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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Emily Thayer
By JoEllen Collins for The Weekly Sun
Academics, adventure and altruism are three interests of Wood River High School senior Emily Thayer. She belongs to the National Honor Society and has a GPA of 3.94.
"I love school," Thayer said. “I have especially enjoyed English and science and my AP classes, beginning with AP US History in my sophomore year, which was fascinating and taught me so much. I’ve had many other AP classes including AP Language and Composition (English), Economics, and Biology. I took AP Spanish last year and now I'm taking the second year of AP Calculus, which is quite difficult but rewarding. I am fortunate to have had these courses, as I feel they have prepared me for the rigors of college."
Thayer is also pleased with her parents' decision to enroll her in kindergarten in the Dual Immersion program in Spanish, which enabled her to be fluent in a language. She hopes this will provide a life-long way to connect with a variety of peoples and countries.
"I love to travel and hope to spend much of my life seeing and spending quality time with other cultures," she said. "I can envision myself joining the Peace Corps or other programs, which allow me to spend a major block of time learning about and serving people in another country, rather than just passing through."
In the future, Thayer hopes to learn Italian and other languages to facilitate her travel.
She already has the travel bug, and enjoyed spending time in Switzerland and backpacking in many other places with her family.
"I just returned from a magical trip to New Zealand, where my brother Hayden is in a semester-abroad program through Cal Poly San Luis Obispo," she said. "I hope that whatever college accepts me will have a similar program."
Although she played basketball for fun as a freshman and sophomore, Thayer 's passion in sports is in soccer. She was named an all-conference player for both of the past three years, second team two years in a row and then first team this year.
Thayer considers herself a kind person. Most of her extracurricular activities involve volunteering for non-profits and community agencies, which are helpful to others.
"I am in the Amnesty International club at school; this helps me maintain a world view, not just sit in a comfortable little bubble in the small town I love,” she said. “I have walked dogs at the Animal Shelter and worked with middle schoolers as a counselor in their fall environmental camp. I am also lucky to be a student representative to the Blaine County School Board, where I can speak on behalf of my fellow students and get feedback on issues of importance to us."
"All in all, I have been very fortunate to grow up in a nurturing environment and to have parents who encourage me to take on new challenges. They are supportive in every way. I intend to live up to all the gifts I have been given."
Each week, JoEllen Collins will be profiling a local high-school student. If you know someone you'd like to see featured, e-mail joellencollins1@gmail.com. like to see featured, e-mail joellencollins1@gmail.com.