Senior Sleigh Ride: Hailey Graziano Loves Science and Swimming

Recognized for her endless positivity and radiant smile, we are thrilled to welcome Hailey Graziano as an excellent addition to this year’s Senior Sleigh Ride.

Graziano is heavily involved in the school community as a member of many clubs: She is a proud facilitator for Allies Not Bystanders, active in student council, and serves as a class representative for student government. Throughout her high school career, she has competed for the math team, spent three years on the soccer team, and participates on the swim team. 

A love for swimming transformed into a job for Graziano, as she works at the Knights of Columbus in Scituate as a lifeguard, swim instructor, and swim coach. “Working with kids” is one of her favorite activities, saying, “it’s a very good way to stay active and be outside in the summer.” During the winter months, Graziano thrives on the ski slopes and loves snowboarding at Pats Peak in Henniker, NH. 

Graziano’s love for nature began in 3rd grade after visiting Tortola, an island in the British Virgin Islands. She remembers finding a conch shell at the bottom of the ocean and taking it home “because no one was living in it.” All this time outside has fueled her passion for advocating for climate change and fighting plastic pollution in the ocean. Graziano was awarded the Susan B. Anthony and Fredrick Douglass award from the University of Rochester in New York. She was “hand-picked” by the history department because of her “dedication to social justice and climate change, specifically for ocean plastics and pollution.”

When asked about her legacy at SHS, Graziano said she would like to be remembered as someone who is committed to climate change issues: “I focused so much on that during my high school career, and everyone has heard me talk about it incessantly,” she commented. Graziano hopes to turn this passion into a career by studying marine biology and Spanish in college before working in a research lab for climate change.

During her time at SHS, Graziano’s favorite class was AP Biology because of the “wonderful class and group.” She found the subject to be incredibly fascinating and “had a very engaging and interesting teacher” who helped the students excel. Her favorite memory at SHS was scouring the halls to beat out other groups for the end-of-the-year “Bio Scavenger Hunt.” Perhaps related to her love for biology, Graziano stated that junior year was the best: “Although it was the most challenging, because it was very rewarding, and I made a lot of new friends,” she explained. 

When asked who she would bring with her on Santa’s sleigh, Graziano immediately responded that she would bring SHS science teacher Jennifer Last because “she is one of the kindest people at the school.” Graziano explained that Last has been her teacher for two years, and she is always learning something new about her. “We would just chat it up,” she quipped.