From North Shore robotics to aspirations for the Air Force

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As her time at North Shore High School draws to a close, Hally Bello, the class of 2018’s valedictorian, is hopeful for the future. She touted a hunger for exploring fields unknown, meeting new people in a new city — Boston, specifically — and pursuing life without hesitation.

“Hally’s natural talents are accentuated by her sincere energy and enthusiasm for whatever she takes on,” said John Maus, Bello’s former math teacher. “She inspires others to be their best selves through the example she sets in her own pursuit of mathematical clarity.”

Bello’s knack for math will help bring her to new heights, literally, as she intends to pursue a career in the Air Force post-grad. She discussed her affinity for numbers, robotics, and all things North Shore in a recent interview with the Herald Gazette.

Herald Gazette: What was your reaction to being named valedictorian?

Hally Bello: I was pretty excited because it was unexpected. I was thinking, “Oh that’d be really great if that would happen,” but I wasn't expecting it, so when I found out I was pretty ecstatic.

HG: Could you briefly describe your experience at North Shore?

HB: What really distinguished my high school experience was participating in extracurriculars, mainly robotics. I enjoyed it a lot and that was probably what made my high school experience better and also helped me find my focus and my passions in terms of the classes I wanted to take. I saw my interests in STEM, and that made me more passionate and more studious in those particular classes because I knew that’s what I was interested in.

HG: What was your favorite memory from high school?

HB: There's a long string of like really hilarious things that happened in our math class last year. Perry [NSHS’s salutatorian] was in my class, and we took IB math [with John Maus], and that was a really fun class. But probably the best thing was going to Robotics internationals [in Detroit]. That was a really fantastic experience.

HG: Could you offer a sneak peek of your graduation speech?

HB: What has defined my high school experience is the memories that I've had with my friends in my classes and what we’ve done. So, I think my speech will be based off a small anecdote that maybe didn’t seem very meaningful at the time but has some sort of greater message that really influenced me. The experiences I've had and the friends I've made have really influenced what I've gotten out of high school and I think that’s something to talk about.

HG: What will you miss the most from your time at North Shore?

HB: I talked about robotics way too much in this interview, but it has meant a lot to me. I was only on the team for two years, but those two years definitely impacted me a lot. Also, college requires much more responsibility and I think I’m going to miss the carefree aspects of high school.

HG: What are your anticipations for college?

HB: I’ve always been very excited about finally having a career. I saw my passion for computer science [in high school] and that definitely led me down a very particular career path. In college I’m joining the Air Force and it’s a perfect way to use your science skills to actually help people. Cyber security has always been my real passion and it’s something I’ve always been very interested in.