Well-Rounded Valedictorian Halgren Ready for Yale

A student needs to be well-rounded and have multiple interests to become valedictorian.

With the competition so high and the margin between grade point averages so narrow, it isn't enough to be really good in the sciences or have an incredible knack for writing. One must possess the total package.

But Madison High School's Courtney Halgren, this year's top student when it comes to GPA, seems to take balance a bit further.

It shows in her extra curricular activities, her possible career path, and even where she's lived.

You see, though Halgren has resided in Madison almost her entire life, there were two years when she was in 3rd and 4th grade that her father's job led the family to London.

"It was such an amazing experience," said Halgren, whose father Bob works for MetLife in bond investments. "Looking back on it, I wish I had been a little older. I think I would have gotten a lot more out of it. I got to do so much traveling.

"I really like looking back at it. In the future I think I'd like to continue to travel. I'm hoping in my junior year of college to go abroad."

The future Yale University student has been in the Rose City during the other years of her life with her mother Marcia, 21-year-old sister Stephanie, and her father. She said Australia is the country where she would most like to do her studying if she were able to go overseas for a period of time.

Halgren's varied interests also show in how she spent her spare time at MHS. She pointed to her four years on both the swim team and Key Club as highlights. In Key Club, she was proud of being able to increase the number of students and the club's overall involvement. When it came to her time in the pool, her favorite part was the camaraderie.

"This past year I was a co-captain," Halgren said. "It was so great watching the team grow"

Halgren also played the flute and piccolo, and participated in the pit orchestra for high school musicals. She was also part of the newly formed marching band.

"That was a neat experience," Halgren said. "It was way more fun than I had anticipated."

On top of all of that, Halgren has her own tutoring business that she started during her freshman year. It has grown from one person each week to four people a week this year. Halgren also works during summers at Noe Pond Club in Chatham, where she will teach swim lessons, be an assistant coach to the swim team, and work in the office this year.

As far as what Yale and the future hold, the possibilities seem limitless.

"I feel like you could ask me on any given day and I'd give a different answer," Halgren said about where she thinks her studies will take her.

A chemistry enthusiast, she said scientific research may be in her future. She also thinks journalism may be a path she explores, as she has enjoyed being in the press corps while participating in the Harvard Model Congress in Boston.

That varied interest also came through in who she and salutatorian Caroline Miller asked to accompany them at the Morris County Academic Achievement Recognition Dinner held at the Hanover Marriot on June 2.

Halgren said that she and Miller loved English teacher Carole Breheny and history teacher Paul Mueller so much, that though each student was technically supposed to invite one teacher to attend, they co-invited both staff members to attend the dinner.

"I think we had both learned really significant things in both classes," Halgren said. "And both, personality wise, were very fun to have at a dinner like that. And we both really enjoyed their classes."

Though it was apparent early in their high school career that the top two spots at MHS would most likely come down to them, the relationship between Halgren and Miller has not been about competition. Halgren said the two have been really good friends ever since attending Madison Junior School.

Halgren is still not sure of what her after-finals GPA is, as it hasn't been announced, but her number was 5.1 heading into this year.

She leaves MHS looking back fondly at her past classes, especially AP chemistry with Claire Miller and AP history with Mueller.

Halgren also thanks her teachers, family and friends for helping her to achieve so much.

"I'm fortunate for all the great teachers I have had," Halgren said. "And of course I'd be remiss if I did not thank my family and friends. My family has definitely put up with me. There have been some stressful times, and they've always been there for me. It's the same with my friends. It's been great going through the whole high school process knowing I've had such a great support group in my family and friends the whole way."

Now she heads to Yale, a school she originally didn't have on her radar because of its size, but fell in love with when she went on her visit. She may not be 100 percent sure of where her interests and talents will take her, but she's excited to find out.

"I'm waiting to take a class that inspires me and go from there," Halgren said.