Maya Veal, Rich East Stellar Student. (PHOTO SUPPLIED)
Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- This is another in a series of stellar students from "The Class of 2014" at Rich East High School in Park Forest, Ill. All students were given a series of the same questions. All responses are in their exact words, except for minor editing for content and space when needed.
Today’s student is Maya Veal.
Are you a Park Forest Resident? How long? At Rich East all four years? I’ve lived in Park Forest since third grade, about nine years. I have attended Rich East all four years.
What do you like most about Rich East? What I enjoy most about Rich East is the educational options that they have given me like being able to take AP classes. I am also grateful for the European trip, sponsored by the school, allowing me to leave the country for the first time.
Activities/Athletics participated in? Special awards? Community volunteering? While at Rich East, I have participated in a variety of activities. I play varsity soccer. I am vice president of the Spanish National Honor Society, the secretary for the National Honor Society, and I participate in Scholastic Bowl. I have been awarded the Academic Honors Excellence Award, Outstanding Student Award, Green and Gold Apple Award and semester straight A’s. Over the years, I have volunteered for an organization titled ‘Kaboom,’ which builds playground for underprivileged children.
GPA/Class Rank: My GPA is a 4.10 and I am currently ranked 5th out of 168 in my senior class.
ACT: My ACT score was 25.
Teacher{s} and/or coaches who have most inspired you: My most influential teachers and coaches are: Mrs. (Carmen) Pierce, Ms. (Sherrie) Towery, and Ms. (Kathleen) Barrett. Mrs. Pierce was my Spanish 2 & 4 teacher, Ms. Towery was my honors and AP Chemistry teacher and is also my soccer coach. Ms. Barratt is also my AP Calculus teacher and my assistant soccer coach. I also enjoyed having: Ms. (Carol) Cukierman, Ms. (Marisa) Ptak, Mrs. (Jennifer) Christiansen, Mrs. (Amy) Bloodgood, Mr, (Thomas) Volz, Mr. (Mark) Adamczyk and Mr. (Robert) LaFrance as my teachers.
Areas met/exceeded in PSAE/AP Exams: I met and exceeded in all areas of the PSAE. I scored a 3 on the AP English Exam. I plan on taking the AP Exam in Calculus, Chemistry and Psychology.
College choice/major: I have been accepted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. However, I have also applied to UCLA and UC Berkley. I plan on majoring in Chemical and Computer Engineering.
What music is replaying on your ipod, mpg3, or phone these days? I normally love to listen to alternative and rock music, but I also really love Justin Bieber.
Favorite TV Shows/Books? My favorite TV shows are Glee, the Vampire Diaries and The Originals. My favorite books are the Vampire Academy Series and The Bloodline Series by Richelle Mead, and I also like Greek Mythology books, one of them the series by Rick Roirdan
Favorite foods? My Favorite foods are pepperoni pizza and tacos. I also enjoy eating fruit and drinking water.
Places that you’d most like to visit? I love going to California and one of the places that I have visited that I love the most is Italy.
Where do you want to be in five years? In ten years? In five years, I plan on graduating from college with good grades and work toward building a solid career. In 10 years, I see myself with a good position in my field and hopefully being great at what I do. And starting a family and being very grateful for all the things that I have been able to accomplish.
