Q. In what grade are you currently enrolled?

A. I am currently a senior at Emmaus High School.

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

A. My dad, Blake, my mom, Lori, my sister, Kayla, who is a sophomore at Emmaus, my dog, Lacey, and my cat, Skipper.

Q. What is your favorite subject? Why?

A. My favorite subject is math, specifically algebra and calculus, because I enjoy problem solving and figuring out which of the several equations I should use. Since I enjoy it so much and have grown to be pretty good with numbers, I’ve decided to pursue it in my future. The part I enjoy most about math is how no two problems are ever the same, so it is always something different, and dare I say, exciting to figure out.

Q. Have you received any special awards or recognition?

A. Throughout high school I have received a few different awards. I was awarded an Academic Honorable Mention for maintaining honor roll throughout all years of high school, induction into National Honor Society and I received a scholarship through my dance studio that allowed me to dance tuition-free for an entire season. I’ve also received a number of scholarships for college including academic and personality-based.

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

A. I am the president of Pediatric Cancer Club at Emmaus and I work in a mortgage company called CrossCountry Mortgage where I am a data input assistant. Outside of school and work I dance at Grand Jete Studio of Dance in Macungie and I am also a student teacher there. Due to COVID-19, we were unable to have any in-person meetings for our club, which made it hard to perform our usual socializing, crafting and snacking being limited to only Zoom. Despite the pandemic, my club was able to create several different fundraising events and raise over $4,000 for local hospital pediatric cancer funds.

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

A. My biggest challenge to date has been preparing myself for the next big step of my life: college. Since I am the oldest child and I am of the first generation in my family to attend a four-year college, it has been a challenge learning the entire process and the most financially efficient way to approach all of it. All of my present and prior teachers of the East Penn School District, especially Mrs. Duffy, my boss, and of course my parents have been such a tremendous help throughout this entire process and I would not be in the position I am today without all of them.

Q. What is your next goal after high school?

A. After high school I plan on attending Kutztown University where I will major in accounting and minor in finance. I also plan on continuing to work at CrossCountry Mortgage and staying involved with the Pediatric Cancer Awareness community.

Q. Whom do you admire? Why?

A. The person I admire most is my Nanna because she is kind, funny and beautiful in every way. She has taught me so many life lessons that I will greatly cherish for the rest of my life and is supportive of every decision I make (while always putting in her two cents, of course). Every week, we look at the East Penn Press together to see who the student of the week is, so I hope she is excited reading this week and seeing that it is me!

Q. For what would you like to be remembered?

A. I would like to be remembered mostly for the impact I have made in the Pediatric Cancer Club. It was extremely challenging coming up with creative ways to keep everyone in the club engaged during the virtual meetings and even getting everyone involved in fundraising. Thanks to social media and lots of experimentation with electronic resources we were able to have a very successful year as a club. It is my greatest wish that next year COVID-19 settles down and they are able to hold the annual Shave For the Brave event at Emmaus, so the new club members are able to experience how good it feels to see the impact you’ve made in the community as I have at past Shave events. I would like to thank the other officers and our club administrators, Liz Del Re and Mrs. Grim for always having my back both within and outside of the club, and most importantly for always putting a smile on my face and becoming my second family.

Q. Do you have any advice for your peers?

A. To all of my fellow graduates, I first want to wish you all the best of luck in whatever you pursue upon graduation. I personally feel Emmaus has shaped us all into very successful and well-rounded people. The best piece of advice I have been given and would like to pass onto everyone else is no matter what you end up doing in life, make sure it is something you love! Also, to all underclassmen, I advise if you are even slightly interested in going to college to start the search sooner rather than later. You will thank yourself in the future when you have everything figured out and won’t have to cram before graduation!