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06/16/2021 08:30 AMEver since she was in kindergarten, Ashley Lynch pushed herself to excel when it came to academics. When she got to high school, she set a goal of graduating as one of the top 10 students in East Haven High School’s (EHHS) Class of 2021. Recently named valedictorian, Ashley says she exceeded her expectations.
“I wasn’t sure it would happen, but I’ve always been ambitious and a hard worker,” says Ashley. “I want to do my best in everything I try and being named valedictorian was proof of that. Hearing the news was amazing and unbelievable. It felt like all of my hard work paid off and it was a sigh of relief in the end.”
Ashley says the EHHS’s Class of 2021 is “one of the more competitive classes” and there were many students vying for the top spot, which made for “some very healthy competition.” In the end, the decision came down to the exact GPA, with the difference only being decimals.
In addition to being inspired by her fellow classmates and friends, Ashley says that all of her teachers have been “amazing,” with two staff members who were standouts: Ashley Bogart, “who has been so helpful with everything” and Principal Vincent DeNuzzo, who “has done everything he can to make sure our seniors get everything they deserve.”
Ashley’s support system started at home. Her parents stressed the importance of education and good work habits since a young age. Ashley remembers her mom quizzing her on spelling words when she was in the bath when she was little.
Even with her parents’ influence, though, Ashley’s preferred subjects in school leaned more toward math and STEM, while her parents were always more literary. Despite the difference in interests, Ashley always had their support.
“As soon as I took a liking to math, they were out,” Ashley says, laughing. “Even though it was something they didn’t particularly enjoy, they supported it all the way. I couldn’t have done this without them.”
Ashley also credits her parents for their support in her other interests, with her biggest passion being competitive dance, in which she has participated for the past 13 years. Ashley has also done cheerleading, including cheering while at EHHS.
Ashley began dancing when she was just six years old at the Dance Connection.
Over the years, Ashley added many different styles of dance to her repertoire, including jazz, contemporary, and hip-hop. She and her studio train throughout the year, competing in 9 or 10 tournaments a year and in nationals.
“I’ve made lifelong friends through dance and have been fortunate to have won numerous awards and scholarships,” says Ashley, who competes as part of a team and as a solo dancer. “Dance has helped me in school as it has taught me discipline and the choreography has taught me to pick up things quickly. It’s also a creative and emotional outlet. If I’m having a bad day, the first place I go is the studio.”
Even though Ashley is graduating and heading to the University of Connecticut’s honors program in the fall, she won’t be leaving dance behind. Ashley did a clinic with the UConn dance team last fall and recently made the squad.
In addition to practicing, the UConn dance team performs at home football games and basketball games. The team also participates in a number of competitions throughout New England as well as nationals in Daytona.
“I wanted to make sure I could dance in any way I could and when I chose UConn, it clicked and was a perfect fit,” says Ashley, whose favorite type of dance is jazz. “I’m looking forward to the team bonding this summer and that the team also incorporates pom so I won’t be leaving cheerleading completely behind.”
Just as she has since she was young, Ashley has high standards for her academic goals in college. She plans to double major in mechanical engineering and computer science.
While she knows what she wants to study, Ashley doesn’t have a set career goal and plans to use her time at college as an “exploratory period.” During the quarantine, a documentary on Disney Plus about its Imagineering program piqued her interest with its work on various rides and robots and she notes that working as an imagineer would be a “dream job.”
Another thing Ashley discovered during quarantine was the Spread the Love Foundation, which “strives to prevent teen suicide by educating students and adults on mental illness, which is the root cause of both suicide and addiction,” according to spreadthelovefoundation.com. Ashley came across a video about the foundation on TikTok.
“The founder posted a video and it was interesting,” says Ashley. “I got involved and was able to take part in different meetings and sending letters. It helped develop leadership skills.”
At EHHS, Ashley was involved in Students Against Destructive Decisions and while it was not able to meet this year due to COVID, she enjoyed it last year. She is also the president of the National Honor Society, through which the group did local and national outreach projects. EHHS recently held an awards ceremony where Ashley received the SCC Scholar Leader Award, the NEASC Student Leadership Award, and the Superintendents Award.
“I received a lot of amazing things,” says Ashley. “I always wanted to be a role model for my peers so hearing those announced helped me feel like I accomplished that goal. I tried to tackle so many things through service initiatives, activities, and academics, so being recognized for having that balance was rewarding.”
While it was disappointing that some clubs weren’t able to run this year due to COVID, Ashley was grateful that East Haven offered a full in-person option for the entire year. She and her class also got to experience many of the traditional activities such as prom and will have a traditional graduation on Monday, June 21 where Ashley will give a speech as the valedictorian.
“When quarantine hit [last March], it was a rough transition, but with my discipline, I made it through and luckily this year we were able to squeeze everything in so I got to have those senior experiences,” says Ashley. “I’ve been anticipating my speech for a while and I’m trying to make sure it’s something everyone enjoys listening to and to make a statement. The last few weeks have been filled with a lot of nostalgia. The seniors have united and realized it’s our final days. It’s very sad, but we’re looking forward to what the future has in store.”