John Bapst has announced that senior Andrew Babbitt has received the school’s 2011 MPA Principal’s Award. The award, sponsored by the Maine Principals’ Association, is given in recognition of a high school senior’s academic achievement and citizenship. In announcing the award, Head of School Mel MacKay noted, “While many seniors are deserving of this honor, Andrew has truly distinguished himself as a scholar, singer, leader, and athlete.”
A high honor student, Babbitt has won numerous academic class awards, including several in AP and Honors courses. He is president of the John Bapst Student Senate, a two-year member of the school’s National Honor Society, a math team captain, and the chorale co-president. The son of Joseph and Gail Babbitt of Hampden, he is an AP Scholar with Distinction, a National Merit Commended Student, and recipient of the Clarkson University Leadership Award. He has also been recognized for his achievements with a 2010-11 Discus Award.
In fine arts, Babbitt has performed in both school and community theater productions. He has won lead roles in each of his four years at John Bapst and was a cast member in the Husson University theater production of West Side Story. A tenor in the John Bapst Chorale and Concert Choir, Babbitt has been a Classical All-State Vocalist for three years. He is also a violinist with the John Bapst Chamber Ensemble. In the athletic arena, Babbitt was captain of the John Bapst Soccer Team, won the U.S. Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete Award, and was a candidate for the Penobscot Valley Conference Scholar/Athlete Award.
In 2010, Babbitt participated in the Harvard University summer program, enrolling in two courses: Writing about Social and Ethical Issues and the History of Musical Theater. He also sang with the Harvard Summer Chorus and the Boston Conservatory of Music small chorus. In addition to his senior year courses at John Bapst, Babbitt is also taking mathematics online through the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. He has been offered a Boston College Presidential Scholarship.
The Principal’s Award is presented in more than 140 Maine public and private high schools by member principals of the MPA, the professional association that represents Maine’s school administrators. Babbitt, the other MPA award winners, and their principals will attend an Honors Luncheon on April 2. The Honors Luncheon recognizes outstanding students with the presentation of individual plaques and the awarding of five $1,000 scholarships in the names of Horace O. McGowan and Richard W. Tyler, former Maine principals and executive directors of the Association.