Community Corner

For Ford-Cooperman, Success is About Staying Busy

Balance has allowed Jacquelyn Ford-Cooperman to build an impressive resume that includes honors as the third highest achieving student in the Southington High School Class of 2012.

There’s not much free time in Jacquelyn Ford-Cooperman’s schedule these days, but the senior wouldn’t have it any other way.

It’s a delicate balance that has allowed Ford-Cooperman, the third-ranked student in the Class of 2012, to build an impressive and well-rounded resume that includes numerous achievements, extra-curricular activities, jobs and more.

It’s all practice for the 18-year-old, who will study drama and political science next year at “a prestigious East coast school” as she prepares for a career that she hopes will lead to her becoming a well-recognized playwright and eventually President of the United States.

“There’s just a lot of things I love to do,” Ford-Cooperman said. “Managing my time was something I learned at an early age and it has helped me be successful in everything I do.”

And Ford-Cooperman certainly does a lot.

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The soon-to-be 2012 graduate has not only found success in the classrooms at Southington High School, but has been an active member of the school community as well. She was a member of the SHS Key Club, serving as treasure, is the vice-president of the school’s National Honor Society, is a member of model UN, Drama Club, Foreign Language Honor Society and the high school’s newspaper, the Emblem.

The list extends well beyond the walls of Southington High School as well. Ford-Cooperman is a girl scout who served as the assistant leader for the Daisy Troop, was named 2011 Apple Harvest Festival Queen and was a member of the Spirit Joy Children’s Music Ministry at .

In the summer, she has taken on different initiatives each year, traveling to France and Greece with the People to People student ambassador program in 2009, taking drama classes and improving her stage presence at Wesleyan University in Middletown in 2010 and studying at Columbia University in 2011.

She also works as a server at and has done work as a freelance journalist with the Southington Citizen, helping cover events throughout the community.

“She is a very motivated individual,” said Southington High School principal Martin Semmel. “She takes the initiative to do so much, but nothing is ever done part way. She goes well above and beyond what is expected.”

Semmel said one example of this initiative could be found in the school’s health curriculum, which has been updated and improved thanks in large part to Ford-Cooperman.

After sitting in class, she approached Semmel and the two sat down to a meeting that Ford-Cooperman had personally requested. She then decided to write a new unit within the curriculum, Semmel said, and provided the plan personally to the school administration.

“It wasn’t just an idea. She mapped out the whole lesson plan,” he said. “It was extremely impressive and it’s a type of leadership you don’t normally see in a high school student.”

Born in North Terrytown, N.Y., Ford-Cooperman spent most of her early years in Middlebury, Conn., before moving to Southington when she was in third-grade. She attended the and later .

Ford-Cooperman now lives in the community with her parents, John and Doreen O’Brien, and her little sister Bridget O’Brien and said no matter what life brings or where she ends up, she will never forget her roots.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve received here is Southington. The teachers have made school unique and I am proud to be an SHS graduate,” she said.

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