DYER BROOK, Maine — Southern Aroostook Community School Principal Jon Porter has announced the top students for the Class of 2020.
Senior Abigail Stevens will graduate summa cum laude. Stevens serves as treasurer of the school’s National Honor Society. As a junior, Stevens was selected as a delegate to represent SACS at Dirigo Girls State and also attended the Maine Youth Leadership Conference when she was a sophomore.
Stevens served on the student council for three years, serving as vice president her junior year and president as a senior. She has also been named the 2020 Maine Principals Award Recipient, was selected as a Presidential Scholar Candidate and is also a member of Dollars for Scholars for four years.
Stevens has been selected to attend the All-Aroostook Music Festival five times. She plays multiple instruments including alto saxophone, piano, trumpet, baritone horn and is also a triangle enthusiast.
Stevens attends the Bethel Church in Oakfield, where she has been a member of the youth group and worship team. She plays the piano and sings every Sunday. Stevens also gives back to her community through her volunteer work at the church, youth group and the Good Shepherd Food Bank at SACS.
Stevens is currently working at Vacationland Estates. She has also worked at Anderson’s Mill Pond Dairy Bar during the summer of 2018 and Birch Point Campground and Vacationland Estates Resort the summer of 2019.
Her future plans are to attend the University of Maine to study in the engineering program. She is the daughter of Sean and Ann Stevens.
Emily Canavan will graduate magna cum laude. She serves as secretary of the school’s NHS. As a junior, Canavan was selected as a delegate to represent SACS at Dirigo Girls State and also attended the Maine Youth Leadership Conference as a sophomore.
Canavan is an accomplished percussionist earning several awards. She has been selected to attend the All-Aroostook Music Festival seven times. She has also been selected to attend the All-State Music Festival twice and selected to attend the All-New England Music Festival. She plays multiple instruments, but her favorite is the drums. Canavan attends the Bethel Church in Oakfield and said, “the church has been pretty much my second home for the past seven years.”
She has been a member of the church youth group and worship team for the last seven years. She plays the drums every Sunday morning at church and also at church events, summer camps and at other churches in the area. Canavan has a passion for leading people into worship. She has taken on various roles at the church which include writing original music, helping and leading a prayer group, running social media accounts for the church and helping design and create content for church events.
Canavan works part-time at the Island Falls Town Office. Her future plans are to attend Liberty University Online to earn a degree in business administration: digital marketing and advertising and to pursue a career in social media marketing. She also would like to continue to stay involved with some type of ministry work. She is the daughter of Richard and Esther Canavan.
Senior Makaelyn Porter will graduate magna cum laude. Porter is a member of the school’s NHS and also served as the Class of 2020 vice president for the last four years. Porter was chosen to attend the Maine HOBY Leadership Conference her sophomore year and was also awarded the Maine Learning Technology Initiative Digital Artwork award as a sophomore for her digital photography artwork.
As a senior, Porter was chosen to receive the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award. She also was named the Maine winner for the Heisman High School Scholarship Program. Porter was recently recognized as a senior All-Aroostook Scholar/Athlete Award winner. She has been involved in the SACS yearbook and also participated in the SACS Drama Club and has been a member of Southern Aroostook Dollars for Scholars program for the past four years.
Porter has been very active in high school athletics. She played varsity soccer for the last five years, starting as an eighth-grader, and served as captain this past season. She earned All-Aroostook Honors in soccer three times and was named a Senior Regional All-Star this past season. Porter was also named the Class D Girls Butch Shaw Award winner for her demonstration of outstanding sportsmanship.
Porter played three seasons of varsity softball. She has been part of teams that have earned the Class D Northern Maine Regional Runner-Up awards in 2017 and 2018. Porter has been named to the Class D All-Aroostook Softball team twice.
She also played varsity basketball for five seasons. In that time, she has been part of three Class D Northern Maine Championships teams in 2018, 2019 and 2020. She has also been part of two Class D State Championship teams (2018, 2019). A three-year captain, Porter has been named All-Aroostook four times, scored more than 1,000 career points, is a two time Bangor Daily News Top Ten Players to Watch athlete, was a three time Class D Northern Maine Tournament Most Outstanding Player, was named by Big Time Sports Website 2020 Girls Player of the Year, participated in the Aroostook Senior All-Star game, named to the McDonald’s Senior Class C/D North All-Star team and has been named to the Bangor Daily News All-State Girls Team Honorable Mention, three times.
Porter also participated in a variety of community service projects. She volunteered more than 60 hours at the SACS Basketball Camp, over 45 hours at the soccer camp, over 10 hours at the SACS Annual “Share the Warmth” Clothing Drive and also volunteered at the SACS Food Pantry.
Porter has been accepted at Husson University where she will major in exercise science and also plans to earn her doctorate in physical therapy with a future goal to work in the physical therapy field. She is the daughter of Jon and Jessica Porter.
Senior Carson Grant will graduate magna cum laude. He is a member of the National Technical Honor Society at Region Two in Houlton. Grant participated in the Forest Management Program at the Career and Technical Education Center at Region Two in Houlton. While attending Houlton High School, Grant was a member of the State Championship Golf Team in 2018.
Grant has given back to his community through his service work, which includes helping with the local food pantry, cutting and splitting firewood for the less fortunate in town,and also giving lessons to area youth during the summer at the Golf for Life Camp.
Grant has worked for O’Reilly Auto Parts for the last two years. He also works for Cam’s Lawn Care, where he has enjoyed working long hours and long nights.
Grant plans to attend Maine Maritime Academy to pursue a degree in power engineering technology and would like to own his own business. His future plans are to travel the world working on onshore power plants. He is the son of Norman Grant and Elizabeth Grant.
