When Valedictorian Courtney Brewer was called down to the office, she didn't know what to expect.

“My mom was standing in Mr. Welch's office and was looking all somber all I could think was 'Oh no what's wrong did we lose a family member',” Brewer said. “The door shut and mom looked at me and said ‘I'm looking at the Class of 2015 —’ and that's all she got out before I started sobbing. I was so happy, all my hard work had paid off.”

Brewer said she came to high school with a goal to achieve the status of valedictorian.

“I've dedicated this achievement to my dad,” Brewer said. “He died when I was 13. Between class day and graduation I'll be going down to Ocean Point to visit him.”

Brewer is the daughter of Trish Brewer and the late Mark Brewer of Boothbay Harbor. She will be attending Mount Ida College for Animation in the fall. She hopes someday to work for Walt Disney Animation Studios, as she has always had a love for Disney's animated films. She says the upbeat story lines and happy endings helped her through the death of her father and dealing with her mother having cancer.

“Every Disney movie that came out I would go see. They were a source of happiness for me,” Brewer said. 

The last time Brewer visited Disney was in 2012 with her mom, where she noticed artists who were drawing pictures for the visitors outside the History of Animation in Hollywood exhibit. She took several photos of their work and decided that animation was the path she wanted to take.

“I know it's very hard to get in,” Brewer said. “They only take the best. Maybe I'll start as a store clerk and try to move up.”

Brewer is a member of the National Honor Society, received the Yale Book Award and the Association of Maine Book Award, and was awarded the Mount Ida College Presidential and Trustees Scholarship. She is a member of the drama club and is in the current production of “High School Musical on Stage!” She was on the junior varsity basketball team as a freshman, and played varsity soccer as a sophomore and senior. She also holds a black belt, 1st degree in tae kwon do, which she has studied for 11 years.

“It's great for turning negative energy into positive energy,” Brewer said.

When not focused on her studies, Brewer enjoys reading, playing ultimate Frisbee or indoor soccer, and enjoying Broadway musicals.

“What I will miss most about leaving BRHS are my teachers, who are more like sisters to me,” Brewer said. “They helped me more than they know through my dad's death. Ms. Graham, Ms. McKenna, Ms. Hersom, they were the most wonderful support I could have.”