Heads of the Class

Both valedictorian Brodrick Childs ’09 and salutatorian Anna Stevens ’09 were shocked to learn that they earned the highest grades in their class. “I remember by stomach dropping a couple meters,” Broddy says, as he recalls Head of School Thomas K. Sturtevant making the announcement at an all-school meeting in April. Both Broddy and Anna strive for excellence in school, but each named different reasons for doing so. Broddy came by a sense of competitiveness from his parents; he and his father often try to “out-grammar” one another. Anna is motivated by a desire to learn and an interest in the subject matter. “I never worked hard to try to become the best,” she says. “I worked hard and strove to understand my classes because I wanted to learn the material.”

Broddy, who is deciding between Harvard and MIT for college, volunteers with Big Brothers/Big Sisters (BBBS), rows crew in both the spring and fall, is a peer tutor, is a National Merit Scholarship winner, and has been on the math team all of his four years at NMH. Anna is looking at Colorado College, Middlebury, and Cornell and plans to take time off before college. She also volunteers with BBBS, is a member of the Select Women’s Ensemble and the choir, skis downhill and has been captain of the varsity ski team for three years, runs cross country, rows crew, and is a student leader.