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06/15/2022 08:30 AMWhen you learn Regan Leete had her choice of entering Lehigh University or UConn next year, the fact she chose Lehigh’s intimate and rigorous academic setting in Bethlehem, Pa., is telling.
The North Branford High School (NBHS) Class of 2022 valedictorian says she’s benefited from attending a “small school” and chose Lehigh because of its smaller classroom ratios in comparison to some other top schools.
“With such a small school, I’m used to having stronger teacher-student relationships, and I wanted to continue that in college,” says Regan, 17.
Regan particularly thanks her AP calculus teacher Lori Connelly and her AP Spanish teacher Jennifer Tzetzo for helping her get ahead in her academic career as an NBHS student.
“Ms. Tzetzo just cares so much about her students,” says Regan. “Ms. Connelly has always had a lot of confidence in me as a student and so have many of my other teachers. I think they were trying to get me to have more confidence in myself as a student, and that had a big impact on me. I’m excited to go to college and explore more.”
Regan also thanks her parents for providing support without pressure.
“They never really talked to me about my grades or told me to keep my grades up, because they know I just tell myself to do that!” she says.
At NBHS, Regan conquered many honors-level classes, including physics honors, as well as completing a UConn early college experience writing seminar and several NBHS Project Lead the Way pre-engineering courses. She began taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes during in her junior year. In addition to AP.Spanish and calculus, Regan completed A.P. U.S. government and politics and A.P. English language and composition at NBHS.
“Those were intimidating, at first,” she says of the AP courses. “But they ended up being not too hard compared to the Honors classes I was taking.”
Of course, just like the rest of the NBHS Class of 2022, Regan spent two years of her high school career navigating learning during a global pandemic, including months of remote learning between March 2020 and June 2020.
“Online school was hard, because I really thrive off having relationships with my teachers and being able to talk to them in class and ask questions,” says Regan. “It was a little harder, but I made it work.”
North Branford was one of a handful of Connecticut school districts that fully opened when school returned in the 2020-’21 academic year, albeit with memorable precautions including social distancing, wearing masks, COVID tracing, and quarantines among other impacts to traditional school and sports.
“Distance learning was tough for us at first, but I think we all helped each other through it,” says Regan of her classmates. “And then, coming back to school with COVID restrictions was also hard at first, but I think we all tried to keep a positive attitude through it. And now, here we are, maskless, and things seem to be back to normal.”
While she’ll proudly wear the Class of 2022 valedictorian medal on graduation night, Regan says she didn’t set out to be at the top of her class. She just wanted to be sure she was accomplishing her personal best as a student.
“I never really set it as a goal—it was honestly unexpected,” she says. “I’ve always worked really hard as a student and tried my best in school.”
In addition to being named NBHS Class of 2022 valedictorian, Regan’s recent academic awards include her 2022 selection as a CIAC Scholar-Athlete and Superintendents’ Association Award recipient, and, in 2021, as a Shoreline Principals Association Outstanding Junior in Mathematics award.
“Math is my favorite subject,” says Regan, who plans to major in engineering at Lehigh. “I chose engineering because I thought solving problems with math would be kind of fun for me.”
Regan’s NBHS academic affiliations include her membership in the National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society, serving as co-president. A three-season athlete, Regan ran NBHS cross country in the fall, and indoor and outdoor track in the winter and spring. She was a captain for both programs.
Being both a dedicated student and athlete hasn’t been easy, Regan admits.
“It’s definitely been hard, especially as a track runner, because the meets can be so long, so it was a lot of time plus hours of practice every week,” she says. “So sometimes it was hard to balance, but I made it work.”
For example, during those long track meets, Regan worked on homework between events. Could that be a pro tip for aspiring valedictorians, The Sound asks? With a laugh—and some self-depreciating full disclosure—Regan answers, “I don’t know if I should be the one giving advice to people, because I kind of have a habit of procrastination!”
On a serious note, she adds, “I would say it’s important to do your homework when you can. It’s okay to set time for your homework. I’ve had to make some sacrifices with social events and other things, like sleep! But it wasn’t too hard to balance it. I would suggest doing it whenever you can, and not procrastinating!”
Regan also found time to get involved in extra-curricular activities at NBHS. She was a member of Student Council, Kaleidescope Literary Magazine, and the NBHS Dream Team, a district-wide student mentoring program that pairs high schoolers with younger kids.
Last month, NBHS officially announced Regan as the NBHS Class of 2022 valedictorian, together with announcing top-ranking class members Taylor Levine as salutatorian and Braeden LeBeau as essayist. While the top three students are also recognized at commencement, the valedictorian has the additional role of writing and giving a speech to the graduating class. The NBHS Class of 2022 commencement was scheduled for June 15 (after press time for this article).
“It’s an honor to make a speech. I’m excited about it,” says Regan. “My speech is about the importance of staying curious and learning throughout your lifetime, even separate from school. It’s an encouragement to keep an open mind, and take advantage of the opportunities we all have as we go into college or elsewhere.”