The students sitting at the top of the class at both Montgomery and Lake Creek HS took a moment to reflect on their high school years and the time spent in Montgomery ISD. Of the four, two will be Aggies and two will be Longhorns, staying close to home, feeling prepared for what’s to come.

Brayden Adams, Lake Creek HS Valedictorian

Brayden Adams will be attending Texas A&M in the fall, with plans to major in Engineering. He has attended school in Montgomery ISD since seventh grade and says his experience in high school has been nothing short of great, full of great friends and wonderful memories. He is a member of Mu Alpha Theta, the Lake Creek robotics team and competes each year in Academic UIL. Competing in robotics to represent Lake Creek HS, Brayden and his team earned a trip to the Worlds Competition his junior year.

Brayden has actually attended Lake Creek HS for five years. When he transferred to MISD in seventh grade, Brayden was a year ahead in Math, so throughout his eighth-grade year, he took the bus to Lake Creek each morning for first period, and then would be bused to Oak Hills to continue his school day.

Brayden has always had an interest in technology and seeks to pursue a career in mechatronics or AI creation. A&M was his top choice and also the only school he applied to, knowing that the desire to be an Aggie was deep-rooted.

“My cousin went to A&M and had a great experience there,” Brayden said. “He shared his experience and was able to easily get a job right out of college, so knowing I wanted to do engineering, I just knew it would be a great place for me.”

When reflecting on his time in Montgomery ISD, Brayden shared that his experience in building relationships with his teachers made his success possible. He is thankful specifically for Mr. Moons, his robotics teacher and UIL coach, and also Mrs. Boyles, who he enjoyed so much that he took her for two different chemistry classes, claiming that she’s just an awesome teacher. From his experience coming to Lake Creek in eighth grade, he also shared a thank you to Mrs. Whitten, for helping him in that year with making connections and feeling like he belonged, even if it was just for one period a day.

Fun fact: Brayden also shared a shout out to his PreK teacher in Magnolia ISD, Mrs. Matthews. She taught him and also the Street twins, Carson and Sydney, who are also graduating in the Top 10 at Lake Creek, #3 and #5 respectively.

Brayden is the youngest of two kids, with a sister who graduated from Lake Creek in 2023 and is in flight school at OU. His father works in technology and Brayden works summers with him at Reynolds and Reynolds. His mother is a lifelong educator, teaching in The Woodlands, and when asked who has had the most influence in his education and success, he didn’t hesitate with his answer.

“My mom. She’s really a big reason why I’m here,” Brayden said. “When I was younger, she always played these educational videos, and she always pushed me to work hard and make good grades. She was my greatest encouragement.”

Brooklynn Lowe, Montgomery HS Valedictorian

Brooklynn Lowe will be attending The University of Texas, majoring in Biochemistry, with hopes of going to medical school and working in pediatrics. She is a Legacy Senior, attending Montgomery ISD schools since Kindergarten, including both Stewart Creek and Lone Star Elementary Schools. Brooklynn was a three-year Lady Bears basketball player, has competed in UIL Academics, is a member of Mu Alpha Theta and Club Interact, and is the president of National Honor Society at MHS. In addition to her school commitments, Brooklynn is a member of National Charity League and Young Life, and also works two jobs outside of school, all while maintaining the title of first in class since her junior year.

Brooklynn’s academic experience in high school has been a competitive one, in which she competed with twin brothers Lucas and Lane Hyman, great friends of hers, through each class and course selection made. She says it’s been worth all the work, challenging herself and having friends to encourage the effort.

“We were so competitive and I’m so glad that I had these two guys to push me and challenge me,” Brooklynn said. “I have all these experiences and skills, and memories with them, along with all these college credit hours. There is a way to balance it, but pushing myself was definitely worth it.”

When asked to reflect on her favorite teacher or educator, Brooklynn began to rattle off names of teachers that have made an impact, coming to the conclusion that there may just be too many to name. She shared that her first-grade teacher, Mrs. Morris, made her fall in love with reading. Also mentioned was Ms. Van Haverbeke, who was awesome and made them all pandas, with a panda chant she remembers doing every morning. She also remembers a class pet snake, which Brooklynn referred to as “awesome”. Coach Mitchell and Ms. Riney were also mentioned as making a huge impact and full praises were shared for Mrs. Sullivan.

“She’s just the best,” Brooklynn said of Mrs. Sullivan. “I’ve had her three times for AP Lang, AP Seminar and AP Research, and she’s also my NHS mentor. We spend a lot of time together and I’m so thankful for all she’s done for me!”

Brooklynn’s favorite high school memory includes traveling to Washington D.C. with NHS for the Lead Conference. She not only learned a lot, but had so much fun and decided that hanging out with teachers outside of school is pretty cool. She has also enjoyed the school’s homecoming traditions and shared that many memories of high school fall around that week of fun.

“There’s no regrets,” Brooklynn said. “The hard work was worth it and I’m thankful I found a way to balance the work and the fun by about my junior year. I worked so hard at the beginning and had to give things up along the way to get here, but it’s all been worth it!”

Grace Nichols, Lake Creek Salutatorian

Grace Nichols will be attending The University of Texas in the fall, with plans to major in Biochemistry. Grace is a Legacy Senior, having attended Montgomery ISD schools since Kindergarten. Grace earned the Salutatorian spot her senior year, demonstrating her desire to never quit working towards her goals. Grace loves science and wants to pursue a career in medical research.

In her years at Lake Creek, Grace has been in both the marching band playing flute and the jazz band playing saxophone. She hopes to continue playing the flute at The University of Texas. For the previous two years, Grace has been the drum major of Lake Creek’s Big Blue Band and also competes in UIL Academics. She is a member of National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and Spanish Honor Society.

Grace chose to attend UT for the Tier 1 research program, and though she applied to smaller schools, after visiting them, she quickly realized that she was attracted to the schools that would offer more student activities and a larger student body.

“I’m not completely sure what I want to be when I finish school, but I love research and science,” Grace said. “I’d really like to go into a career developing new medicines and UT is the school that has a really great program for what I want to do.”

Grace enjoys hiking and is always reading. She says she is always at the library and is even considering applying to work there. As she reflects over the last four years, almost all her memories circle around her experience in band. Her best memory came this spring, when the marching band received all ones at UIL for the first time in school history.

“It was such a big accomplishment,” Grace said. “It was so validating and rewarding after all those hours of practicing, staying after school and working towards that as a team. We are a small marching band, so it’s a big accomplishment and just celebrating with everyone was my best memory!”

Grace shared that her favorite teacher of all time was Mrs. Cox, who taught her AP World and AP US History. Though she’s not pursuing a career in history, she says that Cox helped develop a real passion for history, so much so that now she researches and studies history in her free time. Grace also wanted to thank Mrs. Lorrance, her AP Lang teacher, for not just being a great teacher, but for just being very supportive, a teacher she could always go to for advice.

“And Mr. Boozer has been my band teacher since 6th grade,” Grace said. “He is near and dear to my heart, always making me feel so supported whenever I’d walk into the band hall. I really enjoyed my time learning music. Between him and Mr. Martinez, they have just made high school for me.”

Grace is an only child and shared that her parents are pretty thankful she chose to stay close to home when selecting her college. She’s excited to be a Longhorn and is thankful for the opportunities her parents have provided for her.

“My parents are so supportive and their motivation has gotten me to where I am,” Grace said. “I’m very grateful for their financial support and the way they motivated me to have good study habits. They have always supported everything I wanted to be involved in and they’re the reason I’m here.”

Lucas Hyman, Montgomery HS Salutatorian

Lucas Hyman will be attending Texas A&M University to study Biomedical Science, with plans to go to Medical School. He came to Montgomery ISD in fourth grade and has been an invested member of the student body and the community ever since. Lucas serves as president of UIL Academics, has competed at state in both Social Studies and ACADEC and is also a member of Mu Alpha Theta and National Honor Society. He ran cross country for the Bears earlier in high school, before that time was committed to outside volunteer efforts and activities.

Outside of school, Lucas works at a ranch in Huntsville and is also an active member of Young Life. He is the president of his neighborhood volunteer organization, Bentwater Volunteer Families, and also spends much of his time volunteering with Meals on Wheels, trying to start a club for that at MHS. He has also served as president of Lions Heart, a local volunteer organization for teen guys in Montgomery that does local work in our community.

“If you have an interest that you really care about, go focus on it.,” Lucas said. “Turn it into a project, make a charity or something. Don’t let other people tell you what your priorities should be or what’s most important during these four years. Lock in on what you’re truly passionate about and make a difference.”

Fun fact: Lucas is an identical twin and his brother Lane, ranked third in the class, started in first when they were freshmen. Lucas took over the top spot their sophomore year, before now Valedictorian Brooklynn Lowe stepped in front of both boys their junior year. The three are great friends, though very competitive, and Lucas admitted that he is in second by just a .008 difference in GPA.

When reflecting on teachers that have made an impact on his education, Lucas immediately named his fifth-grade teachers Miller and Wheat as his favorites from elementary school. He took a moment to reflect on high school, naming Mrs. Lawson, DeBrosse and Riney, claiming that were all just fabulous teachers. When the interview was shortly interrupted by MHS Principal, Mr. Noah Hollander, Lucas definitely had something to say about their campus leader.

“He’s the best!” Lucas said of Hollander. “He’s so involved. You see him at every event and his energy is pretty infectious. For a class of seniors who are generally pretty uninspired at pep rallies, he’s really gotten us going and calls us out to bring the energy up!”

The response that may tell you the most about Lucas Hyman was his answer to his favorite high school memory.

“Volunteering with NHS at Mission Possible field day.,” Lucas said. “We setup games for these special kids to play and I was at soccer all day. This one kid Logan kept coming back, hanging out with us all day. I really like getting to hang out with those kids one on one. Such a great day that just fills me up.”

When reflecting on his years in high school, Lucas did have advice that he wanted to share with any students coming up behind him.

“Try everything you can from day one,” Lucas said. “Get involved, branch out from the beginning, meet lots of people and learn a lot of different skills. There are so many clubs and groups in high school, that there’s no excuse not to have something to do.”