A5

By Jamie Ross

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MOUNT MIDDLETON - Two Sussex Regional High School graduates, coincidentally of the same rural area, were consecutively named Acadia University's valedictorian in 2007 and 2008.

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SRHS grad Stephen Robinson (class of 2003), and SRHS grad Ben Taylor (class of 2004), both of Mount Middleton, were voted valedictorians by their respective grad classes in their final years at the Wolfville, Nova Scotia-based university.

The coincidence is striking. As rural neighbours who grew up five minutes from each other, the pair shared drives to school, and ran in the same social circles. Both were active in the SRHS drama program and both were "jokesters," known for their playfulness and folly. The two also did an honours in biology at Acadia.

Robinson, a second-year Dalhousie Med. School student, summed up the coincidence briefly. "It's something in the water," he joked of Mount Middleton.

Taylor, however, said although the two winning the honour consecutively was partly chance, Robinson had a great influence on the choices that led him to Acadia and into the field he is pursuing.

"I have to give a lot of credit to Steve. Us being such good friends, he's really influenced me along the way. He really opened my eyes to the things Acadia has to offer. (In high school), I visited him at Acadia, which influenced me going there and my choice to go into biology."

Taylor said Robinson "was a big part of the Acadia community," who mastered juggling the social and academic aspects of student life, a key trait of candidates for valedictorian.

Robinson introduced Taylor to SMILE, a volunteer program he participated in for a number of years, and the two had the same honours thesis professor in their graduating years.

Robinson said he was "flattered" to be recognized by his peers as the valedictorian. The 23-year-old spent this summer working at the Moncton City Hospital, shadowing doctors, and hopes to have a future in pediatrics.

A member of the varsity soccer team, a two-time Canadian Interuniversity Sport academic all-Canadian, the communications representative for his residence house, and a SMILE volunteer for children with special needs, Taylor emulated Robinson's juggling act during his four years at Acadia.

He was nominated along with his roommate and seven other candidates for the 2008 distinction, and took a less conventional approach when preparing to give his nomination speech.

"(My roommate) Jeff Dortmans and I were both nominated, and we are really good friends," said Taylor. "We thought it would ruin it for each other if one of us won, and the other had to lose, so we decided we would take our chances and see if we could run together."

The pair approached the grad committee at Acadia to see if they would be allowed to run as a unit. Their request was approved, and the two eventually won after giving a dual speech at the nomination banquet.

Taylor, a recipient of the John MacIntyre scholarship, said it was an honour just to be nominated for the award and giving the valedictory was icing on the cake after a successful four years. "The speech was the best possible way to finish an amazing four years at Acadia.

"It really gave me a chance to reflect on the past four years, and what I thought it had done for me. We tried to translate our experience to what it had been like for everyone."

Taylor is now studying for his MCAT (medical school exam) that he will write in September.

He said he will be spending the next year working at the IWK in Halifax, doing autism research, and will apply to medical schools around the country for admittance next fall.