MILLBROOK — Senior Elizabeth “Liz” Halpin has been named salutatorian for the 2016 graduating class at Millbrook High School. A student with an outstanding academic record,
Halpin was also a star player on the girl varsity lacrosse team in 2016. She was the first in Millbrook lacrosse history to be named U.S. All-American and U.S. Lacrosse All-Academic. Halpin was also the only player out of the 19 teams in class C to be awarded the Jackie Pitts Award, which honors a graduating senior who truly honors the game of lacrosse. This past season, Halpin was joined on the lacrosse team by her twin sisters, Catherine and Caroline. She also played varsity volleyball for Millbrook.
Academically, Halpin has shown excellent work in advanced placement (AP) and college courses. She will be attending Dutchess Community College in the fall, and eventually wants to go into bio-engineering. Her favorite subjects included math and biology. Math she took with teacher Ken McPherson; she also took calculus with him, which she says was hard, but fun. Biology classes were with Patricia Tomasecki. A course, War in Writing, ignited the idea of using bio-engineering to help veterans by making better prosthetics, an inspiration also fed by an uncle who is in the field of building prosthetics.
Halpin was active throughout her high school years, being a member of Connection Crew, which pairs a senior with a freshman to help them get through the transition from middle school to high school. She also works part time at the Washington Town Hall.
Before starting college in the fall, Halpin will travel to North Carolina, where she hopes to spend quality time with her family. In August, she will be flying to California with a friend. This will be her first trip to the Golden State, and having seen the sunrise on the Atlantic Ocean many times, she’s hoping to see the sun set on the Pacific Ocean.
Halpin praises the Millbrook Central School District.
“I’m thankful for everything they’ve done for me,” she said. “We’re a small community that works to help someone. They gave us a lot of opportunities to start something, take charge and act out on our ideas.”



Dick Hermans in the Oblong Bookstore on Millerton’s Main Street in 1985.Provided



Fall storage crop harvests amid soil building cover crops at Adamah Farm in Falls Village. Janna Siller 




