At an all-school assembly on January 12, the 2018 Hector Hebert Award was presented to Emilia “Emi” Ruth. Phil Harriman ’73 made the presentation.
In the late 1990s a group of former students and long-time history teacher Alan Hall spurred the effort to create a prize in honor of their former teacher and colleague. They noted that Mr. Hebert, who taught history at YHS from 1961 until his retirement in 1980, was an “…engaging and thoughtful scholar …. who was passionate about history, architecture, jazz, and sports.” The award goes to a senior who “…typifies personal integrity, intellectual curiosity, and the Renaissance ideal of of excellence in a wide range of activities.”
Emi Ruth personifies the award criteria. She takes advanced placement and high honors courses, focusing on physics and mathematics, and intends to major in mechanical engineering in college. Outside of the classroom, she has served a Class Clerk all four years and has captained the sailing and alpine ski teams. A strong musician, she has been a trombonist in several YHS instrumental groups, and plays the piano and ukelele as well. She has attended Mandarin Chinese classes at USM, and Bowdoin, and has served as a martial artist at Aikido of Maine for nine years.
Congratulations Emi, a true Renaissance person.