Christine Aspen has been at BT for 15 years, spending nearly her entire life with BT teachers and classmates. When asked to reflect on this past decade and a half, Christine shared that the best parts of her time at BT have been witnessing the community and the connections she’s been able to make and hold onto for so long.
Outside of the classroom, Christine is extremely involved both on and off campus. She participates in powerlifting, beekeeping, violin, tutoring, and sailing. For Brownell Talbot Verbatim, she co-hosts a politics podcast called “Making Sense with Mr. Smith.” Beyond school activities, Christine has a love for the outdoors.
When asked about academics, Christine said one of her favorite classes in high school was AP European History with Mr. Smith. She explained, “I did really well in that class, and it was one of my favorite topics to learn about. Plus, I really liked Mr. Smith as a teacher.” Looking back, she thinks junior year might stand out as her favorite year, since she had a busy schedule with work, activities, and school, but still managed to balance it all and make time for her friends.
For Christine, high school has been a time of growth and discovery. “I think I’ve discovered myself and learned what really makes me happy in life. I’ve learned what type of people make me better and how important it is to surround yourself with them.” One of the accomplishments she is most proud of is self-teaching herself how to beekeep and successfully maintaining three hives. Christine shared that all of these moments throughout high school, from beekeeping on weekends to cram studying for AP Euro, can be summed up with a single phrase: High school is about learning from my mistakes.
As her senior year kicks off, Christine shares what may lie ahead of her. For college, Christine hopes to study far from home (ideally on the East Coast), where she plans to spend a year abroad, ideally in a location where she can continue to learn Spanish. After college, Christine dreams of living in South America for a time.
Throughout her time on campus, Christine has learned some valuable advice she wants to pass on to underclassmen: “Spend time with people who make you better as a person, who support and care about you. There will be a lot of people who don’t, and those people don’t deserve to be in your life.”
While Christine is proud of her time at BT and the mark she has left, she is even more excited about what comes next. After leaving high school, Christine is looking forward to diving into college and making the most of her summer with the activities and people she loves. She’s planning for a road trip with friends through the West to explore national parks and returning for a fourth summer at Northport Youth Sailing School.
Christine can’t wait to build new experiences—whether working as a wrangler on a dude ranch or backpacking in Patagonia. But overall, Christine wants to share that while she knows her mark on BT is an impactful one, she hopes her future will be even more.
