NKHS Valedictorian Nathan Lambert Relishes Challenge

This is the sort of young man Nathan Lambert is: he's decided he's going to try out for the lightweight crew team at Cornell University next year even though he hasn't rowed before. In fact, he's decided his inexperience is going to work in his favor.

"The coach likes people who don’t have any bad habits ingrained in their technique," Lambert said. 

He went about succeeding in high school the same way.

"I set a personal goal for myself to hit a 95 average as a freshman," Lambert said. And that goal continued through the years, with a focus on the "personal."

"If someone was going to pass me, I would just pretty much say, good for them, they deserve it," he said. But no one did. 

So, Friday night, Lambert will deliver the valedictorian address to the North Kingstown High School Class of 2013. The graduation takes place at URI's Ryan Center.

Lambert has always enjoyed math and science classes best. But when asked about his favorite teachers, he mentions his AP Spanish teacher, Mr. LaLiberte, along with his AP Calculus teacher, Mr. Jerome-Simmons. "Those were two classes I would look forward to."

He plays soccer year round and played for NKHS for four years. He also sailed his sophomore and junior years.

Lambert initially was going to attend Northeastern University, where his brother is. But when Cornell University accepted him, Lambert jumped. 

"They have a really great engineering program," he said. And, "it’s really beautiful out there." 

When asked about a favorite high school memory, Lambert said it was being a part of the Physics Olympian team both junior and senior years. The highlight was when the team placed 4th out of 50 teams at the Yale Physics Olympics last fall.

This summer, Lambert will be working at Naval Undersea Warfare Center doing research. Oh, and watching soccer on TV and "just hanging out with my friends."