Boston Native Named College of Natural Resources Valedictorian
Graduating senior Drew Braithwaite was named valedictorian of the College of Natural Resources.
This Boston native moved to Utah his senior year of high school and was unsure of his college goals. USU was the first college he applied to and the first college that replied, Braithwaite said. Once Braithwaite entered college, his choice of a major wasn’t easy either.
“I was going to be an art history major, then political science,” said Braithwaite.
His final choice of a major was environmental science. Braithwaite said one of the challenges he had was giving the extra push to get an A.
“I’m also pretty competitive,” Braithwaite said.
Another thing that helped inspire him to do better was his Connections class. In the class, he said “they told us to treat college like a long interview.”
Braithwaite said, “That’s essentially what it is.”
Although the College of Natural Resources is one of the smallest colleges on campus, Braithwaite said he still considers it an honor. Braithwaite jokingly said he only had to beat out one other person and a cow to be valedictorian.
Valedictorians have the opportunity to speak at commencement, but this one is not a fan of public speaking.
“I’m not really a public speaker,” Braithwaite said. In an effort to stem the pressure of speaking, Braithwaite plans to use humor in his speech.
“I don’t consider the speech a success unless they have some long cane to pull me off the stage,” Braithwaite said. His plans for the future include getting an MBA. The careers Braithwaite is most interested involve the business side of environmental sustainability. -liz.w@aggiemail.usu.edu