Being Valedictorian is one of the hardest achievements in high school. Not only has senior Madden Beriault achieved this, he has also achieved being a leader in the building.
Beriault transferred from Scecina Memorial at the end of his sophomore year. This was a big decision for Beriault, as going from Scecina to Warren is a massive change, with differences in school size and school environment.
“I decided to transfer high schools for a lot of reasons,” he said. “To sum it all up, Warren gave me the opportunity to reach my full potential. Whether it was in the classroom with college-level courses or on the field with high-level football, I came to Warren for opportunities that I wouldn’t have had at my old school. It was the best decision of my life.”
Beriault is a hard worker from the classroom to the weight room. His teachers have praised him for being a scholar, and striving to receive great grades and push himself for personal gains.
“Madden is an outstanding student,” calculus teacher Alissa Horn stated. “Sometimes people assume that everything comes easily to students like Madden, but they don’t always see all of the hard work required to make success happen.
According to Horn, Beriault has succeeded in the rigorous class by paying attention, taking notes of examples, participating in class activities and helping his classmates by explaining his own reasoning and strategies.
“He wants his friends to be successful as well, so he encourages them to complete their work and helps them when he can,” Horn said. “Madden is also humble and asks questions if there is a concept he doesn’t fully understand. Madden is consistently motivated to learn and determined to succeed.”
Beriault attributes his achievement in academics to hard work and effort, as well as a personal desire to be the best he can be. This also lands him the role and title of being a leader in the building.
“I’ve been blessed with many things, so it’s important for me not to waste what I have,” Beriault said. “As for leadership, I think I’ve always been a leader. Being able to command a team by earning the respect of your teammates is one of the most rewarding things you can do as an athlete.”
Being able to balance both school and sports is hard enough for anyone, but having the ability to not only be dominant on the field but dominant in the classroom is a whole new subject. Beriault will be taking his talents to Butler next year to play football.
“My success on the field in high school gave me the ability to continue to play football at the next level,” Beriault said. “It worked out that Butler has high-level football and is also a place that will challenge me academically and prepare me for my career.”
Beriault not only is the valedictorian, but he also is a member of National Honor Society and Student Council. This also sets up Beriault to find success down the road in his chosen career.
“My academic success in high school set the standard for how I will continue to attack school and everything else I do in life,” he said.
In the weight room, Beriault is a leader in the class. He is also there after school nearly every day working to not just get strong but to rehabilitate from previous injuries and increase tolerance.
“Madden is just loud, and he is everywhere,” senior Aaron Durham said. “He knows what to do. He follows directions. When Madden succeeds, you want to follow suit.”
Beriault realizes that he has a lot on his plate, but at the end of the day he does all he can in order to perform well both in the classroom and on the field.
“I think the easiest part is the structure of the season because we have practice every single day, and I know that I also have to lift, take care of my body and study film,” Beriault said. “It forces me to get all of my work done during school. The hardest part is definitely finding the energy to get everything done. Sports make you physically tired, so having to do school work when you just want to lay down can be pretty tough.”