SOUTH EASTON — Principal Leslie Weckesser is pleased to recognize Piper Culp as a Class of 2022 Senior in the Spotlight.
Culp is a student in the Natural & Life Sciences vocational program.
Culp chose her vocation because she wants to be part of the solution to climate change. Science is also one of her favorite academic subjects, which encouraged her to pursue it vocationally. She also explains that she has always loved and appreciated nature, which was a big part of the vocation, and that science helps people and the world, and she wants to be someone who helps.
Culp’s favorite experience from the program is sampling in Black Brook, a brook behind the school, for macroinvertebrates. Students hiked to a Black Brook site, put on waders and used nets to catch macroinvertebrates. They then went back to the school to identify what they caught and use that information to help determine how healthy the brook was. She also has great memories of learning about beekeeping and has found the lab work to be beneficial to her current internship at the Massasoit STEM research lab where she researches wild bees and other pollinators.
While at Southeastern, Culp has been involved in the National Honor Society, Math Team and Beekeeping. She has also participated in the Massachusetts Science Fair and received an honorable mention at regionals her sophomore year. She participates in Early High School College with Massasoit Community College and has earned an Associate Liberal Arts Transfer degree.
She has been named to Southeastern’s High Honors list all four years and the Dean’s List at Massasoit each semester. She holds a 4.556 GPA at Southeastern and a 3.98 at Massasoit. She was one of the State Nominees for the U.S. Presidential Scholars from Massachusetts and received an Outstanding Vocational Technical Student Award from the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators.
In her free time, she enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons with her friends and going on hikes.
Following graduation, Culp plans to attend Brandeis University and explore her interests in Biology or Environmental Studies. She hopes to get an internship relating to the environmental field during those years as well.
Her advice to freshmen is: “Get involved, whether it be projects at shop or after school activities, just get involved in something. You meet so many great people and opportunities that way. Don’t be scared of trying something new, and if you are scared, do it anyway. If you don’t, you may regret it and by the time you graduate, you will have great memories to look back on.”
Southeastern’s Senior Spotlights are chosen based on their high academic and vocational achievement. Seniors are selected from each of the nine towns Southeastern serves and are highlighted prior to graduation which will be held this year on June 8.
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