Q. Please provide the first names of your family members: parents, siblings and pets.

A. My dad Michael, my mom Kristin, my younger brother Ty, my two dogs Lea and Marty and my cat Rosie.

Q. As a senior, do you have any specific goals you will pursue this academic year?

A. My goal for my senior year is to challenge myself as much as possible. I went outside of my comfort zone and joined new clubs and societies, some examples being baking club and Science Honors Society and I am taking challenging classes like AP Bio and AP Psychology which are courses I never thought I would be taking. Not only am I pushing myself with clubs and academics, but I am also pushing myself to be more of a leader in my community and be the senior I wish I had to look up to when I was a freshman.

Q. What is your favorite class at Emmaus High School? Why?

A. My favorite class at Emmaus High School is definitely AP Language and Composition. I took it my junior year and I absolutely loved it, even though it was definitely a challenging course. It is my favorite because my teacher, Mrs. Doklan, provided a very welcoming environment that made me excited for class every day. I learned how to appropriately write different types of essays based on different situations which allowed me to expand and enhance my writing. Because of that class, I find that not only are my essays better, but my overall way of thinking and writing has also improved as now I am able to analyze different situations the way I was taught and apply what I learned to my advantage.

Q. Have you received any special awards or recognition?

A. In my freshman year I received an award for Academic Excellence in GSI, and so far every year I have made high honor roll at Emmaus High School.

Q. Are you involved in any extracurricular activities? How has being involved in these organizations impacted your high school experience?

A. I am involved in interact club, baking club, student forum, National Honor Society and Science Honor Society. Being involved in these organizations has provided me with opportunities to connect with my community and make many new friends. These societies and clubs are heavily volunteer based and they all allowed me to give back to my community and meet people who have the same values and interests as me.

Q. What do you consider your biggest challenge to date?

A. My biggest challenge was overcoming my stage fright and speaking at a board meeting back in April. In AP Language and Composition, students write an essay using data from both online resources and surveys sent out to the East Penn School District to argue a specific topic that we either agree or disagree with in the EPSD. My topic was on the realignment of elementary and middle schools and I argued against it. Many teachers at Eyer Middle School and my AP Language and Composition teacher, Mrs. Doklan, encouraged me to present my findings at a school board meeting and at first I didn’t want to. As someone who hates public speaking, the thought of standing alone in front of the school board to essentially tell them they shouldn’t do what they had already planned on doing for a long time terrified me. However, the constant support I received from teachers and peers helped me to push past this fear and in the end I decided that presenting my findings to the school board was the right choice. And now when I have to present something in a class, I just think about how I presented at a school board meeting and there is no way presenting in front of any of my classes is as scary as that was.

Q. At this time, what are your plans for the future beyond high school?

A. After high school, I plan to attend Bloomsburg University for nursing to hopefully become a labor and delivery nurse.

Q. If you could spend an evening conversing with an historically significant person, whom would you choose? Why?

A. I would choose Alice Paul because she was a very prominent leader in the women’s suffrage movement. She fought for the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote and she even continued her fight even after the 19th amendment was passed. She eventually created the first version of the Equal Rights Amendment. I think her bravery and perseverance would make for very interesting stories and great conversations as women’s rights is something I am very passionate about.

Q. For what would you like to be remembered?

A. I would like to be remembered for how much I care about others.

Q. Do you have any advice for your peers?

A. My advice for my peers is to get as involved in your community as possible. Getting involved has allowed me to connect with so many people and helped me to make so many of my friendships I will cherish forever. Find something you love and find others who love it too.