Q. In what grade are you currently enrolled?

A. I am currently in 12th grade at Emmaus High School.

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

A. My family consists of my parents, Bill and Leigh, my older brothers Kyle and Billy, my older sisters Danielle and Kim and my cat Chelsea.

Q. What is your favorite subject? Why?

A. My favorite subject is math because I enjoy the problem solving aspects of it and how it challenges me to think in different ways. I also like seeing how seemingly unrelated fields of math join together to create interesting connections and new ways to solve problems.

Q. Have you received any special awards or recognition?

A. I am a member of National Honor Society and I am an AP Scholar with Distinction. I received a gold medal in the National Spanish Examination, placed first in computer science competitions at University of Scranton and Rowan University and placed first in a Spanish speaking competition. I also qualified for the American Mathematics Competition in 10th and 11th grades.

Q. Are you involved in any extracurricular activities? How has COVID-19 impacted these activities?

A. I am involved in cross-country, track and field, jazz band, Chorale, Fermata Nowhere, Select Choir, PA Math League and American Computer Science League. Although track season was canceled this past spring due to COVID-19, cross-country has been allowed to train in smaller groups and compete in dual meets every week this season. Jazz band and Chorale are both scheduled for the second semester in hopes COVID-19 will be more manageable then, while Fermata and Select Choir are planning to begin outdoor socially-distanced rehearsals to practice music for the winter holiday season. PA Math League and ACSL are both continuing with online meetings.

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

A. My biggest challenge so far has been my injury last year. I got a stress fracture in summer 2019 which eventually developed into a fracture in my foot. Because of that injury, I was unable to train and compete in most of the cross-country season and had to take six weeks off running in the winter. I also had to end my 840-day running streak.

Q. What is your next goal after high school?

A. My next goal is to attend college and major in mathematics and/or computer science. I also plan to continue my running career if possible.

Q. Whom do you admire? Why?

A. Eliud Kipchoge, the world record marathon runner, is someone who I admire greatly. His constant dedication to running is a quality I would like to be able to apply to an aspect of my life. He is simply outstanding as a runner and demonstrates if you fully apply yourself to something, you can achieve it.

Q. For what would you like to be remembered?

A. I would want to be remembered as someone who was dedicated to all of my activities and was always ready to help out a teammate or fellow club member.

Q. Do you have any advice for your peers?

A. Don’t be afraid to try something new. You can never know if you’ll like something if you don’t try it. High school is a time for exploration of different activities and you should try to find your passion now so you don’t miss out on it later in life.