Morgan Brewer is best described by her basketball coach at Academy of the Holy Names, Steven Gigliello. “She is quiet, yet leads by example with her work ethic,” he said. “She is one of the hardest workers I have ever seen.”

If anyone needs evidence of Brewer’s work ethic, the proof is there. She has made all-conference teams in both soccer and basketball and took two bronze medals in the Section 2 track meet. But even with these individual awards, Brewer says it was her teammates that made these moments memorable. “I made first-team Colonial Council my sophomore year – that team means so much to me,” she said. “We were all really close. We played for each other and had senior leaders really impacted me.”

Brewer built off the lessons those leaders taught her as she developed into an impactful leader herself. “Her sense of poise and toughness has shown me the good balance one needs as a leader,” Gigiello said. “Last season, Morgan scorched Broadalbin-Perth with 17 points and 12 rebounds leading Holy Names to a decisive victory in a playoff sectional game, leading AHN to the Class A sectional title game.”

The poise and toughness that Gigiello saw on the basketball court served Brewer well in other areas as well. She started three years as AHN’s center midfield on the soccer field, a position that coach Teagan Waddingham says “takes a significant amount of fitness, technical skill, and Soccer IQ.” Waddingham said she found all of that and more in Brewer, who she also coached in track. “Usually around the halfway mark of a track race, you see athletes slow down to compensate for the pain they are experiencing, but not Morgan,” she pointed out. “Morgan brings this intensity to competition that encourages everyone else to give everything they have and she works hard daily to maintain this standard of competition.”

It’s clear to everyone around her that Brewer is a hardworking, athletic leader. She says those traits run in her family. “My mom played division one soccer in North Carolina,” Brewer explained. “My dad was a marine – he was the one who introduced the service academies to me.”

Inspired by her father’s military career and encouragement, Brewer decided she wanted to apply to a service academy. She spent the summer before her senior year attending the West Point Summer Leaders Experience. “That experience made me fall in love with the whole idea of service academies,” Brewer said. “So I applied to West Point, Navy, and the Air Force Academy.”

Brewer found out later that she was accepted into all three of the academies she applied to, leaving her with the difficult decision of which one to attend. “I went out to visit West Point and Navy, but Air Force was a little too far away for me,” she said. I fell in love with Navy and decided that was the one for me.”

While Brewer says she doesn’t know what she wants to do in the Navy, she currently has her sights set on the skies. “I’m really interested in aviation,” Brewer said. “I’m thinking of becoming a pilot.”

Whatever she decides to pursue, those around Brewer have no doubt she’s on the right path.

“Over the last four years, I have witnessed Morgan in numerous high-pressure situations and she has handled them with hard work and dedication,” said Waddingham. “Her leadership on the soccer field has made everyone around her better, and her training in pursuit of fitness and skill on the track has aided in her decision to serve our country upon attending the US Naval Academy this fall.”

Kayla Beaudoin played five years of varsity basketball at Tamarac High School. She made over 100 three-pointers over that time, scoring over 400 points in her senior season and was twice named a Times Union All-Star. In the classroom, she’s held high honor roll since seventh grade and was a member of the National Honor Society.

All these accomplishments would be impressive for anyone to hold. But they are even more impressive for Beaudoin, who takes medicine twice a day, every day, to control her epilepsy.

Beaudoin had over 40 seizures before finishing the first year of her life. Her parents received her epilepsy diagnosis when she was six months old. That was where the Northeast Epilepsy Foundation stepped in. “The foundation came in and supported my parents really early on,” Beaudoin said. “They were with them every step of the way through all the doctors’ appointments and training.”

Despite the scary diagnosis, Beaudoin said she never felt like she was different from the other kids. “I think everybody has their version of normal, and that was my normal,” she said. “That’s all I knew, and my family supported me through that.”

With her epilepsy under control thanks to medication, doctors assured Beaudoin and her parents that she could do just about anything. “They said the only two things you can’t do are scuba diving and skydiving,” she said. “They basically said the world is yours.”

With the green light from doctors, Beaudoin’s father quickly got her involved in the sport he loved. Since her father is the head girls basketball coach at Tamarac, Beaudoin said she can’t remember not being around the game. “I fell in love with it,” she said. “I love the team atmosphere. I think being a part of something bigger than yourself is so important for us to learn.”

In addition to her love for basketball, volleyball was another sport that captured the young athlete’s heart. “I always say basketball is my first love. But volleyball is my second,” Beaudoin said. “Even though I started later, I immediately fell in love with it. And then, for my freshman year, I got pulled up to varsity, which was a big accomplishment. At the time, our team was very good and we had a lot of seniors involved.”

Just like in basketball, Beaudoin thrived in a team atmosphere on the volleyball court. She was a three-time all-star and served as a captain her senior year. “Kayla possesses remarkable character traits, such as integrity, empathy, resilience, trustworthiness, determination, diligence, perseverance and is a natural leader,” said her father, Tamarac Varsity Girls Basketball coach Ron Beaudoin.

That leadership was also evident outside the gym. Beaudoin and her family have organized Kayla’s Cure Crew, a group that raises money to cure epilepsy. She’s helped organize a team to attend a Walk to End Epilepsy that’s raised over $75,000 towards a cure. These efforts culminated with Beaudoin traveling to Washington, D.C. to meet with federal legislators and advocate for epilepsy awareness and support.

Beaudoin’s exceptional story will continue next year as she joins the SUNY Oneonta basketball program. Even though she’ll be staying close to home, college will still bring some big changes for Beaudoin. The biggest change will be not having her twin sister close by. While Kayla will be just a couple hours from home, her sister will be far away in North Carolina where she’ll be dancing at the collegiate level. The separation is something the twins have never experienced. “We grew up together as friends and as sisters,” Beaudoin said. “We went through classes together, had hard times and good times.”

While competing at SUNY Oneonta, Beaudoin will be studying exercise science on her way to one day becoming a Doctor of Physical Therapy. “Being around sports, unfortunately, comes with injuries. I’ve sprained both of my ankles,” Beaudoin said. “I was interested in the healing process and being able to help people. I know how hard it is to be injured as an athlete.”

Her father believes her journey is only just beginning. “Kayla’s potential is limitless,” he said. “I am confident that she will achieve great things.”

Jessica Baeckmann has practically rewritten the track & field record book at Cairo-Durham High School. As a hurdler, she holds the 50, 55, and 200 meter indoor records as well as the 100 meter hurdles outdoor record. As a jumper, she holds the long jump, high jump, and triple jump records in both indoor and outdoor seasons. When you throw in the two relay records she holds, that makes 12 school records for Baeckmann in her career. On top of all the records, Baeckmann was a Patroon Conference 1st Team All Star and even won sectionals in the pentathlon.

All of these achievements come with an immense amount of training and dedication. “She consistently demonstrated exceptional speed and endurance during her four-hour-a-day, six-days-a-week training sessions,” said Alexs Ray, Cairo-Durham High School track and field coach. She’s applied that same hard work to her studies as well. Baeckmann was on the high honor roll all through high school and graduated in the top five of her class at Cairo-Durham. “She always pushed herself to achieve personal bests while still maintaining high academic standards for herself,” Ray said.

But despite all her success in running and jumping, there’s one event that Baeckmann says she won’t do: distance. “Originally, my track coach tried to get me to do cross-country, which I thought was terrible,” she said. “So I decided to do tennis instead, and I loved it.” Baeckmann found almost as much success on the court as on the track. She was a Patroon Conference 1st Team All Star as a junior and senior and also won the Patroon Conference Championship.

Even with all this training, Baeckmann still found the time to complete over 100 hours of community service. Through the Interact Club, Baeckmann fought food insecurity in her community by packing bags every Wednesday. She also got to serve in Costa Rica through the club when the team traveled there to build a shelter. “We woke up early every morning and went to the site, and dug dirt, poured concrete and painted,” Baeckmann said. “I really enjoyed the host family and their kids. I still think about them today, I miss them and want to go back soon.”

A lover of reading, Baeckmann says her next step will be studying English Language at Marist, where she also plans to minor in art. She plans to use these skills in publishing, perhaps designing book covers or otherwise working to see books from concept to the shelves. “I love to read books and I’ve been really interested in this subject for a while,” Baeckmann said. “My favorite genre would probably be romance—I love the Twilight series.”

Jessica Baeckmann is a testament to the value of hard work. Through tireless effort and countless hours training, studying, and serving, she is what Coach Ray calls “an exceptional athlete and a valuable team member.” Baeckmann says winning this award made her efforts feel recognized. “Receiving this athletic award is a symbol of the hard work and dedication I’ve poured into my sports,” she said. “I feel a great sense of accomplishment and pride to have those efforts recognized.”

Gregory Hagan, Cairo-Durham athletic director, agrees. “Jessica has proven to be a very determined and dedicated individual striving to better herself in every facet of her life.”