GHS Names Elisa Allen Class of 2023 Valedictorian By Linda Competillo
May 17, 2023
Tompkins Weekly Article: https://www.tompkinsweekly.com...
Graduation is just over a month away for Groton Jr./Sr. High School’s (GHS) Class of 2023. For the first time in a number of years, the ceremony will not take place in its usual Saturday morning time slot. It will instead be held at 7 p.m. Friday, June 23 at Ross Field, and this will be the first class to graduate on the turf of the recently renovated athletic facility.
On the heels of the third marking period, GHS proudly announced Elisa Allen as the Class of 2023 valedictorian and Darian Mitchell as salutatorian.
With congratulations to each of these accomplished young people as they prepare for graduation day, this week’s column features Allen. Mitchell will be featured next week.
In a unique situation, Elisa will graduate with her siblings, Katelin and Isaac, because they are triplets! They and their older sister, Jaedyn, GHS 2017, have lived their entire lives in Groton. Their parents are Jason and the late Sara Allen, who passed away in late February 2015.
Many may remember Sara and her courageous battle with breast cancer that began in 2010. She always maintained a positive attitude through chemotherapy, radiation, several surgeries, four recurrences, a tumor in her brain requiring two craniotomies and cancer that spread to her liver and spine – all while raising four children and working as a teacher’s aide at Groton Elementary School (GES).
Each time Sara would return to her job at GES throughout her struggle, her spirit and kindness toward the children and staff was so inspiring that it began a movement within the school district known as “Sara Strong.” Staff, community members and children rallied around Sara and her family to encourage and support them during her battle and to promote breast cancer awareness.
Although Elisa was a young girl when she lost her mother, she still holds her memory in her heart and said that thinking of Sara has always given her “that extra push and motivation to get the highest grades I could and always set high goals to make her happy if she was still here.”
Although Elisa had the inspiration of her mother to excel, she recalls that she always loved school, especially science and math.
“I used to do do-it-yourself robot kits when I was in elementary school,” Elisa said. “I liked to understand how things worked and trying to figure out how to make them better.”
When Elisa was in sixth grade, she watched her sister, Jaedyn, graduate, and that inspired her even more “to always get the highest grades.”
“I think Jaedyn and Paul Brecht were the first Groton graduates to also earn their associate degrees from TC3 [Tompkins Cortland Community College] while still in high school, and that was amazing to me,” Elisa said. This year, Elisa is one of 12 GHS students who will be earning the same.
Elisa said that she has finished every year at the top of her class since sixth grade and has been a three-sport athlete also – playing basketball, soccer and softball.
“I was moved up to varsity for basketball and soccer in my freshman year,” Elisa said, “and in eighth grade I was moved up to varsity softball.”
Elisa said that softball is her ultimate favorite sport and she has been a catcher since sixth grade. She has been a first team all-star every year from eighth through 12th grade, so it is no surprise that she will attend Binghamton University on a softball scholarship this fall while studying mechanical engineering.
Working for NASA or SpaceX is Elisa’s career goal. She said that she has always been drawn to spaceships, although she doesn’t really know why, but she set that goal in sixth grade. She added that working for Lockheed Martin or Boeing would be a good first step.
Elisa’s dad, Jason, is a mechanical engineer at Intertek in Cortland, and Elisa explained how fascinated she has been by the things he has told her about his job and how inspired she is by him.
Elisa was inducted into the National Honor Society in 10th grade and is the president this year. Outside of that, sports have been her only extracurricular activities.
Balancing her sports and studies is a natural part of Elisa’s life, and she developed an effective system for it by finding the time for each however she could.
“If I have days without homework, I find time for extra softball practice, and when I am between sports I study harder,” Elisa explained. “I didn’t even know being a valedictorian was a thing until 10th grade, but once I did, I worked even harder at my grades. I always knew Darian was close, and I’m competitive, so I did all I could to rise above him and also beat my brother, Isaac’s, grades.”
Elisa identifies her involvement in sports as a big part of her competitiveness. She also said that softball has helped her because it pushes her to think about every possible situation very quickly, and that she began to step up as more of a leader in her junior year.
“I started knowing more about the game and being more comfortable about what I say – knowing that not everyone will like what I say and being okay with that,” Elisa said. “If I embarrass myself, I think about it more than anyone else does, and conversations with my dad really helped me to overcome that. He would tell me to stop overthinking and overanalyzing, and that was a wakeup moment for me.”
When asked what she might like to say to the underclassmen coming after her at GHS, Elisa said, “Try to stay focused on school instead of the drama that goes on and common problems like vaping and fighting.”
Elisa is grateful for her education at GHS and said, “For being such a small school, Groton has so much to offer, and we are also closer to our teachers and classmates than larger schools. I have friendships that I hope to keep forever.”
Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at 607-227-4922.