Meet Our Salutatorian, Erin Lovett!

My name is Erin Lovett and I am a proud member of the graduating class of 2024 at St. Joseph High School in Trumbull. For the past four years I have had the privilege to work alongside my peers, faculty, and staff, and the community that is our SJ family. I started my academic journey at a small but close knit Catholic school in New Canaan, St. Aloysius. I learned so much in my nine years there and wanted to make sure I chose a High School that emulated the same warm environment, hunger for knowledge, and caring community that I had experienced in my formative years - St. Joseph was clearly the place for me. Despite the difficult atmosphere created by the pandemic, I had abundant support from my teachers freshman year, consistent encouragement from coaches and peers, and quickly found myself at home within the walls of SJ, despite the rarity of actually being within the walls.

Now, a senior here at SJ, I am an executive board member of the Student Ambassador Program, a Peer Minister, a Yale Book Award recipient, and a member of multiple after school clubs including Italian Club, Multicultural Club, and Women’s Studies Club. Out of all my extracurriculars, athletics has had the most lasting impact on my development to date.

Fall of freshmen year I eagerly tried out for the volleyball team, and was delighted to find that although I had never played before, it was a sport I would come to learn and love under the guidance of Coaches Babineau, Lynch, and Kavulich. As I transitioned into my second semester of freshman year I joined the girls basketball team, and found yet again another family within this community I now call home. Led by Coach Lindwall and Coach Hopkins I began to grow and expand my skill set in the sport I had played since elementary school. I am proud to say that by the end of my senior year, I am a CHSCA All-State Girls Volleyball player and a two time CHSCA All-State Girls Basketball player. I am also a two time All-FCIAC Girls Volleyball player - one third team athlete and this past year a first team athlete - as well as a back to back All-FCIAC Girls Basketball First Team player. I have attended two State Championships, three FCIAC finals - winning two - and been a member of multiple all-star games for both sports including State, FCIAC, and the prestigious JCC All Star Game this past spring. Although my time here was not dedicated to sports, with my main focus in advancing my education, athletics served as a beneficial outlet for me and offered me two support systems and mentors that helped me become the person I am today.

Overall, reflecting on my time here at St. Joseph is definitely bitter sweet knowing it is coming to an end. However, I wouldn’t change anything over the course of my education to date. I have had the honor to be a classmate, a student, and a player for truly outstanding people. I look forward to what's to come, knowing that the lessons I have learned so far will continue to inspire me in future endeavors. Next year I will be attending Vassar College, and have officially committed to playing not only Women’s Volleyball this coming fall, but also Women’s Basketball. I plan to study cognitive science, and cannot wait for the opportunities that await.