Palmer works his way to prestigious Harvard

From a small community tucked away in the northwestern corner of rural Montana, Aaron Palmer will make his way onto perhaps the most prestigious college campus in the country.

Following his graduation from Troy High School on Saturday, Palmer now looks ahead to his freshman year at Harvard – the nation’s oldest institution of higher learning. Seven presidents graduated from Harvard – founded in 1636 – and the faculty in Cambridge has produced more than 40 Nobel Prize winners.

When asked how he accomplished this journey to the Ivy League, Palmer did not have any easy answers.

“I never would’ve thought I would be able to make it on my own,” said Palmer, Troy’s valedictorian. “Athletics helped me get on their radar.”

Anyone who knows anything about Troy athletics has a good understanding of Palmer’s abilities in sports. He played quarterback on the Trojan football team and helped them reach the state playoffs for the first time in nearly two decades. He dazzled on the basketball court with points, rebounds and the type of determination that could change a game’s momentum. And he developed a reputation statewide in track with his success in the javelin. This past weekend, he won his third straight state title in the javelin and added a first in the triple jump.

Ivy League schools do not award athletic scholarships. Palmer is headed to Harvard on an academic award worth $41,000 annually. Still, he plans to participate in track.

“I’ll be a track decathlete,” Palmer said. “I’ve really done only three of the events in high school here so it’ll be different for sure. I’m willing to give it a shot. If it doesn’t work out, I’m willing to fall back on the javelin.”

Events making up the decathlon are the 100, 400, 110 hurdles, 1500 run, high jump, long jump, shot put, discus, javelin and pole vault.

Harvard’s football coach initially contacted Palmer late last summer but then he heard from the track coach. Palmer was impressed with the campus during visits over the winter.

“I just assumed they were the preppie school, rich and stuck up and they were asking for the highest test scores,” he said. “I assumed I wouldn’t be able to make it. After my visit, everything turned around.”

Going from such a small town to the center of the American education universe will be a challenge. But Palmer said he feels at ease with the transition.

“Before taking my first visit out there, I thought I would be overwhelmed by the culture shock but it was so comfortable,” he said. “They go out of their way to make you feel at home and are down-to-earth, very nice people. It’s everything you haven’t heard about Harvard.”

Palmer also considered Brown and Cornell.

Although still undecided about a future profession, Palmer said he is leaning toward majoring in physics. He plans to leave for Cambridge the third week of August.