The MIAAA is pleased to announce that Anna Folley of South Portland High School and Trevor Pearson of Brewer High School have been named the 2020 MIAAA Essay Winners. The students were required to submit an essay entitled, “HOW HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS HAS IMPACTED MY LIFE.” In addition to the essay, applicants were rated on Academics, Athletic Performance, Leadership and Citizenship. The Maine winners go into a pool for selection for Sectional and National Scholarships. In accordance with National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association’s (NIAAA) purpose to promote, facilitate, and increase the knowledge and understanding of the vital role of interscholastic athletics in the educational system, this scholarship program will foster and acknowledge the partnership between the NIAAA and secondary education. The scholarships will recognize the distinguished scholastic, leadership, and citizenship attributes of high school student athletes, and the importance of high school athletics in each student’s life.
MIAAA Essay Winner • Anna Folley • South Portland High School
The following in from the speech that South Portland Athletic Administrator Todd Livingston would have made at the MIAAA Spring Conference, which was canceled do to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is an honor and privilege to introduce Anna Folley from South Portland High School as the 2020 NIAAA/MIAAA Female Student-Athlete Scholar Essay Scholarship recipient.
Simply put, Anna is one of the finest young women I have had the pleasure to work with during my tenure as an athletic administrator. It has been a pleasure watching Anna represent the “Red Riots” as a member of our girls’ soccer, indoor track and outdoor track programs. She possesses a tremendous work ethic, positive attitude, eagerness to learn and improve, and has truly distinguished herself as one of South Portland’s finest leaders and well-respected members of the senior class. She recently signed a national letter of intent to continue her track career at The University of Maine, Orono where she plans to study biomedical engineering.
Anna maintains a 97.083 grade point average while challenging herself with advanced placement and honor classes. has been inducted into National Honors Society and received the Brown book award last spring. She is a member of SoPo Unite, the Interact Club, and serves as the treasurer for the senior class and as the NHS president. In 2018, she participated in an internship in Washington D.C. in Arizona Senator Flake’s office and attended the first youth caucus in Augusta focused on youth educating senators about issues in their community. She also volunteers helping with the South Portland adult education ELL program. She represented SPHS at the SMAA leadership summit in 2018 and is the recipient of the 2019-2020 SMAA Female Citizen Award for SPHS.
Athletically, Anna has been a four-year member of our girls’ soccer, indoor track and outdoor track teams, serving as the captain for both indoor and outdoor track in both her junior and senior years. She has qualified for the New England Championships in both indoor and outdoor track in several events for both indoor and outdoor track. In 2018 she placed 2nd in the outdoor 800 at Southwestern’s and was the runner up at the state meet. In 2019 she was the indoor 800 runner-up at both the Southwestern’s and state meets. During the 2019 outdoor season she won the outdoor 800 at Southwestern’s and again was the runner-up at the state meet. During this past indoor season Anna tied the Southwestern’s record winning the 800 and followed that up by setting a new state record winning the 800 at the Class A state meet. Anna earned All-New England status by placing fourth in the 1,000 meters at the New England meet held on February 29th.
Anna has received many recognitions during her athletic career at South Portland; Most Improved Jr Athlete (Indoor SW’s 2018), “Spirit of South Portland” award (Indoor 2018), SP John Chapin Award for fierce competitive spirit and will to carry the team to victory through superior preparation and determination (Outdoor 2018), Coaches Award in Soccer (2018), SP Team MVP (Indoor and Outdoor 2019), and Southwestern’s 2020 Indoor Regular Season Outstanding Competitor. During her track career she has earned all-conference status twice at the first, second and third team level. During the past indoor season she was named to the MTCCCA 1st team and was named to the Portland Press Herald All-State Indoor Track Team. I fully expect that Anna will receive additional recognitions for her senior season of outdoor track.
With great pleasure I present to you Anna Folley from South Portland High School, who will come to the podium to read her essay.
MIAAA Eassy Winner • Trevor Pearson • Brewer High School
The following in from the speech that Brewer HS Athletic Administrator Dave Utterback would have made at the MIAAA Spring Conference, which was canceled do to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is with great honor and pride that I stand before you with the opportunity to introduce Trevor Pearson, a senior at Brewer HIgh School.
Welcome to his members of his family, his father Tim, who is a Physical Education Teacher in Dedham and his mother Wendy, who is also an educator in the Orono School system. It is no wonder why Trevor has placed such a high value on these key characteristics associated in education based athletics. Congratulations to Tim and Wendy on raising such wonderful children.
Trevor Pearson is a rare breed. He values sportsmanship, education, leadership and community citizenship as high as he does skill development and athleticism. Through his entire life, Trevor has been able to balance them all equally, and at an elite level.
Trevor is easily the leader on the court and on the baseball diamond for Brewer High School. He has developed a rapport with both his teammates and opponents that is admirable. Trevor often finds himself intervening and cooling highly tense situations down whether its with his own teammates, the game officials or his opponents. He has drawn a level of respect from everyone that is unique to see.
He has been a leader for the Brewer High School baseball program, especially in his sophomore year as the starting second baseman for the State Championship team and last spring as one of the key players on a youthful team that played in the Northern Semifinals. Trevor has been captain of his teams for each of the last two seasons in Boys Basketball and Baseball.
In Basketball, Trevor will leave a mark on Brewer High School as one of the most decorated and beloved players in our school's history. He was the lone senior this past season, after an exodus of players due to their own conflicts and perceptions of what their roles on the team might be. Through it all, Trevor remained loyal to the system and, as Joel Embiid would say “Trust[ed] the Process.” Trevor worked extremely hard to prove that the best players EARN, and take the playing time. Through his dedication to improve, Trevor was named to the All-KVAC First Team and selected by the Maine McDonalds Senior All-Star Committee as the State’s Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Trevor was beloved by the home faithful, and respected by his opponents from each school and will be missed deeply next winter. In our hallways, Trevor is a leader. He is the lead Unified Basketball Coach. While I may serve on paper in title with this distinction, Trevor took this under his wing this year and led the team with the Unified Players has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have encountered in my 20 years in interscholastic and youth athletic coaching, teaching or administration.
Lastly, Trevor’s impact on the athletic department will be felt for years to come. Trevor is the current chairperson of the Brewer High School Student-Athlete Advisory Council. Prior to this, he was the vice-chairperson. Trevor brought several great ideas to the students at Brewer High School and advocated for many initiatives that have raised the level of school pride and community spirit.
It is through all of these traits that Trevor possesses and the examples shared before that I am honored to be standing here, introducing the MIAAA Male Essayist, Trevor Pearson.
