Housatonic student of the week - Becket Harney

The Lakeville Journal congratulates honorees of the student of the week program at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. This week’s photo was taken by 11th-grader Caroline Sullivan.

FALLS VILLAGE — Some students at Housatonic Valley Regional High School must be operating on a 26-hour day, because there is no way that a normal teenager should be able to accomplish so much.

Junior Becket Harney, this week’s Student of the Week, seems to be involved in every successful venture at Housatonic, from fine arts events to the Envirothon team, and he still finds time to write novels on the side.

Last week he wore a shirt to school that cautioned, “Be careful or you will end up in my novel,”  and given that he is gearing up to write a 50,000-word novel during the month of November, I’ll be interested in the final product.

Becket appeared as Nicely Nicely Johnson in the spring production of “Guys and Dolls” by the Housatonic Musical Theatre Society. He exhibited both his love for characters and his love for music in that performance.

Since the fifth grade, he has played the clarinet, and he recently picked up the contrabass in order to round out the school’s woodwind quintet. His involvement in Night Choir and Heartbreakers made him an obvious candidate for Tri-M, the musical honor society, yet Becket still manages to find time in his schedule for more.

He was a member of Housatonic’s highly successful Envirothon team, which placed fifth in North America this year, and he has been involved with the chapter Public Speaking Competition, orating on the topic of invasive species. He values the “close-knit team” that performed so highly in the Envirothon — which also explains why he participates in the Academic Bowl and Class Council, and why he is working with others to create a debate team.

Becket doesn’t play any sports, but the competitive spirit courses through his veins and finds expression in these other pursuits.

While he is undecided about his future path, Becket’s wide-ranging talents and rigorous academic schedule position him well for great success. He takes advantage of the many opportunities available to him at Housatonic, and as a class officer, he hopes to build on those in the spirit of community service. We are thrilled to have such a motivated and capable individual representing the student body, and we look forward to the many great traditions that he will not only continue, but initiate.

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