WOODBURY- When the final tally came in, the number was staggering: over $58,000 raised for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). Behind that campaign, senior and Student Visionary candidate Brayden Whipple, alongside longtime friend Billy Herr, established a historic achievement, earning “Student Visionary” of the year award title in Connecticut. His success, however, is not measured in dollars, but in his incredible mark of leadership he has built into the Nonnewaug culture. 

“Throughout my entire life, my parents have always instilled within me to be a leader– and lead by example for others,”  Brayden Whipple senior at NHS said. “My leadership role expanded into my junior year when we began our full fundraising efforts for the LLS campaign, but also when I was awarded game captain twice throughout the football season, and became the team captain my junior year for the baseball team.” 

Whipple’s leadership doesn’t just stop on the diamond or in the dugout, but he continues to embrace these traits in the classroom as well.  

For Whipple’s peers, he has been a leader since he arrived on campus as a freshman. Whipple, a Naugatuck native, does not just lead himself to the top but carries many people with him.

“Being around good people brings out the good in yourself, and that’s the effect Bryaden has on me and everyone else,” Maia Colavito, a fellow senior at Nonnewaug High School says. “I take more accountability when around him, which makes me work harder in school and in my sports.  Seeing Brayden work hard just makes me want to work harder.” 

Juggling so much at NHS is a testament to Whipple’s efficiency, navigating athletics, academics, and his connection to community. Whipple treats his time preciously, working every chance he gets. It’s through his example that he’s inspired others with his workload and ambition.

Whipple’s tenure at NHS has been filled with plenty of challenges, challenges that have helped him hone the skills he knows he’ll need beyond his time at NHS. 

“I called it the Sophomore Struggle.” Whipple said. “Sophomore year, academically, I was fine with it, but sports-wise I was losing self esteem a little bit because I failed once, and I kind of learned that failing can lead me to my biggest achievements if I keep pushing myself.”

Brayden’s challenges did not just come on the field  but also during the LLS fundraising campaign.

“The guy we were going against had over 230,000 [social media] followers; even though we were slightly intimated, we did not quit,” Whipple said.  “We knew it was like David versus Goliath, almost, but we kept going on. We ended up saying to ourselves ‘wow we could really do something with this’ and we did. Adapting to the moment and realizing you should never stop is something I really focus on.”

Even when it seemed like there was no chance of winning, he, and his team, ended up on top. 

Newly announced varsity baseball coach Kyle Tehan believes in the stable environment Whipple has built throughout his years at Nonnewaug as a key contributing factor in creating a student athlete who leads by example. Even as a freshman, Whipple traveled with the varsity team to experience the game at the next level. 

“Coming into this season, there is a great sense of stability knowing we have a leader like Brayden, ” Tehan said. “The fact that his teammates voted him in as a captain during his junior year speaks volumes about his character and the level of respect and trust his teammates have for him. I’m looking forward to seeing how he continues to mentor the underclassmen and lead by example.”

For Tehan, giving Whipple the label of one of NHS baseball’s senior leaders was an obvious choice. 

“I realized Brayden was a leader by observing how he goes about his business and holds himself and others to high standards of excellence,” Tehan said. “Whether it’s his focus during class or the way he carries himself in the hallway or after school, he consistently does what is necessary to improve every aspect of his life. I appreciate consistency in a leader because you know exactly what to expect on a daily basis, and it is rare for someone his age to bring that kind of consistency every day.”

Like Tehan, Kyle Brennan, longtime NHS baseball coach, also sees some of the same traits in Whipple . 

“I was lucky enough to have [Brayden] in my Honors World history class as a freshman,” history teacher and coach at NHS Kyle Brennen says. “He was the stand out student in that class. Brayden continuously contributed and engaged in class; on days where everyone else was quiet and it was kind of an awkward place to be, Brayden was the one who would be a leader in the group.”

NHS faculty members like Brennan appreciate the maturity that Whipple brings to the classroom, daily. 

“Brayden is and has been mature beyond his years, he speaks in a calm way and is an adept communicator, he’s not going to be the one panicking in tough times,” Brennan said. “You need a sense of calm in your captains and in your leaders and Brayden does a very good job of projecting a sense of calm, and a sense of everything’s going to be okay.”

While there is no clear blueprint for leadership, Whipple’s friends, teachers, and community members recognize the innate skills he’s honed during his time at NHS. These skills, cumulatively, make him an especially effective ambassador for Nonnewaug. 

“There’s a lot of things about Brayden that make him a strong leader. He is determined, and that contributes to his strong work ethic that earns respect from all the students, athletes, teachers and coaches around him,” Colavito said.  “It’s easy to be a leader when everyone can call you a friend.”