Aidan Silverman ’21was known by peers and teachers as one of the hardest working students at Boys’ Latin. His books would invariably contain twice as many notes as anyone else’s. His one-page responses often turned into two or three. For the entirety of his journey from kindergarten through twelfth grade, he could count on his friends for good- natured ribbing: “How much did you write this time?” they would ask him, or “How long did you spend studying for this quiz?” But Aidan would laugh off such comments with a self-effacing grin. He knew that for every assignment, he wanted to go the extra mile. “I started to like being known as the kid who got good grades,” he reflected after graduating from BL in June, “I’m happy with the way I worked and with my work ethic. I ended up embracing that try-hard mentality.” Starting around his junior year, Aidan recalls that other students, especially freshmen and sophomores, would approach him for tutoring. He was proud that his strong academic track record led others to seek him out, and was happy to drop everything for a peer in need. Most often, they solicited his guidance for science and math classes. (Although he earned strong grades in every academic subject, Aidan perhaps excelled most in math: he won the Boyd F. Winkelblech Award for Excellence in Math at the end of his senior year.) As he progressed through high school, Aidan began to see his potential for leadership in several areas. He was selected to attend Senior Retreat as a junior, an honor reserved for only a handful of students, and returned twice the following year as a student leader. “Getting to know the seniors and the faculty on that first retreat was just incredible,” he says, “I knew it was an experience I wanted my classmates to have, too.”
By his senior year, Aidan, along with Ian McAslan ’21, also stepped into a leadership role as the copresident of the One Love Club, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about healthy relationships. “It’s important that this club has a presence at BL,” says Aidan, “Relationship violence is an issue that affects everyone, men and women.” Aidan was a leader on the soccer team last fall as well, in a season that was vastly truncated due to the pandemic. In his second season on varsity, he started every game. He was also a member of the varsity lacrosse team for two seasons. Ms. Megan Kenney, director of counseling, worked closely with Aidan in her capacity as faculty sponsor of the One Love Club. She attests to his strength as a leader. “Aidan is a creative thinker and problem solver when it comes to running meetings,” she said, “Even during a difficult time Aidan tried to get creative and make the meetings fun, interactive, and educational all at the same time.” She added that he was “kind, compassionate, and supportive” in his role as a senior retreat leader. After thirteen years on Lake Avenue, Aidan has left BL a better place. This fall, Aidan matriculated to the University of Virginia, and we have no doubt that he’ll bring his academic diligence and steady leadership to the UVA community.
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
AIDAN SILVERMAN ‘21 By: Alex Barron
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