outstanding Vocational-Technical Student of 2016. He, along with other distinguished student honorees from vocational-technical high schools and programs across the Commonwealth, will be honored at the 30th Annual Outstanding Vocational Student Award Dinner at Mechanics Hall in Worcester on April 14, 2016.

The criteria for these awards include a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade point average, technical competence, excellent attendance, leadership, vocational-related work experience, extracurricular activities, and community involvement.

Both students have benefited significantly from attending Minuteman High School. Minuteman is an award-winning regional high school that gives students a competitive advantage in the new economy by combining robust academics with powerful career and technical skills. The school prepares students for college and career success, with more than 60% of its graduates typically pursuing a post-secondary education.

The Markham Award is named for Walter J. Markham, a leader in the field of vocational technical education in Massachusetts. Tristin O’Connor, Minuteman’s 2016 Markham nominee, has shown “that combination of talent and work ethic that puts her in the very highest echelon of high school students,” according to her Environmental Technology teacher, Mr. Terry Regan.

Tristin has earned every possible license or certification available to students in this rigorous program, including certifications in OSHA 40-Hour HAZWOPER, OSHA 10-Hour General Safety, Confined-Space Entry, and First Aid/CPR; as well as passing the Massachusetts Grade 2 Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator’s exam and the Massachusetts Class 1 Drinking-Water Treatment Plant Operator’s exam.
She hopes to be a materials engineer in the field of biomimicry.

Tristin’s eagerness to learn new material, along with her intellect, poise and maturity, set her apart. A member of the National Honor Society who has been on the honor roll every term during her four years at Minuteman, she has successfully handled complex Environmental Technology projects that surpass what most non-vocational high school students would be required to do. She has also excelled in leadership positions such as Class Officer, Student Ambassador, and as a member of Minuteman’s Student and School Councils and Building Committee.

Tristin is on Minuteman’s Girls in STEM Club, which earned state and national recognition for excellence in mentoring middle-school girls who are interested in pursuing STEM education and careers. Tristin participates in SkillsUSA, a national organization for vocational students. A Chapter Officer at Minuteman for the past three years, she won a gold medal in a SkillsUSA competition in her sophomore year.

Tristin’s community service activities include beach sweeps, participating in fundraisers for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, the Walk for Hunger, the Walk for a Cancer Cure, the Powderpuff Football Game, and the Relay for Life. She also has participated in Minuteman’s e-waste recycling efforts for the past two years.

Minuteman’s 2016 Outstanding Vocational-Technical Student, Andrew Blair, has compiled an equally distinguished record of accomplishments. He describes himself as “mature, articulate, independent, attentive and self-motivated.” He holds himself to a commendably high standard in everything he does, whether it’s schoolwork, community service athletics or employment.

His extracurricular and out-of-school activities include junior varsity football, being a member of the Minuteman School Building Committee and a Student Ambassador, along with running, playing the saxophone and participating in the Light the Night Walk and the Walk for Hunger,

Andrew visits local middle schools on behalf of the Minuteman Admissions Department to inform the students about how a Minuteman education could be advantageous to them. “This experience has been a tremendous boost in personal confidence and has helped tremendously in other public speaking engagements,” he said.

Work experience plays a significant role in Andrew’s life. Since the middle of his junior year at Minuteman, he has participated in the school’s Cooperative Education program by working at his father’s refrigeration company, Kensington Mechanical in Salem, N.H.

“Since I was a small child,” Andrew said, “I constantly stuck by my dad’s side when he would renovate houses and carry out refrigeration-related projects. I also worked at Bruegger’s Bagels [as a cashier] for two years prior to that. This was a tremendously helpful and humbling experience when compared to my work with my father, which was far less structured.”

Andrew credits Minuteman with hastening his personal growth. “In retrospect,” he said, “my change from September of 2012 [the start of his freshman year at Minuteman] has been monumental. I’ve matured as a person tremendously and gained unique perspective on life in a vast sense.”