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Lodi valedictorian Reed Doucette confident as he heads for university

By Ripley Howe
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Reed Doucette

Lodi High School's Valedictorian Reed Thomas Doucette is a self-assured young man, and as he prepares to leave for the University of Southern California in the fall he seems to have his future well in hand.

"I'm pretty confident that I will be able to mesh with college life," he said. Doucette plans to pursue a double major in engineering and finance.

"I like the money side of it, and it will be fun to learn," he said.

While Doucette has been accepted at USC, he said that he is still waiting for letters from Stanford and Harvard, where he also applied.

Whatever path he follows towards his educational goals, he seems ready to take on the best of whatever comes to him.

"Whatever the future may hold, as long as I am innovative and hard-working, I know I will be successful," he said.

Doucette said that he is contemplating a career in business and technology, and hopes to work and live in an environment with creative and dynamic people.

At 6-foot 5-inches, Doucette has been a steady player on the Flames, Lodi High's varsity basketball team.

He said that he would like to continue to play basketball in college, but he knows it may be a challenge to walk on to a team at a large university -- especially a school with a strong athletic program like USC or Stanford.

"I'll let the athletic chips fall where they may," he said.

Though born in Stockton, Doucette has lived in Lodi almost his entire life. He was involved in a wide variety of activities at Lodi High, including the Science Olympiad, Student Athletic Advisory Board, Lodi Youth Commission Teen Lead, and California Golden Boys State.

He attended the U.S. Military Academy Invitational Workshop in West Point, N.Y., and also tutored bilingual students at Lawrence Elementary School.

Doucette also gathered an impressive list of awards and scholarships.

He is a California Scholarship Federation Sealbearer and lifetime member and received the National Merit Letter of Commendation.

He is an Advanced Placement Scholar with Honors, received the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma, Lodi High School Senior Scholar Athlete, San Juan Athletic Association All-League Honors, the Army National Scholar/Athlete Award, the U.S. Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete Award, the American Legion Citizenship/Achievement Award, the Bank of America Achievement Award, and he is on The Record Pinnacle Team.

Among the scholarships Doucette has so far accumulated are the University of Southern California Presidential Scholarship, State of California Governor's Scholarship, Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship, Ernest J. Pombo Scholarship, and the Guaranty Federal Temple-Inland Foundation Scholarship.

Doucette said that his most memorable experience at Lodi High came during his junior year, when his basketball team won the SJAA league championship.

The team continued to advance through the section tournament and played games at the University of the Pacific in Stockton and Sacramento's Arco Arena.