Joining the Senior Sleigh Ride in 2023 is Lousia Kinsley. Known as a friendly and highly involved student, she leads many school activities at Scituate High School.
If you know Kinsley, you know her passion for the environment. Ever since participating in the Future Scituate Project in seventh grade, she has been dedicated to creating a better future for our town. Her goals were defined after seeing what lies ahead for Scituate due to the climate crisis. She said, “After that project, I really started enjoying it, and I continued to research and think of new ways to mitigate climate change in the future.”
While still a middle school student, Kinsley created her own environmental group. Working with other students, she cleaned up an astonishing 2,100 lbs (approximately) of trash from the beaches and streets of Scituate over four years. Her rise to the challenge and her ability to create real change are admirable.
Kinsley said her all-time favorite class at SHS was AP Environmental Science, which she took during her junior year with SHS science teacher Charlie O’Driscoll. She remarked, “I thought it was so interesting because it relates to what I’m interested in,” explaining, “it was fun throughout the class.”
Outside the classroom, Kinsley is an accomplished student-athlete. Currently the girls’ basketball team captain, she is a three-season athlete, participating in basketball, soccer, and track. Kinsley is also captain of the math team, which qualified for the playoffs for the first time in SHS history. As vice president of the SHS Student Council and a representative of student government, she works to organize school functions. Kinsley wants underclassmen to know that getting involved as much as possible without spreading yourself too thin is very important to your high school experience.
When asked about her legacy of leadership, Kinsley replied, “I would like to, in all of the clubs and sports I’m part of, make the programs generally better and leave that framework for the next people who take them over. I’ve tried to make positive changes in everything I’ve been a part of and help make the school a better place.”
After high school, Kinsley has big plans: “I have so many schools that I would want to get into.” Post-college, she is considering opportunities in the military, and she’s very interested in international travel, saying she wants to visit as many different countries as possible. “I’ve always wanted to go to Africa and climb Kilimanjaro,” she noted. Additionally, Kinsley plans on getting a Ph.D. and pursuing a career as an environmental engineer. Her ambition and goals reflect her ability to take charge and work hard for what she wants.
When asked who she would like to bring on this year’s sleigh ride, Louisa responded, “I’ll take my mom. She’s helped me a lot this semester. She’s working and helping with college stuff. She’s done a lot for me.”