ARLINGTON — Emily Beaton, 18, is a senior at Arlington High School.
Question: How is senior year going?
Answer: I’m maintaining my valedictorian status, so I guess that’s good. Nothing big has really happened. I got into college so that was exciting.
Q: Which college?
A: Hillsdale College. It’s in Hillsdale, Michigan.
Q: What made you decide on Hillsdale?
A: I want to be a speech writer or a journalist. They have a really good journalism program. They have a good political science program, too. I wanted to go to a school that was smaller. It’s a conservative college and I’m a very political person. I wanted to go somewhere where I figured I could fit in with people.
Q: How did you get interested in journalism?
A: When I was little, my parents always told me I was going to take over my mom’s accounting firm. I worked with her for awhile during my freshman year. I didn’t like it. I wanted to do something more challenging. We do a scholarly paper our junior year. I did the topic of mental health institutions … for me, it was the most fun I’d had all year. I realized I liked to write. Then I got nominated and won the junior writer of the year award through the school last year.
Q: What classes are you taking?
A: I’m in AP psychology this semester. Last semester I did AP government. I’m in accounting and Spanish 3. I’m the accountant for DECA and I’m in college writing, and I did a couple of online classes last semester. I did online chemistry and online P.E. because I didn’t have room in my schedule to take those.
Q: And you have a job?
A: Yes, I do. I’m a dishwasher at Rhodes River Ranch (in Oso) … I like the people I work with. When I’m working, I just listen to talk radio so I get all my information for the week.
Q: You also volunteer?
A: I’ve done the (school) food drives … I did the Sky Valley Citizens Academy. All through the week I would bake for the 60 or so people and I would run the refreshment table … Over the summer our church, Immaculate Conception, they do a vacation Bible school. I volunteer with some of the kids there.
Q: What is your most popular dessert?
A: They seem to like things with peanut butter. Everybody’s favorite is my peanut butter M&M’s cookies and peanut butter butterscotch Rice Krispies.
Q: You wrote a cookbook for a school project? What was it called?
A: Beaton’s Baked Goods. It’s short. It only has 15 or so recipes in it, but they’re all my own ideas.
Q: What writers inspire you?
A: I guess the most inspirational people are really from talk radio, but I’m not good at talking to people. I like Glenn Beck and Pat Shapiro and those shows.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: I like to hang out with my best friends, Demri Toop and Sarah Van Eyk. I think I spend as much time at Demri’s house as my own.
Q: Did you have any goals for senior year?
A: I had a goal for high school, which was to be valedictorian and take as many hard classes as I could.
Q: Do you have a favorite book?
A: I liked the book, “When Character Was King,” by Peggy Noonan, and I liked “Anthem” by Ayn Rand.
Q: Have you had a teacher who’s really been pivotal for you?
A: I would say (Rebecca) Harkavy. She was my advanced English teacher freshman and sophomore years. We actually read the book “Anthem” in that class, I think. I told her my view on the book and no one else saw it that way, and she helped me to realize it’s OK to have a different point of view.
Q: Any plans for summer?
A: One of my close friends, we’re hoping to go on a road trip to California, just the two of us. Other than that, I’ve got to make money for college.
Q: What do you like to write?
A: I like research papers, just being given a topic or picking my topic, and having to figure out the truth of it and finding out all the sides to it.
Q: It sounds like you’re good with numbers, though, too?
A: Yeah, I just don’t necessarily like them … Like science, I could do without learning to do science.
Q: Do you collect anything?
A: I used to collect quarters. I have almost every state. On New Year’s Eve, instead of going to a party, I went to a friend’s house and we looked through rolls of old nickels and we found an 1860-something buffalo nickel.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
The Super Kid series is out of class for summer. Super Kid returns to The Herald in September.
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