James F. PELLETIER

ATTLEBORO — Attleboro High School valedictorian James F. Pelletier says he’s living in the twilight between two emotions right now. He’s excited about going to college but sad to say goodbye to the high school he has loved so much.

He will attend Harvard in the fall. Pelletier, 18, gives accolades to his teachers and friends for his success and happy time in school. “I was lucky to have caring friends and enthusiastic teachers,” he says.

His toughest year by far was junior year, he says. “It was the hardest in terms of workload. I worked past one [a.m.], two to three nights a week. I really enjoyed doing homework. I really had fun with it and let everything else take care of itself. I enjoy learning and I had teachers who really encouraged me,” he says.

“I think it’s important to have fun and love what you do,” he says, a philosophy he maintained throughout his school years.

Pelletier played soccer in the fall and runs track. He is a middle-distance runner and his relay team is going to the New England Championship. He also plays piano for the high school’s jazz ensemble.

He doesn’t know yet what he will study at Harvard but he is getting an idea of what he wants to do. “In high school, I wanted to do something with math, but I had a series of English and history teachers who taught me to appreciate those subjects,” he says.

He’ll take a load of courses to determine what he wants. “If I had to do one thing I am hoping it would be interdisciplinary. I’m hoping down the road I could be a college professor. A few years ago, I wanted to be an inventor. At the same time I got involved in tutoring. If I worked in academia, I could have the resources of college at my disposal and be able to teach in an invigorating environment,” he says.

Pelletier said that becoming the valedictorian happened naturally as he and his friends did their work and studied. “While some classes have been adversarial, our class, we really helped each other. It’s been a lot of the same kids in a number of classes. We have something really special,” he says. He is the eldest of three children but plays down being a good example to his siblings because his sisters Teresa, 16, and Emily, 15, are both achievers like him. “I don’t influence them more than they influence me. I can talk to them for advice. Teresa is a hard worker. Emily keeps things in perspective. She does things for other people without expecting something back. She is someone I really look up to,” he says. “They are role models.”

His whole family has motivated him, he says, and their unity has made him strong. When he was in the eighth grade, they built their own house together. “We didn’t do the framing or the plumbing, we were afraid to, but we cleared the land ourselves. We did the flooring and a majority of electrical and paint. That took a lot of determination and hard work. There was a lot of togetherness. We lived at my grandma’s,” he recalls.

As valedictorian, he is being low key about what he will say to the Class of 2007. He says that during high school he learned the importance of people. “I just enjoy people and everything else kind of stems from there,” he says.

tpina@projo.com