HATHORNE — Superintendent Heidi Riccio and Principal Shannon Donnelly are pleased to announce that Essex Tech senior Beck Hermann has been nominated as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education.
Hermann was nominated by Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley. Finalists for the award will be selected and announced by the U.S. Department of Education in April, and will attend an awards breakfast in Washington, D.C.
Each year, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program recognizes up to 161 of the country’s most exceptional students. The program was expanded to include and celebrate the accomplishments of students studying career and technical education in 2015.
“Beck has an entrepreneurial spirit! He started a landscaping business in the 8th grade and learned as much as he could at Essex Tech in the Landscaping and Turf Management program. Beck is taking advantage of cooperative education by working at Wolf Hill Garden Center,” said Superintendent Riccio. “He is certainly the model student who is sure to excel beyond Essex Tech.”
Hermann plans to pursue a career in landscape architecture following graduation.
Hermann actively participates in numerous Essex Tech extracurricular activities. In this school year, he serves as a Student Mentor, School Ambassador, and Senior Class Treasurer.
“We are incredibly proud of Beck and his accomplishments at Essex Tech. He is an outstanding student, serves as a mentor for our new students, and dedicates his time to various community service activities,” Principal Donnelly said. “He exemplifies what we hope to see in all of our students and he is very deserving of this recognition.”
Hermann also is a multi-sport athlete. He is captain of the Winter Track team, and has run on the Spring Track team. He has played on the Golf team, and intends to play on the Volleyball team this spring.
Hermann also assisted in starting and operating the Hawks Fan Section, helped revamp the Weightlifting Club, and is working with the school administration to start a Ski Club.
Hermann works at Wolf Hill Home and Garden Center in Ipswich through the Essex Tech Cooperative Education Program. He also operates Beck’s Landscapes and Gardens, which he started in eighth grade.
He has volunteered with Surfing with Smiles, an organization dedicated to teaching disabled children how to surf, and with Our Neighbors’ Table, an Amesbury non-profit that works to alleviate food insecurity.
“I’m excited to represent Essex North Shore and all vocational students for this nomination as a Presidential Scholar candidate. An honor this high doesn’t happen overnight, and I am beyond blessed to have had the opportunity to develop myself in this way,” Hermann said. “Encouraged by support from my teachers, school administration, co-op opportunities, family and the whole community, I have found that having the proper support makes excelling attainable.”
