2021 Valedictorian, Salutatorian Named At Rockville High School

VERNON, CT — Rockville High School's valedictorian and salutatorian for the Class of 2021 were announced Thursday.

Here is an up-close look at the top two students:

Emma Blanchet, the Valedictorian, is the daughter of Karen and Michael Blanchet. In the fall she will be attending Emerson College, pursuing a BA in Film Media Studies with a minor in Dance. Throughout high school she has been involved in the National Honor Society, the student IT program, International Club, Link Crew, the tennis team, as a lead coordinator for Rock-A-Thon and as a chief editor of the yearbook, the lead snare in the Marching Band, and as a part of all the drama club productions. She has done many projects for Vernon Public Schools including collecting film for a Veterans Day video, 8th Grade Open House video, a Nurses Appreciation week video, filming and editing an inclusion video for the Unified Program, promotion of the Creative Writing Program at the American Association of School Administrators Conference, a new logo for the Food and Nutrition Department, and performances at the Town’s Convocation. Outside of school she tutors at Kumon Learning Center, and lifeguards and teaches private swimming lessons at Star Hill Family Athletics.

In the summer she is a camp counselor at Mansfield's Holiday Hill Day Camp. Emma is an active dancer and staff member of her dance studio. She has received numerous awards from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Connecticut Student Writer, the It's All Write Writing Competition and has been published in the Connecticut Student Writer Magazine for a personal memoir and the Connecticut River Review for poetry. Academically, Emma won the 2021 NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing for Computer Science, the COLT award for French, and recognition for many undergraduate awards for her academic successes.

Jennifer Simmons, the Salutatorian, is the daughter of Susan Simmons and Keith Simmons. This fall, she will attend the University of Connecticut. Jenny has been actively involved in the Rockville High School community through the music and athletic departments, the agriculture program, and the National Honor Society. She was an avid member of the Rockville High School Marching Ram Band drumline and participated in the Spring Musical.

She was also a member of the ASTE program and has been working as an Animal Caretaker in the Large Animal Lab for the past four years. In her junior year, she became a member of the cheerleading team and received the MVP award in her senior year. Throughout her high school career, Jenny has been recognized for her academic achievement through the Scholar Athlete Award, Excellence in Spanish Award, Agricultural Science and Technology Education Award, E. Stevens Henry Award, and many other undergraduate awards for academic excellence.