Graduation for the class of 2025 is right around the corner for Morse High School seniors and has one student reflecting on the community connections he has built over the years.

Senior Declan Wright is set to graduate in the top 10 of his class on Sunday, June 8, alongside 157 classmates at McMann Field (or the Morse High School Gym if it rains).

Wright’s proudest achievement is the high school’s Community Liaison Council. He has been on the council for all four years of high school and was chairperson of the group this year.

“So, I basically serve as student government at Morse, but it’s kind of like a unique position because, unlike a traditional student government that sort of manages affairs at the school, we have these connections to community organizations,” Wright said.

The Community Liaison Council includes representatives from youth groups and the library as stakeholders. As Wright puts it, these community connections give the council more influence outside the high school.

Wright highlighted another project he was proud to be involved in — managing the Bath Community Orchard Project at the Apple Classroom for Outdoor Research and Education, between the sports fields and the Bath Middle School. On May 21, a grove of 20 apple trees was planted in the orchard to expand and protect the trees into the future.

“It had been abandoned for quite a while, so I took on the role of reviving and managing that as a project,” Wright said.

While still at Bath Middle School, Wright got involved with the revitalization efforts six years ago and carried his work into Morse High School. Wright and others knew the abandoned apple orchard was there but didn’t know its purpose. Over two-thirds of the original apple trees had died, and new apple trees were planted.

According to Wright, the apple orchard produced a harvest of around 200 apples, which were then used in the culinary arts program at Morse High School and the Midcoast Youth Center for kids to cook dishes like apple crisp. Wright will be moving on from the Bath Community Orchard project, and Morse’s Credit Pathways Program — an alternative education program providing students with a nontraditional learning environment — will take over the management of the orchard as an educational opportunity for students.

“A lot of people don’t know where their food comes from, at least as much as they should,” Wright said. “Anytime you can get people outdoors and sort of learning about food, agriculture and growing things. That is an amazing experience, and I want more people to be able to learn about it.”

Wright is interested in food and agriculture, but he is not interested in pursuing it as a degree. Instead, he plans to study hotel administration and was accepted at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He plans to use his experience organizing volunteer events for the Bath Community Orchard Project for his hotel management degree.

Before Wright goes to Cornell, he deferred for a year to travel to Thailand as a Rotary exchange student to enroll in a fifth year of high school in a rural part of the country. Wright will be immersed in Thai culture, living with an exchange family on a rubber plantation.

“This year is kind of exciting because we have me and another student who will be going abroad next year, so that is something new and exciting for the school,” Wright said.

Wright said that he and the Credit Pathways Program are considering creating a potential full-time position as the Bath Community Orchard Project manager, which a student or a community member could fill. They are still determining how to structure it.

“Building those interactions with people, like connections, is such a huge part of my experience with the orchard has been, but not only that, it is something that applies to the sort of world of hospitality as well,” Wright said.

One of Wright’s realizations is that the people around you are your strength; getting to know them to foster relationships is key. He will be sad about moving on from the comforts of high school life.

“It doesn’t feel like an end but more of a continuation into some new experiences,” Wright said.