Brunswick High School English teacher Samantha Francis-Taylor expects to see student Olivia Patient’s name on a book cover one day.

“[Olivia] is one of the best writers I’ve ever taught at Brunswick High School, and I will genuinely miss reading her work when she graduates,” Francis-Taylor said. “She has a brilliant, observant mind and expresses herself on the page with a skill and maturity that extends beyond her years.”

Patient, 18, is bound for Smith College in the fall, where she will study English and hopes to join the ranks of Sylvia Plath and other accomplished writers who studied at the school.

“I’m very into English, I love reading and I love writing and that’s what I intend to do,” Patient said. “That’s pretty much the only thing I’ve ever seen myself doing. It’s what feels like the most natural to me, and makes me feel the most like myself.”

At Smith, Patient said she is interested in exploring writing for novels, short stories and film.

Patient said her BHS English teachers — Hugh Dwyer, Thomas Sheehy, Janice Smith and Francis-Taylor — helped her develop as a writer.

“They have all taught me different lessons and skills, but each of them has been incredibly supportive of my writing, while also pushing me to improve and expand my abilities,” Patient said. “Mr. Dwyer was one of the first people to take my writing seriously, Mr. Sheehy taught me how to analyze and write argumentatively, Mrs. Smith made my work more clear and direct, and Ms. Francis has brought out more of my voice in my writing.”

Patient said her most memorable assignments were a junior-year essay that analyzed E.B. White’s body of work and her senior paper on “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.” Francis-Taylor described Patient’s understanding of Spark’s narrative mode as “nuanced.”

“One of Olivia’s assets as a writer — beyond her natural talent, of course — is her ability to use one word instead of five. Her voice is precise, wise and clear,” Francis-Taylor said.

In addition to her passion for literature, Patient served as the president of Brunswick’s Interact Club in high school, an organization that connects students with volunteer work, and works with ACEing Autism, a nonprofit that develops tennis programs for athletes on the autism spectrum.

She’s also an athlete on the varsity tennis team, which placed second at the Class A tournament last year.

“That’s been really rewarding; I’ve made a lot of my best friends through that team,” Patient said.

Brunswick High School’s 186 seniors are scheduled to graduate on June 6 at the Sidney J. Watson Arena at Bowdoin College.