Among all the students at Hamburg Area High School, there is one that sticks out far beyond the rest. Freshman Kaitlyn Gallagher, who is not only an amazing student but a role model to many of her peers.
Kaitlyn is an honor roll student taking two honors classes. The honors classes are honors civics with Mr. Zimmerman and honors English with Mrs. Trubilla. In both of these classes Kailtyn excels at not only the academic part but the creativity aspect as well. Her English class is one of the most difficult and fun classes for her. Mrs. Trubilla has many great memories of Kaitlyn but one of her favorites is seeing her outside after school. According to Mrs. Trubilla, “Her dynamic in class versus her dynamic outside of class are two very different things,” said Mrs. Trubilla. When she first met Kaitlyn, she was very quiet. She would not speak much in class, but as she got more comfortable with the class, she became louder, according to Mrs. Trubilla. One word that her teacher would use to describe Kaitlyn would be thoughtful. In several of Kaitlyn’s writing pieces, a person can see the creativity and depth behind them. Even something as small as a sentence can hold so much meaning behind it. Not only is she creative but she is also very in depth. That makes her one great writer.
According to Kailtyn, one of the best things a person can do is go into the day with a hopeful and positive attitude, “When you make the choice to go through the day sad and negative like, you are setting yourself up for failure,” says Kaitlyn. She also said, “The reason I can do my best and the reason I´ve accomplished all I have is because of my positive outlook. When you look back at my mindset in 7th grade you can see the difference. I became better and stronger because of my own efforts and no one else´s,”
Not only is Kaitlyn an academically gifted student, but she is also a very active student. She is a part of the Student Council, an athlete, and also a stage crew member. ¨I never really saw myself being involved in anything regarding the school, but when the presidents of the high school’s student council came down last year, I knew it was something I wanted to be involved in,” said Kaitlyn. So far, it has been a great and worthwhile experience for Kaitlyn. She joined the stage crew this year because one of her friends, Landon Poulios, asked if she would be interested. Two of her other friends also joined so she decided to join as well. It was a fun and memorable experience for Kaitlyn, not only because of the thrill of being a part of a production but also because of the people she met and became close with. Kaitlyn had a part in moving a piano on and off stage with one of her close friends. Some of her friends from the stage crew also partake in bowling as well. Kaitlyn participated in Tilden´s bowling program when she was a student there and when she saw that the high school had a bowling team, she knew it was her calling. Recently, Kaitlyn reached her all time high of 151. She has also made several new friends in bowling.
When it comes to academics, positive attitudes, and activity, Kaitlyn is one of the best students at it. Her hard work and perseverance have helped her reach her goals and ambitions as a student and a person. “Being a smart kid is awesome in itself but being a smart and ambitious kid is what makes the experience 10x more fun.” said Kaitlyn.
