Badin Updates: A Student Scholar, a Top Teacher, and a Winning Campus

Badin senior Matthew Lees has been named a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist, one of just 1 percent of American high school students eligible for some of the $26 million in National Merit Scholarships that will be awarded in the spring. 

“I’ve really enjoyed my relationships with everyone here (at Badin),” said Lees, the son of Kevin and Nancy Lees of Fairfield and a graduate of Sacred Heart School. “The teachers are really good; I’ve enjoyed my friends. Everyone is really tight, which has been good.” 

Lees is eligible for a National Merit Scholarship based on his performance on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) taken in the fall of his junior year. More than 1.3 million high school juniors from 20,000 U.S. high schools took the PSAT exam, and some 16,000 of them have been named semifinalists in the 71st year of the program directed by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. 

A member of National Honor Society and the Scholar Leader Academy, Lees is a 3-year varsity golfer, active in the Christian Service program, and a leader in the relatively new Pickleball Club at Badin. As a junior, he received the University of Louisville Book Award for Intellectual Curiosity. 

“Matthew is an outstanding young man and has a strong career at Badin,” BHS Principal Patrick Keating said. “Being named a National Merit semifinalist certainly underlines his excellence in the classroom.” 

Lees indicated that he planned to major in Finance in college, with his top choices being Ohio State University, the University of Alabama and the University of Tennessee. His favorite classes have been his Spanish classes – he is currently taking AP Spanish IV. 

 A “Standing Room Only” crowd of some 3,000 people was on hand as Badin played its first-ever “on-campus” football game in the 60-year history of the school on Friday, Sept. 5. Badin knocked off Edgewood, 32-18, in a tightly contested affair at the new $15 million Matandy SportsPlex on the hill behind the high school. Senior Lem Grayson scored the first touchdown for BHS on Terry Malone Field at Lanni Family Stadium, with junior Gabe Miyahara adding the first extra point. 

Freshman Reagan Maynard had scored the first-ever official soccer goal for Badin as a member of the junior varsity girls soccer squad against East Central (Ind.) on Monday, Aug. 18. Senior Tanner Questa was the first boys varsity soccer player to score for the Rams, with senior Sophia Combs marking for girls. Badin defeated Fairfield, 4-1, on Aug. 19 for the first boys soccer win, while the girls counted a 3-0 verdict over Dayton Chaminade-Julienne on Wednesday, Sept. 10, for their initial triumph. 

Congratulations to Adam Schuckman, the chair of Badin’s Social Studies Department, who has been named Badin’s “Educator of Excellence” in the 23rd annual Harry T. Wilks “Hamilton Celebrates Education” program sponsored by the Hamilton Community Foundation. 

Schuckman, who is in his 12th year teaching at Badin, is a 1999 Badin grad, with undergraduate and Master’s degrees from Miami University.  

He calls showing “care” the key to teaching success. “If you let the students know that you care about them,” Schuckman said, “then they’ll care about learning.” 

Schuckman, who is also the freshman head football coach, teaches AP U.S. History, U.S. History, the World War II elective, and is also working on a History of Sports class for second semester. He has also previously taught Government, Economics, Current Issues, Technology and Geography during his tenure at BHS. 

“Adam is invaluable to Badin,” BHS Principal Patrick Keating said. “His students love his classes for his ability to make the material come alive, to challenge them to think in different ways, and to entertain them with a story from the past. Badin is much better because of Mr. Schuckman.” 

Schuckman is married to the former Melanie Zix, a 2002 BHS grad, and they are the parents of three children, including a freshman at Badin.