From Groton High to an Oregon State professor
Chad Higgins, an inductee to the Groton High School Distinguished Graduate Hall of Fame (Class of ‘96), is featured in this week’s column.
Higgins was inducted at the 12th annual high school Banquet of Academic Excellence on June 1.
This prestigious award was created by the Groton chapter of the National Honor Society seven years ago, to pay tribute to the accomplishments of one or two graduates each year. The recipients are invited to attend the annual banquet to receive their award, serve as the keynote speaker(s), and are commemorated in the halls of the school with a permanent plaque outlining their achievements.
Nominated for this honor by his former French teacher, Annette Twitchell, who is still Groton’s teacher of the French language today, Higgins accepted his award and delivered his keynote speech at the banquet in a most unique manner — via Skype — as he was unable to travel from Oregon in person.
In a warm and touching introduction, Twitchell spoke about Higgins’ many accomplishments and how they related to what he had learned in her classroom.
When she made her initial contact with him, Higgins explained that after graduating from Cornell University in 2000, he attended Johns Hopkins University, where he earned his Ph.D. in fluid dynamics in 2007. He was then offered a position by the Swiss government to predict avalanches in the Alps.
Twitchell stated, “Having not taken French since high school, he took the position based on the grounding he had in the French language as my student in the 1990s. He also told me that because he had traveled to France on one of my student tours where we had driven through the Alps, he felt a familiarity with that region, and he believed he could live there. In fact, he did live there for four years, recalling the French he had learned 11 years previously so he could rent an apartment, purchase food and go about life in a French-speaking country.”
As he began his speech on the big screen at the banquet, Higgins said he felt totally humbled to be nominated for this award. He asked himself, “Am I qualified to speak words of wisdom to those whose toes are curled over the edge of the diving board of life?” But then he reminded himself that he was not always qualified for everything in life, but was always ready.
He told the rapt audience of students, parents and educators that his biggest message is to never stop learning because one thing always leads to another, and exhorted the students to build on their successes as well as their failures. He said, “There is no such thing as a jack of all trades but master of none. I prefer to say that people can be a jack of all trades who are masters of some."
Currently, Higgins is a professor at Oregon State University. His 12-page résumé includes the following: He has been published more than 40 times, has taught 20 credit-bearing and eight non-credit-bearing courses, has made nearly 30 presentations to his peers relating to geophysics, advised more than 40 graduate and undergraduate students, and reviews articles for 18 scientific journals.
The physical plaque that will hang on the Wall of Fame was presented by National Honor Society president Hope Twitchell, and there to receive it on Higgins’ behalf were his parents, William and Joan Higgins, who are also Groton alumni. It was clear, even through cyberspace, that Higgins was humbled and honored to be inducted.
Treasures of Groton’s past
The Town of Groton Bicentennial Committee has planned a new and different community event called “Treasures of Groton’s Past,” beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday on Conger Boulevard.
At first glance, this might look like a flea market, but it’s not because no “treasures” will be for sale. More like a giant “show and tell,” everyone will be encouraged to display their special antique items related to Groton.
There will be exhibits of toy trains, toy farm machinery, antique dolls, sleds, cars, tractors, buggies and sleighs, horse-drawn wagon rides, music, entertainment, a kids scavenger hunt, other activities for kids, food and much more.
At 4 p.m., there will be a “Rolling History” parade, with lineup beginning at 3. If you have any type of old vehicle — whether gas-powered, horse-powered, or people-powered — you are invited to be in the parade. The committee would also like traditional marchers, period dress and history-themed floats.
Contact the Groton Town Clerk’s office at 607-898-5035 or townclerk@grotontown.com if you would like to be added to the lineup. Otherwise, head down to watch the parade pass by. It will begin on Spring Street and progress up Conger Boulevard, turn and head down Main Street, then up West South Street, where it will end at Sykes Street.
Library news
The monthly book club will meet at 7 p.m. June 15. Stop in at the library for a copy of this month's read, “The Lost City of Z,” then join the discussion at the meeting.
Groton Town Talk appears every Wednesday. Submit items to Linda Competillo, 607-227-4922 or lmc10@cornell.edu.