Gloucester High senior Cecely Nutting has a wide variety of interests, from art and photography to horseback riding, antique sports cars and hockey.
But this fall, she says, she will be concentrating on interior design as she enters Mount Ida College in Newton — with a $1,000 Gloucester Daily Times scholarship tucked into her back pocket.
A resident of Rockport and the daughter of Cheryl and Phil Nutting, Cecely said her mother encouraged her to apply for the scholarship — formerly the Eagle-Tribune scholarships.
"I got a letter in the mail" informing her about the scholarship and "it was a little bit of a surprise," said the B student with a broad smile.
Cecely, who has a 15-year-old brother, said she's always been into design and art for as long as she can remember.
"I also started taking pictures this year," she noted, adding she prefers landscapes and seascapes to portraits. "It's easier," Cecely added.
Of course, there are plenty of subjects to shoot in her hometown of Rockport, which she loves.
As she explains, "It's a nice town, quaint and ocean-like."
So how come she travels out of town to Gloucester High? Because another of her passions — ice hockey — led her there.
"I've been playing hockey since middle school when I played for a town team in Rockport, but they don't have a girls' hockey team at the high school," Cecely said. So, she decided to become a Fisherman. Yes, Cecely said, they even refer to the GHS girls' hockey team as the "Fishermen."
"I've played every position but center and goalie, and my favorite is defense," she said.
Cecely said she got into hockey because of her dad. "He got everyone into it," she said. "Now he's the chauffeur and he carries all the bags."
The active young woman, who also baby-sits to make extra dough, said she doesn't have any favorite hockey player, explaining, "I'd rather play than watch." But she does have a hero — her grandmother, Beverly Spofford of New Hampshire.
"I admire her because she's so active and full of life," Cecely said. "She lives with a great amount of passion even though she lost both her first husband and her sister." Spofford is her mother's mother.
Despite her other interests, her favorite subject this year in school was psychology.
"My teacher, Mr. Perrault, made it fun," she said, "and it's such an interesting subject."
Would psychology be something Cecely might pursue somewhere down the academic road?
"No," she said. "I wasn't that interested."
But she's certainly that interested in horseback riding, which she does at a private farm in Essex. She even has a favorite horse: "Munchy. I've been riding him for six or seven years. But he's getting old."
Then there's the sports car: Her father has a 1960 SP 250 Daimler convertible he used to drive that Cecely, who got her license last July, admires very much.
"My dad used to drive it a lot until he had kids," she said. "Now it's in the barn."
