Class of 2012 Student Leaders Hopeful About Future

(Editor's note: Portsmouth High's graduation is just four days away, so we felt it was only fitting to name the Class of 2012 as this month's Greatest Person. What follows is an interview that was conducted on Friday with the Class of 2012's leaders: Class President Susan Harvey and twin brothers Josh and Nick Pfosi, the Class of 2012 valedictorian and salutatorian. Congratulations to all of the Portsmouth High Seniors who will receive their diplomas on Friday, June 8.)

With just five days to go before graduation, Portsmouth High School seniors have been pretty busy having a good time and getting ready for the big day.

On Friday morning, PHS Class President Susan Harvey said she had just returned from the Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel to make sure all of the decorations were ready for the Senior Prom that took place that night.

Meanwhile, twin brothers Josh and Nick Pfosi of Rye, the Class of 2012 valedictorian and salutatorian, were also busy wrapping up the final week of their time at Portsmouth High. The three student leaders will be among the 260 students who receive their high school diplomas on June 8.

All three already know where they will go the college in the fall and have a pretty good idea what they future careers may be. But like graduating high school seniors across the country, they also have their share of apprehension about what their lives will be like once they leave the safe and familiar confines of Portsmouth High School.

Harvey said one of the things she loved most about attending Portsmouth High was that "everyone was so willing to help each other." She has heard that is not always the case at other high schools, where students tend to hang out in separate cliques, making it "hard to be a teenager."

At Portsmouth High, Harvey observed she and her fellow seniors "wear different shoes," meaning they allow one another to be individuals.

When asked who some of their favorite teachers are at PHS, Josh Pfosi said it was too hard to say. "There are just too many favorite teachers. All of them are unique so you wouldn't pick just one."

Josh and Nick Pfosi said they are bound for Tufts University in the fall. Josh plans to study physics and engineering and hopes to become an engineer. His twin brother wants to study cognitive brain psychology because he says, "I think it's really interesting."

Nick also said their mother is a therapist and "I guess I just got it from her."

Harvey believes she will follow in the footsteps of her father and grandfather who are both dentists. She plans to study biological sciences at Barnard College, the women's college at Columbia University in New York City.

"I may become the next Harvey dentist," Harvey said. "We're a teeth family."

All three PHS seniors say they are really proud of their classmates because they have demonstrated a real resolve to make their community a better place and will carry that with them regardless of where life takes them.

Harvey said the class gift was to create an outdoor classroom next to the PHS library where teachers can reserve outdoor class space for a variety of subjects. Like many graduating high school seniors, Harvey and the Pfosi brothers believe they and their classmates can effect positive change.

"There is a lot of momentum for change that we can be apart of and that's pretty cool," said Nick Pfosi.

The Class of 2012 is graduating at a time when the war in Iraq has ended and the war in Afghanistan is scheduled to end soon. Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, is dead. It is also an election year where President Barack Obama hopes to stave off a strong challenge from Republican Presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney and win another four years.

The nation continues to recover from the worst economic recession since the Great Depression that began in 2008 and lessen its dependence on fossil fuels by developing alternative energy. National Healthcare Reform is also two years away from completely going into effect and technology and stem cell research continue to evolve faster than the marketplace that drives it.

In many ways, the PHS seniors realize they are coming of age during a really dynamic and exciting time in American history, but they worry about some of the personal challenges that lie ahead.

"I think it's scary," said Harvey about going out in the world after graduation. "I think that one thing about the world we're going into is the extreme cost of college."

Nick Pfosi said he and his twin brother are also worried about the tremendous debt they will accumulate after they complete their college studies.

Harvey still looks forward to the adventure that life as an adult will bring and is willing to make her share of mistakes along the way.

"It's exciting and scary all at the same time," she said. "For me, the most important thing is that I feel very well prepared."