Class of 2010: Valedictorian Hopes To Join Doctors Without Borders

Her dream is to join Doctors Without Borders, travel to Latin America as a neuro-surgeon and help people desperate for healthcare.

But first, Marblehead High School Valedictorian Christiane Henrich is headed to graduation, picking up top honors with her 4.54 grade point average.  Her next stop will be Stanford University where she'll study medicine and international relations.

"I can't wait to go," Henrich said. "I'll miss some things in Marblehead, like the ocean, but I'm excited to see new places and try new things." 

Henrich has been interested in medicine for a while now.  An essay she wrote last year on Civil War medicine appeared in the prestigious Concord Review. The international journal publishes extraodinary academic work by high school students. Henrich's article looked at anesthesia and amputations during Civil War years.

Guidance counselor Allan Gauthier calls Henrich "a wonderful young lady." As for her plans to join Doctors Without Borders, the international aid group, Gauthier says she'll do that and more. "I can see her as Surgeon General some day," he said.

Henrich said one of her favorite MHS memories is from her AP calculus class with Mr. Gordon McLean. "He's very tall and kind of scary looking," she said. "But once you get to know him, he's one of the funniest teachers in the school." 

She said she'll always remember McLean's habit of calling students "Gilligan" when they make a math mistake. (The moniker is  a reference to the good-hearted, but none-too-bright castaway from the TV show Gilligan's Island.) Henrich admits she has been called Gilligan a few times in class.

Henrich also excelled in sports, running track. "I'll definitely miss my track family," she said.

Henrich will spend the summer leading track camps in Marblehead, and working at The Concord Review. She'll leave for Stanford -- and the world  beyond Marblehead-- in August.