"I try to be well rounded," Burritt said.
That goal is clearly evident in the long list of extra-curricular activities he's involved in. He plays the trumpet in the school band, serves as president of the senior class, and participates in charity events like Relay For Life and his class's blood drive. Last year, he was elected treasurer of the American Legion Boys' State program.
He said he finds the most satisfaction on the high school's baseball team. Describing it as a welcome "escape from academia," Burritt both pitches and plays third base. He's leaving the team on a good note; they finished this season with a 15-3 record.
Back in academia, Burritt considers Math his best subject, and will pursue some sort of mathematics-related career when he heads to the University of Connecticut this Fall.
"I'm really looking forward to a whole new schedule," he said, "with courses I'm interested in and want to take."
Katelyn Ouimet got bitten by the acting bug back when she tried out for a production of "The Music Man" at Kennedy Middle School. Since then, she's served as president of the high school's Drama Club for all four years, and has consistently joined the ensemble in school plays like "You Can't Take It With You" and "Little Shop of Horrors." She also performs outside the school, such as the Southington Community Youth Summer Theater.
"Drama Club's a place where people can go crazy and just be themselves," she said.
Ouimet also is the fundraising chairperson of the National Honor Society and the co-chair of the society's dodge ball tournament. In addition to that, she volunteers at the local Alzheimer's Center.
Though she doesn't yet know what she wants for a career, she will be going to Colby College in Waterville, Maine. The size of the college's student body is not much bigger than that of the high school, but their enthusiasm went a long way towards enticing her.
"That was the friendliest campus I've ever visited," she said, "Everyone who went there was so ecstatic about what they were studying."
Justine Levesque's love of horses expanded into a wider interest in the school's Vocational Agriculture (Vo-Ag) program. Ironically, she will be leaving just as a brand new Vo-Ag facility has been added.
"I'm happy that the other kids will get a chance to use that place," she said, "and hopefully learn a lot more about Vo-Ag."
Levesque is an active member of the high school's chapter of Future Farmers of America, a co-curricular club within the Vo-Ag program. Within this group, she's served as the Chapter Reporter and Student Advisor. When not in school, she could likely be found tending to her two Arabian horses and occasionally taking them to horse shows.
Planning to study communications, she chose Boston College because of their unique approach to the discipline.
"They have a combination of both hands-on work and theory," she said, "and a lot of schools only focus on one of those."
She may double major in Italian, another one of her major interests during high school. She is the secretary of the Italian Club and is a member of the Italian Honor Society. In this role, she has worked with Unico and other town organizations on several local events and dreams of one day going to Italy.
The three students have many classes together, and all agreed that the most memorable teacher they had during their high school career was AP English instructor Eva Schilling.
"She pushes us really hard and expects the most out of you," Burritt said, "You really have to stretch to get the best grades, but the class goes beyond that."
Ouimet added that she had come to appreciate Schilling's methods, despite not understanding them at first.
"When you make a point," she said, "sometimes she will make you argue the opposite point. It makes you more open-minded and able to better understand your own views."
With graduation approaching swiftly, the three expressed excitement about having a clean slate when college began, but will miss the ties they have in Southington.
"I'll be meeting a whole new crowd when I go to BC," Levesque said, "and I'll miss the people here who I see every day."