Isabelle Darcy came out of Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School aspiring to one career; but, with it, comes a world of possibilities.
Old Colony’s Class of 2021 president and valedictorian plans on attending Bridgewater State University where she will major in Operations and Supply Chain Management. “Especially since it’s such a general and broad subject, you can go into almost any field and work in that job,” said Isabelle, 18.
While the technical high school gave her a platform to mature and refine her interests, the experience with computer-aided design [CAD] that has helped bring her career pursuit into focus can be traced back to a Tech Education class at Carver Middle School.
“I just like the idea the idea of putting things on paper and seeing them come to life,” said Isabelle, who has been gaining insight working at Wareham-based engineering firm Griffith & Vary Inc., recently taking part in a company site visit to BMC Durfee High School in Fall River. “I saw it come to life because we drew all those systems. There are whole floors that are dedicated to mechanics in that school.”
Isabelle draws her career inspiration from her father, Jeff Darcy, who works as a manufacturing production planner at Westborough-based Kopin Corporation.
“Guidance did help a lot for choosing a college, but my career path, it was my father who helped me weighing my options,” she said. “I just think that industry is interesting, the way you schedule parts, and negotiations and things like that.”
Isabelle’s mother, Heather Darcy, is a history teacher at Old Colony. That fact didn’t translate into academic pressure, as Isabelle found internal motivation three years ago when she realized the ramifications of being ranked first in her then freshman class. “I think that’s what drove me to stay first and pushed me to keep on the course,” she said.
Writing a speech for delivery to her classmates on June 6 was daunting, but she knew she would not be speaking very long with temperatures in the mid 90s.
“I was very back and forth about what I wanted to say,” admitted Isabelle. “I didn’t want to talk about myself because graduation is not about myself, it’s about all of our classmates and making our memories, and I wanted to make that very clear to my classmates.”
Isabelle estimates her words would need but three minutes, and her main talking points focused on what her classmates had in common, memories and events that were shared by all, and the lessons learned about confidence, determination, and optimism.
“Old Colony did not just teach us just academics but taught us how to be good humans, which I think is very important,” she said.
Isabelle is one of five Bridgewater State students endowed with the Tsongas Merit Scholarship, which will pay for her full tuition and fees for four years, allowing her to make it through college without incurring debt.
Classes begin on September 1, and Isabelle will begin the fall semester taking five courses. Along with her chosen major, she will minor in Accounting and Finance.
The 2020-21 academic year prepared her well for the commute to Bridgewater from Carver. Old Colony’s version of the hybrid learning model consisted of two weeks of academic remote-access learning intermittently spaced between two-week periods of full in-person attendance for shop courses. On April 29, the learning model pivoted to full in-person attendance.
“Once we went back, it was so worth it,” said Isabelle, who relished the final two weeks with her class, the prom at Bittersweet Farms in Westport, the senior class barbecue, and breakfast that were held on campus. “In eighth grade, I was kind of on the fence about (attending Old Colony) because you made friends since kindergarten. I would not change my decision for anything.”
By Mick Colageo