Ohio/Indiana Super Teens

The Next Step Magazine wanted the best. Scratch that—we wanted the best of the best. So we asked your guidance counselors, parents and friends to nominate the best teen volunteers, students, athletes, singers, leaders and more for the annual Next Step Magazine Super Teens contest!

We asked each applicant these questions:

What activities or qualities make you stand out from your peers?

In what clubs, volunteer organizations or youth groups are you involved?

Explain an opportunity you had to act as a leader. What did you learn from the experience?

Who or what experience has had the greatest impact on you?

What are your plans for the future?

How do you want to be remembered at your high school?

We know there are a lot of great teens out there. So let us know about you! Log on to www.nextSTEPmagazine.com/superteens for a Super Teens application to apply for next year's contest.

Congratulations to the cream of the crop, presented right here. We think you're great!

It’s Avery Blair-Wilson’s goal to have a piece of her artwork hanging in a gallery. This 18-year-old senior at Mount Notre Dame High School in Cincinnati has been a mural painter, worked at a pottery studio and has been co-president of her school’s art club for two years. “Not only did I have to organize ideas, the meetings and arrange the planned activities, I also had to listen to the members’ ideas, incorporate those ideas and encourage each member to communicate their thoughts with me,” Avery says. When Avery was diagnosed with tendinitis in both of her hands, she worried about how her art would be affected. “I had to overcome the pain and learn to block it out when I could,” she says. “I wasn’t about to let it overtake my dreams, nor was I about to just give up.”  Avery plans to study art education and pursue her own artwork on the side.

As a leader on a Mount Notre Dame High School retreat where she is a senior, Kate Carpenter led freshmen girls through reflections and discussions. “Through this experience, I learned the importance of hearing everyone’s voice and making sure to pay respect to each individual,” she says. Kate, 17, volunteers at Bethesda North Hospital, has coached cheerleading and middle school basketball, is part of National Honor Society, worship commission, peer ministry, theater and is vice president of her class. “I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for my family and the support and encouragement they have provided for me,” says Kate, who lives in Cincinnati. She plans to study pre-med at college and work in pediatric orthopedics.

In addition to being layout designer for The Mirror, the newspaper of Garfield Heights High School in Garfield Heights, Ohio, Hallie DelVillan, 18, is also an active member of her school’s Glass Ceiling Roundtable. “This is a wonderful group for young, talented girls to become prepared to break ‘glass ceilings’ in the real world,” Hallie says. She uses her leadership skills as a member of The Mirror staff, where she assigns tasks, organizes the paper and produces the layout. Hallie—who was voted “most likely to become a millionaire” by her class—plans to use her design talent as an architect.  “I have high hopes of designing new buildings—literally changing the world,” she says. She’d like to study abroad and graduate with honors.

When Ben Freiman, 18, was a freshman, he and his friends spent their free time at a park. They noticed that several younger kids started showing up whenever they were around. “At first we didn’t know why these kids liked having us there until one day, I realized that they thought of us as their role models,” says Ben, a senior at Cuyahoga Falls High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. “A person can be a leader when they least expect it.” Ben practices his leadership skills as a bank teller at First Merit Bank, where he interned as part of his school’s Finance Academy and was later hired. Ben plans to study accounting and finance in college and dreams of becoming a major league baseball player. 

Two days each week after school, Karis Howard, 17, goes to her local hospital to volunteer. There, she assists patients and staff as a messenger and ER ambassador. This senior at First Baptist Christian School in Elyria, Ohio, is also a member of her church’s youth group and teen choir, has been on a missions trip to Nebraska, sorts food at Second Harvest Food Banks and is past president of student council. “As president of student council, I learned many things concerning leadership,” Karis says. “I improved my organizational and time management skills. I realized the responsibility and commitment it takes to be a good, dependable leader.” Karis plans to attend dental school and eventually become an orthodontist. She hopes to help people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford her services.

Kellie Johnson, an 18-year-old senior at Central Noble High School in Albion, Ind., has this advice: “Don’t let gossip, put-downs or any other negative rumors get past you,” she says. “Those really put people down. We need to keep everyone’s spirits soaring; you can get more results like that.” Kellie learned how to be in control while maintaining everyone’s spirits in cheerleading. As the only upperclassman with experience at a cheerleading event, the coach asked Kellie to teach the others new cheers. She had to tailor her lesson to fit each of the newcomers’ needs. Kellie wants to become a math teacher and work as a volunteer firefighter.

At Delta High School in Muncie, Ind., Blain Keller, 17, is in National Honor Society, student council, Academic Team, financial club and more. He has volunteered at Muncie Mission, the YMCA, a soup kitchen, the Salvation Army, as a tutor and a fund-raiser for a hospital and other organizations. At the beginning of this year, Blain was chosen to be captain of the varsity tennis team. “I was a positive role model and helped my teammates with schoolwork, tennis practice and talked to them about many different subjects,” Blain says. “I learned I could make a difference in someone else’s life by my example.” Blain wants to become fluent in either Japanese or Chinese and major in international business or medicine.

Eagle Scout Mike Leatherman, 15, will be traveling to Australia and New Zealand as an ambassador with the People to People Student Ambassador program. In the meantime, this freshman at Central Noble High School in Albion, Ind., is manager of the high school varsity basketball team, a singer with the church worship team, is involved in Destination Imagination, theater and Boy Scouts, where he is a senior patrol leader. “I am in charge of several other scouts,” Mike says. “I have learned that not everyone likes to cooperate in the most convenient ways possible.” Mike plans to study performance arts or architectural design at college.

Since sixth grade, Lara Mancinelli, a senior at Cuyahoga Falls High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, has danced with pre-professional dance companies. Lara, 17, is a member of the Ohio Youth Ballet, secretary of National Honor Society and vice president of her church’s youth group. She has been on several mission trips to a Native American reservation in Bonesteel, S.D., and to Tijuana, Mexico. “Each has affected my life by showing me the conditions of peoples’ lives in poverty,” Lara says. “They make me want to be a more compassionate person.” Lara plans to attend college and graduate with honors. “I would like to be remembered at my high school as a person who was fun yet intellectual and mature,” she says.

This past summer, Grace Noppert, an 18-year-old senior at South Dearborn High School in Aurora, Ind., lived in Honduras for six weeks volunteering as a teacher’s aid and translating assistant. Grace is also president of National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and is part of the SADD Student Leadership Council of Indiana, a group that oversees all state SADD activities. “I have learned…that leadership is far more than a position; it is an act of service to others,” Grace says. Grace plans to study pre-med and political science in college. She hopes to do medical research and to get involved in politics. “Anything and everything that I have ever done or accomplished is because of the help of the people around me and God,” she says. “I am a result of the contributions of these sources to my life.”

During a mission trip to West Virginia last year, Ashley Reed, 18, stepped out of her comfort zone to help others. “It is the responsibility of our generation to change the world,” Ashley says. “We can start by helping with special projects, such as the mission trip where we worked with those less fortunate than ourselves.” Ashley, a senior at Houston High School in Houston, Ohio, has also helped others as two-year National Honor Society vice president. She is president of her school’s chapter of Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) and treasurer of Spanish Circle Club. She is also involved in Future Education Club, Junior Scholars and the Big Buddies program. Ashley is a cheerleader, participates in track and was homecoming queen. Ashley plans to study psychology at Miami University.

As yearbook editor at Marion High School in Marion, Ind., Jesselyn Robinson, 17, has learned how to manage other people and other projects. “It takes a great deal of dedication and extra time to got the job done as planned,” Jesselyn says. “It requires a lot of compromise and patience to be a leader of many people.” She is secretary of her school’s senate, a varsity softball and volleyball player, in National Honor Society and has taken dance lessons for eight years. Jesselyn plans to pursue a career in advertising. “I would love to create and launch advertising campaigns for well-known companies and products,” she says.

Lindsay Sapp, 18, has been class president for four years at Crestview Local High School in Columbiana, Ohio, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA and participating in volleyball, cheerleading, track, 4-H, National Honor Society and more. Last year, Lindsay noticed that Veteran’s Day passed at her school without any special recognition. “Disturbed by the lack of respect for our veterans, I wrote a letter to the Board of Education and the superintendent and included in it a presentation about what Veteran’s Day means to me,” she says. As a result, a breakfast and presentation for area veterans was planned, and Lindsay gave a speech to the assembly. “Standing up for what you truly believe can make a difference,” she says. Lindsay plans to study biology and pre-med in college and become a chiropractor.

“I make a point to do what is right even if it means stepping out and being different,” says Kari Scheunemann, a senior at Bristol Local High School in Bristolville, Ohio. “Rather than ridicule me, people seem to respect me for it.” Kari, 17,  is secretary of Beta Club, a member of the Board of Christian Education, an active member of the Parkman Congregational Youth Group, president of concert choir, drama club and more. Kari’s most important influences are God, her parents and her church family. “The combination of these three things would have to be the greatest impact on my life,” she says. “They have made me into the person that I am today.”  Kari plans to study education and become a high school Spanish or math teacher.

On a mission trip to Quito, Ecuador, Tamara Shaya, 17, passed out food to needy Ecuadorians, fixed and repaired an orphanage and helped build a roof for a low-income family. As president of student council at Christian Center Academy in Cincinnati, Tamara has also helped organize a donation drive for the homeless. She volunteers at soup kitchens with her youth group and has been on mission trips to Mexico and Tennessee. After 9/11, Tamara, whose parents were born in Baghdad, Iraq, faced teasing and stereotypes. “I could have become angry and bitter,” she says. “But instead…I turned the other cheek. Instead of making a rude comeback, I simply walked away. I learned to be strong and to trust God for my protection.” Tamara plans to become a broadcast journalist and has also considered becoming a missionary in Iraq.

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