In the fall, recent Glacier High School graduate Henry Smith will launch into aerospace engineering studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“My ideal goal would be to be an aerospace engineer working for a space exploration company,” he said.

The Glacier grad was named the final Today’s Achievers, Tomorrow’s Leaders honoree of the 2021-22 school year, recognized for his “solid character,” according to nominator Glacier counselor Lauren Smith (no relation), and his accomplishments of earning a 4.0 GPA, becoming a U.S. Presidential Scholar candidate and making the cut as a National Merit finalist.

“He is authentic, kind, honest, intelligent, humble, compassionate, a positive teammate, and funny,” Lauren Smith stated in her letter nominating Henry. “He is the kind of student that every teacher loves to teach and every coach loves to coach. When I mention Henry’s name to any staff member I always get the same reaction, a smile breaks out on their face and they will say, ‘I love that kid!’ And then it is usually followed up with how wonderful his family is and how genuine of a young man he is. This is important because the value of an education, work ethic, and kindness have been instilled in him from Day One.”

The Today’s Achievers, Tomorrow’s Leaders program recognizes the academic achievement and community involvement of high school students who contribute to improving the lives of others. The award is sponsored by Logan Health, formerly Kalispell Regional Healthcare, in collaboration with the Daily Inter Lake. In addition to the recognition, honorees choose a school club or activity to receive a $250 donation. He will donate the money to the Technology Student Association (TSA) Glacier chapter. In the program, members build skills in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math by building robots used in competitions and attending leadership conferences.

“It allows students to work hands-on with robotics and lead themselves in figuring out problems,” he said, later adding, “You have a lot of creativity in order to solve the problem.”

WHILE SMITH said he doesn’t necessarily think of himself as a leader, he is willing to step in when needed and during the school year served as the TSA vice president and also as a co-captain of the cross-country and long-distance track teams.

“My main responsibility was to set an example for my teammates, make sure that I was working hard to motivate them to work hard as well,” he said about being a co-captain.

He described what attributes he thinks make a good leader.

“I think a good leader is someone who can make tough decisions and those around them look to them to make those decisions,” he said. “A good leader is very knowledgeable, thinks things through and is confident they’ll make the right decisions.”

Throughout his high school career, he was also a member of the National Honor Society, Wolfpack Club, speech and debate team, Math Club, French and Spanish clubs and Montana Youth Action. Through his involvement in the clubs and activities he volunteered as a math tutor and mentor to underclassmen and helped out with events such as the Winter Warm Up and picking up litter.

WHEN IT comes to what subdiscipline of aerospace engineering Henry Smith wants to specialize in, he isn’t certain, but said he thinks propulsion would be very interesting, which may stem from his internship as a shop assistant at Synergy Aircraft in Kalispell.

He traces his interest in space to watching “Star Wars” as a child.

“My dad was a big fan of ‘Star Wars’ when I was really young. There are so many possibilities in exploring space,” he said.

His father, a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning engineer, also played a role in his decision to pursue science, technology, engineering and math studies.

As a sophomore and junior Henry Smith participated in the Western Aerospace Scholars program. As part of the program participants planned a mock mission to Mars, he said, including “what structures we wanted, or fuel we’d want to use.”

He recalled being part of a group responsible for coming up with ideas on what tools were needed or parts engineered after astronauts arrived on the planet to collect data and complete the mission.

Lauren Smith also noted Henry’s inquisitive nature, which is a helpful trait for any engineer.

“In the classroom, Henry is willing to listen, ask questions and then process the information, and ultimately learn,” Lauren Smith wrote in the nomination letter, later noting, “Henry takes initiative whether it is for school, hobbies, or life.”

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.