Patch and T-Mobile have teamed up to spotlight students excelling in academics, athletics and community service.
Megan VerHelst, Patch Staff
NATICK, MA — Massachusetts is full of bright, driven young people making a difference in and out of the classroom. That’s why Patch and T-Mobile have teamed up to spotlight students excelling in academics, athletics and community service.
This submission comes from Jean Manoli, who nominated Sarah Lingren of Massachusetts.
If you know a student who deserves recognition, we want to hear about them! Click here to nominate them to be featured as a Star Student on Patch.
What is the star student’s name?
Sarah Lingren
Find out what's happening in Natickfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
What grade is the student in?
Senior in high school
How do you know the star student?
A friend of her mother and her.
Tell us about your star student's accomplishments and why they deserve to be recognized on Patch!
Every year, in my many years as a school counselor and department head, I always have a senior whom I think of as my Rock Star of the year. Sarah Lindgren is that such person this year. She is positive, forward-thinking, independent and resilient. She cares about people, animals and learning. She seeks to make a difference in the world, along with making others around her smile on a daily basis. Her ever-present positivity is catching and I always enjoy the time that I spend with her.
Sadly, as I write this recommendation, Sarah’s father is in hospice care in their home. He was diagnosed with late-stage cancer in Sarah’s freshman year and has actively undergone a variety of traditional and newer non-traditional treatments over the past 3 years. As an only child, Sarah is close with both of her parents and she enjoys their company. She has been at the center of her parents' lives and has worked hard to maintain a positive facade whenever possible, serving as a strong support for her family throughout this difficult time. She has taken on exceptional responsibilities as her parents traveled to New York monthly for her father’s treatment, and Sarah learned to care for herself and her dog at home alone.
Academically, Sarah is an outstanding student, who has undertaken AP and honors level classes, always earning high honor roll grades. It is important to note that Sarah was recommended for even more additional AP and honors level classes, but given her father’s situation, she wisely chose to scale back from time to time. Even so, she still doubled up in math in her sophomore year (Geometry/Algebra II) and in science in her junior year (AP Chemistry/Biology).
Sarah is an active contributor in her classes and she is not afraid to ask questions and advocate for herself when needed. She is an ideal scholar who perseveres and works hard, while also cultivating strong relationships with her teachers. Sarah’s extracurricular accomplishments are many. I will focus on 3 areas.
1. Sarah has spearheaded several initiatives that address supporting others with family members impacted by cancer, such as: ? Starting a high school chapter of ONCO - Open Network Cancer Organization ? Serving as a Leader-in-Training for Camp Kesem, a free camp for children who have a family member with cancer ? Reigniting the school’s chapter of HOSA - Health Occupations Students of America ? Recognized by the nonprofit, Cancer Pathways, for her cancer advocacy work earning her recognition as a Cancer Pathways Student Ambassador in 2024.
2. Sarah loves learning for the sake of learning and seeks out additional learning experiences whenever possible, such as participating in Smith College’s summer Genes and Genetics program and taking a Whitehead Institute course on Regenerative Biology last spring.
3. Sarah loves animals and has served as a leader at Unity Sanctuary where she started volunteering and then has served as a LEAP ambassador intern for 2 years. The Unity Sanctuary team was so impressed with her volunteer work that they offered her a part-time year round job, and she is one of two students of a total of 20 that were invited to return this year for the leadership internship. Of Sarah’s many positive character traits, I believe the most impressive are her compassion and empathy.
She is: ? Always willing to help others in need and is very loyal to her friends. ? Has such compassion for animals at the sanctuary that it led to her decision to become a Vegan. ? Her mother reports that Sarah has been so incredibly helpful with her father, taking care of him and keeping his spirits up, especially on hard days. Sarah “will sit on our bed and do her homework next to him so he has company and is nearby to help him if he needs anything.”
As my heart breaks for Sarah and her family, I also know that she is ready for the challenges of college. Her strong work ethic, empathy and integrity will enhance any college campus lucky enough to have her join their community. She is the kind of student who will start a club, engage with her peers and instructors, while taking the hardest classes possible, and doing so with a smile. There is nothing that she cannot do.
What three words best describe your star student?
Brave, generous, just a beautiful person - inside and out.
Keep up the great work, Sarah. If you know an outstanding student who deserves recognition, we want to hear about them! Click here to nominate them to be featured on Patch.
This content is brought to our community in partnership with T-Mobile.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.