Laura Dutton of Bridgton has been selected as the area Lions Clubs’ “Student of the Month” for December.

Each month, area Lions Clubs recognize a Lake Region High School senior based on academics and volunteerism in school and community services. The recipient is honored at a Lions’ dinner meeting and is presented a monetary award.

Parents: Ken and Deb Dutton

Activities: Playing volleyball, ski racing, and softball.

Hobbies: Spending time with friends and family, shopping, and exploring new places.

Future Plans: Going to a college in the New England area to pursue a path in Physical Therapy.

Q. What do you believe are three keys to being a good student? One of the factors for me has been consistency and having a routine that I am able to follow every day. The second one would be to remain productive. It’s very easy to procrastinate work until the last minute, but it is so much less stressful having everything done ahead of time. My last one would be to stay flexible. There is so much happening in the four years of high school it’s easy to stress, but just remember to take a deep breath and go with the flow. Not every day needs to be filled from sunrise to sunset, but as long as I’m able to get enough done to where I feel accomplished it has been a good day.

Q. What is your favorite class and why? My favorite class thus far has been AP Government and Politics with Mr. Oren my junior year. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the function of our government, and how each piece works together, but the content is a lot to take on in such a short period of time. Mr. Oren made the class personalized toward us, he used pop culture references and other fun ways for us to better understand the work and enjoy the material we were learning about.

Q. Who is your favorite teacher and why? My favorite teacher in all my schooling has been Mr. Coady. He has been a teacher of mine nearly every year since the seventh grade. He has seen me go through good and bad days and watched me grow as a person. Mr. Coady runs his classes very professionally, but the more you get to know him as a person the more his personality and humor will show through. I’ve enjoyed every class I have had the pleasure of taking with Mr. Coady… even if I wasn’t always thrilled about the actual content of the class. He is always looking out for us, pushing his students to achieve goals they never thought were attainable. I can proudly say Mr. Coady has made a lasting impact on me.

Q. If you could change on thing about your educational experience, what would it be and why? I wish Lake Region was able to offer more high level and real world experience classes. AP classes provide great knowledge and give free college credits to the students, but I wish there were also classes that taught real world scenarios that can help us to better prepare for everyday challenges and responsibilities.

Q. What accomplishment are you most proud of, and why? I’m tied between an academic and athletic accomplishment, so I’ll share both. My academic accomplishment would have to be my GPA (grade point average) being above a 4.0. I’m very proud of this because I know that I have put in great amounts of effort to earn this over the last four years, and because of the standings of my current GPA I am able to receive direct admit into schools I am applying to for college. It’s particularly helpful to me as the DPt programs I am applying to are extremely competitive.

My athletic accomplishment I’m most proud of is something I obtained recently. This year, I was selected for First Team All-Conference in the Western Maine athletic division under the 2024 volleyball season. This is something I am incredibly proud of because I have been working very hard to further develop my skills in volleyball for the hopes of playing in the future.