Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative valedictorian Austin Kimball and salutatorian Kaylee Degan have big dreams as they head off to their college careers. 

Both have lived in Wilton since they were young children, and have spent their lives in the WLC school system.

Kimball, who was also class president and a member of the soccer team, plans to attend Bentley University in Waltham, Mass., and will be pursuing a degree in finance. He plans to use Bentley’s five-year program to graduate with a master’s degree.

“I’ve always had a love and a passion for math,” Kimball said.

That passion was fostered particularly by high school math teacher and class adviser Bill Comerford, who was also Kimball’s mentor for his senior capstone project, which was related to the stock market. He said Comerford’s previous experience in the financial world made Kimball consider it a future career.

Degan, who was a member of the track and soccer teams during her high school years, and played the flute in middle school, said she’ll be exploring the medical field. She anticipates enrolling in a four-year program at the University of New Hampshire in the fall and studying nursing. As of graduation, she was attending ConVal Regional High School’s EMT program, and plans to work as an EMT through college.

Originally, Degan said she was interested in a psychology or behavioral science field, but was also attracted to a nursing degree because of the opportunities for variety.

“I can incorporate the aspects of those careers I wanted to explore,” Degan said. “You can work with people and help people in a wide variety of fields.”

Both Kimball and Degan said they were excited to move onto their next phase of their education, including moving to much bigger schools than they’ve previously experienced. Kimball said Bentley’s close proximity to Boston was a draw for him, particularly for the potential internships the city offered.

“It’s definitely going to be a big change, going from a small school and small town to Boston, one of the biggest cities, but I feel I’ve grown so much as a person throughout middle school and high school – I’m ready,” Kimball said.

“I’m excited to move into an environment that has a lot more happening,” Degan added. “I’m excited about the independence. I want to find out if the career I want is going to work for me.”

Degan said she’d also like to use the next four years to explore beyond the bounds of her college and do some traveling, either through a study abroad program or during the summers.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.