Lots of Talent
At SoRo High

South Royalton is a small town, but it is not a town of few talents. Today I would like to recognize an eighth grade student who holds a lot of talent; this student happens to be my brother, Bradley Burbine.

Brad races four-wheelers, "quads," he calls them, and he is really good at it. He closed his first season in the Rock Maple Quad X Series, racing the 450cc Unlimited class with a championship finish. His class consisted of 39 registered riders between the ages of 16-24; Brad is 13.

He raced nine races from June to October in New York, Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire, finishing all nine in the top five. In September, during one of his Thursday night practices, he broke his collar bone, but he refused to let this get in the way of his riding and he finished the last five races with the injury. He works hard at fulfilling his dreams as a pro ATV rider, devoting every minute of daylight on Tuesdays and Thursdays to practice at the local track, and every weekend to his races.

It may have thrown him hard in the dirt many times, but Brad knows he will never give up on his sport; it is what he loves. He says if he could find a way to fish and ride at the same time, life would be complete. I wish him the best in pursuing his dream; he truly holds the talent, potential, and attitude to get him there.

Talent in South Royalton doesn’t just stop there. Last year Shona Sanford-Long attended the Junior Olympics, boys basketball and girls track teams won state titles, and Sophie Roy attended many honorable music festivals.

Caleb Atwood devotes hours of his time to becoming the best skier he can be, many students have expanded their cultural knowledge with exchange programs, and every year SoRo graduates a class to many challenging colleges and universities.

I feel honored to be a part of such a talented small community. Maybe some of the best do come in small packages.

Heather Burbine

South Royalton