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Megan Dupuis

MEGAN DUPUIS

Massabesic High School

Megan Dupuis' guidance counselor at Massabesic High School in Waterboro describes her as the "gold standard for youth."

She was a high-honors student who worked as an aide in the guidance office and became the go-to person when equipment broke and needed fixing.

Dupuis lost her father to suicide when she was 6 years old. As hard as that was, Dupuis knows that without that experience, she wouldn't be where she is today -- a high school graduate headed to the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, where she'll major in aviation maintenance.

"I feel like I'm more mature," Dupuis said. "I think about things before I do them. I don't go do stupid things, like go out and drink and party."

In these and other ways, Dupuis feels set apart from her peers.

"I think if I had both parents, I'd be different," she said. "Some of my friends, for their birthdays, get a new pair of skis, a laptop or a new car."

In contrast, the Waterboro 18-year-old said she receives more practical gifts, such as clothes. Her grandparents give her money, but she doesn't spend it.

"I've been saving all my money," she said.

Dupuis also works nearly full time.

When Dupuis' father died, "it changed everything," she said.

"My mom had to start working all the time, and my sister -- she was 10 -- had to start taking care of me."

The family also moved out of the house to start over again in a new home.

The suicide affected Dupuis for several years, she said -- especially at ages 7 and 8, when she suffered from anxiety.

"It pretty much hit me all over again," Dupuis said. "I think it happened because I didn't really understand it when I was younger and I emotionally had to go through it all over again."

"It was tough, but you take it day by day, and that's all you can really do," Dupuis said.

In high school, Dupuis thrived, said her guidance counselor, Susan Mulcahy.

Mulcahy believes that Dupuis had to grow up more quickly after her father died.

"I think she's become an extremely independent and self-reliant individual," Mulcahy said. "Whenever something in my office would break, Megan would come and help me fix it."

These qualities will likely serve Dupuis well in her chosen career.

At the end of the month, she and her mother are moving to Alaska so she can pursue her college degree.

"After that, I plan on getting my private pilot's license," Dupuis said.

Dupuis has been interested in flight for the past four or five years, she said, and has attended a flight camp.

"You can see so much farther (flying a plane) than driving on the highway," Dupuis said. "It's very open. You feel a lot more free."

Staff Writer Isaac Kestenbaum can be contacted at 791-6308 or at:

ikestenbaum@pressherald.com