Whiz Kid: Bryana Boucher

Name: Bryana Boucher 

School: Beacon Charter High School / Community College of Rhode Island

Accomplishments: Bryana is an academic over achiever and has an extensive list of volunteer work including, Woonsocket's Back to School event, Special Olympics, Locks of Love, Relay for Life, Rhode Island Blood Donor, Dare to Dream Project, Hasbro Childrens Hospital, Altar Server for Saint Agatha's and volunteering in the medically fragile class room at Woonsocket High School.

Key to Success:

Bryana Boucher is a young lady who likes to keep busy and she does that by making positive contributions to her community. A self-starter, Bryana attributes most of her 'go getter' attitude to her Mother.

"My Mom is all about self motivation and setting your own goals and  has instilled the same in me," said Bryana.

Having been raised with a strong family base, Bryana is a person who will do anything for those she cares about.

"I'm just one of the branches in a big family tree, everyone in my family contributes to my life and has taught me something important," she said.

She has also attended Dance Creation, Inc. practicing  jazz, ballet, and pointe for the last 11 years. Aside from dancing for the company, Bryana also instructed children for four years earning her the 2007 Demonstrator Award for outstanding work as a youth instuctor.

Bryana said that one of her proudest accomplishments is her work with Locks of Love. Bryana has donated enough hair over the past few years to create 5 ponytails. Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. 

Currently in her Senior year at Beacon Charter High School, Bryana has no plans of slowing down any time soon.

When Beacon's Principal, Dr. Robert Pilkington met Bryanna Boucher he knew right away she was extraordinary.  At the beginning of her freshman year at Beacon, Bryana took an online course in English with Keystone National High School, Bryana would be Beacon's very first test case in the world of online learning.

To be successful in an online class, students must be self starters, have a strong sense of direction and the ability to set goals and follow through with them. Online students must also be extremely disciplined, working independently, while keeping up with readings, course assignments, homework and other expectations.

According to Dr. Pilkington,  Bryana did a remarkable job as a freshman and 4 years later she is still challenging herself.  

"I am tremendously proud of her performance " said Pilkington.

As a senior, Bryana remains a pioneer, being the first Beacon student to ever carry a full college caseload while continuing to fulfill her senior workload and graduation expectations at Beacon. 

As she prepares to graduate this spring, Bryana has no plans of slowing down. Her future plans include becoming an early childhood special educator and eventually obtaining a masters degree in special education.

"Children have a light in their eyes when they are able to achieve a goal, no matter how small, and I want to be a part of that," said Bryana.

You can catch Bryana as Master of Ceremonies, on May 24th. at the  'Dare to Dream 2011 Student Leadership Conference'.