Robert Bishop, a junior at Emmaus High School, is a finalist in the 2013 Penn State Writing Contest, according to Bonnie Raub, English teacher at Emmaus High School. Every year The Pennsylvania State University Program in Writing and Rhetoric recognizes three winners and 17 finalists for their writing, Raub says. The winners and finalists were chosen from 75 excellent student writers identified by high schools across the state. Judges from Penn State chose the essays based on the quality of writing and critical thinking exemplified by each entry. Bishop will be recognized for achievement on …

Name:  Laura Lievre Age:  15 Hometown:  Lower Macungie Township Family:  Laura resides with her parents, Shelly and Kevin, and her brother Kyle, 17. School:  She is a sophomore at Emmaus High School and baby-sits from time to time. Name of organization:  Camelot for Children Describe what you do.  “I help with summer camp. The program runs for six weeks, two days a week—Mondays and Wednesdays. There is also a one-week day camp in August.  “Volunteers are paired with a child, or buddy, every day. The children who attend the camp are terminally ill, disabled or the sibling of an ill or disabled…

Name: Chrissy CilentoAge: 17Grade: 12thSchool: Emmaus High School Claim to fame: A Zionsville resident, Chrissy participates in numerous activities inside and outside of Emmaus High School and is a regular contributor to Emmaus Patch. School Activities: E-TV (school TV station), AccaBella (all-girls' a cappella group), Chorale, Select Choir, president of Drama Department, treasurer of Kid-to-Kid (anti-substance group), PALS (Peers Assisting Learning Support), Hornet Ambassadors, National Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society, National French Honor Society, and all the school plays and …

In some ways, Courtney Smith is your typical high school senior. She babysits to make extra money. She plans to attend college after graduating from Emmaus High School in June. Courtney also takes dance classes – hip-hop, ballet and jazz – and a modeling/acting class. She also teaches a dance class. Maybe a bit less typical, but certainly not unheard of among high school students. Then there’s that whole state finalist in the Miss Pennsylvania Teen Pageant thing. Yep, that’s probably one of the things that makes Courtney a bit different. Courtney says she first got involved with the world of …

Children love to pretend and use their imaginations when playing with family and friends. Today they may be a fireman or doctor. Tomorrow they are cowboys or Indians. But for Juliann Cichocki, daughter of Michael and Brandy Cichocki of Lower Macungie Township, acting has become a way of life.  “I always wanted to be an actress,” she said. According to her mother, Juliann, a third-grader at Seven Generations Charter School in Emmaus, showed an interest in acting at the age of 2. “She would watch the TV and try to imitate what the actors and actresses were doing,” said Brandy. While in the …

Name: Evan Amey School: Evan is in the third grade at Lincoln Elementary School. Accomplishment: Evan currently is the youngest black belt at Leading Edge Martial Arts, Allentown. He earned his belt Aug. 20, at age 8 ½, following a six-hour test. When he took his test, Evan needed to demonstrate everything he learned in the past several years. Some of these things include curriculums, katas (a series of movements, combinations and techniques that are practiced in succession), fighting combinations and self defense techniques. He also was required to break four boards as part of the black belt…

Name: Taylor Kendall School: Taylor is in the second grade at Lincoln Elementary School. Accomplishment: Taylor was a state finalist in the National American Miss Pennsylvania Pageant—Princess Division (4-6-year-old age group). She and her parents, Brandon and Barbara Kendall, spent three days in Harrisburg for the competition. Seven-year-old Taylor was interviewed by six judges then modeled both casual and formal wear. No make-up is permitted for contestants under the age of 12, Barbara said. Key to Awesomeness: Taylor did some singing for the talent portion of the competition, placing as …

Name: Lunachicks Softball Team     School: 16- and 17-year-old girls from Emmaus High School, Moravian Academy and home schooled Accomplishment: They are the #1 ranked team in PA & the Mid Atlantic Region, and #4 in the Nation for 16 "B" age group according to the USSSA (United States Specialized Sports Association) rankings. Key to Awesomeness: The Lunachicks Softball Team, which is a member of the Lehigh Valley Girls Softball League and plays through the Emmaus Youth Association, won the 2011 USSSA Eastern World Series 16 "B" this summer in Salisbury, Md.  The team played nine games for the…

Name: Sarah Goldy-Brown   School: Emmaus High School Senior Accomplishment: She won first place in the high school division of the Lehigh Valley Press Student Poetry Project Key to Awesomeness: Early in 2011, Sarah wrote a poem…a special poem. She was still grieving the death of her grandmother in January. And with the death of her grandfather a few years earlier, Sarah needed to deal with the now-empty house her grandparents once lived in. “I had recollections and feelings of her being there, but she really wasn’t,” Sarah said referring to the times she and her family began the task of …

Name:  Vicki Klein    School:  Senior at the Pennsylvania Cyber School Accomplishment:  Assistant instructor and second-level black belt in Kung Fu Key to Awesomeness:  Vicki has been involved in Kung Fu at Lehigh Valley Martial Arts (LVMA) in Emmaus for 10 years. She continues to work at advancing to a third-level black belt, while also teaching classes. “It’s a lot of hard work,” she said. “You need to be here [LVMA] at least twice a week in order to learn enough to advance.” Vicki is a busy teen-ager. She organized a diabetes fundraising event in July for diabetes research. She …

Name: Akshay Damany          School: 2011 Emmaus High School graduate and freshman at Lehigh University, Bethlehem. Accomplishment: He was named the District 11 Boys Tennis Scholar-Athlete of 2011. Key to Awesomeness: Akshay was one of 18 boys selected in District 11 for his achievements in tennis, academics and community service.  He finished the tennis season this year 11-3 at No. 1 in singles in the Lehigh Valley Conference.  Akshay was ranked as 12th in his graduating class of 662 students, with a GPA of 4.25. He started a charity organization teaching tennis to autistic children in 2010…

Name: Kayleigh Jardine          School: Emmaus High School Accomplishment: Won a Freddy Award for Outstanding Performance by a Featured Female Ensemble Member Key to Awesomeness:  May 26, 2011 is a date Kayleigh Jardine will never forget. That evening she was the winner of a Freddy Award for her role as Madame Giry in the Emmaus High School musical “The Phantom of the Opera.” Her award for Outstanding Performance by a Featured Female Ensemble Member will be kept in a showcase at the high school for all to see. Kayleigh graduated from EHS in June and will be heading off to the University of …

Name: Brielle Burkos School: Eighth-grader at Lower Macungie Middle School Accomplishment: May Student of the Month Key to Awesomeness: Good grades, good attendance and a good attitude all helped Brielle’s teachers elect her as the Student of the Month in May. They also said she is an excellent role model for other students in the school. Brielle likes math, because she “is good at it.” She also enjoys social studies “because the teacher makes class time fun with lots of activities.” When not in school, she likes to play with her cousins and her dog, Snickers. Her dog, she said, is a rat …

Name:  Kaitlyn Lucas School:  Emmaus High School junior. Her favorite subjects are social studies, history and math. Though some teens find high school to be challenging, Kaitlyn said she is “thriving in high school and absolutely loves it.” She is undecided whether to become a physical therapist or secondary education teacher upon graduation. Accomplishment:  Kaitlyn was crowned Miss Teen Pennsylvania International on March 26, 2011. Key to Awesomeness:  She was 15 years old upon receiving her crown and banner from the 2010 Miss Teen Pennsylvania International, Sophia Medairy.  According to …

Name:  Bradley Weber School:  Seventh-grader at Lower Macungie Middle School Accomplishment:  March Student of the Month Key to Awesomeness:  Bradley was elected as the March Student of the Month because of his good grades and good work ethic. He also puts forth a good team effort when working with others, his teachers said. His favorite subject is social studies because his teacher makes the class fun and interesting to learn. Bradley enjoys playing the position of center on his basketball team. In addition, he plays the positions of pitcher, catcher and third baseman on the baseball team, …

Name:  David and Matthew Kachelries School:  6th-graders at Eyer Middle School Accomplishment:  David and Matthew are awesome basketball players and champions. Both boys are point guards.  Key to Awesomeness:  These 13-year-old boys currently are part of New Jersey Team Izod Sport University, playing on the 12U6th grade, or 2017 graduation year, team. This is a nationally ranked Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team. In 2010, David was recognized as 1st Team All-New Jersey and Matthew recognized as 2nd Team All-New Jersey. They were also recognized among the top guards in the Adidas Phenom camp …

Name:  Trevor Calse, Nicole Neith, and Michael Shimer School:  Fifth-graders at Lincoln Elementary School. Accomplishment:  They won in their category at the Lincoln School Technology Fair. They went on to compete in the Technical Fair at the Intermediate Unit 21 in Schnecksville on May 4. Key to Awesomeness:  Trevor, Nicole and Michael created their own digital film about the movie “Titanic.” They obtained information about how the movie was made, along with some historical facts, and filmed a documentary explaining what “Titanic” was about and how filmmakers made the movie.  The project …

Name:  Lily Mohr School:  Fourth grader at Lincoln Elementary School. Accomplishment:  She won in her category at the Lincoln School Technology Fair. She went on to compete in the Technical Fair at the Intermediate Unit 21 in Schnecksville on May 4. Key to Awesomeness: Lily created a digital movie about endangered animals.  She said she used the computer to collect pictures of various species of animals that are in danger of becoming extinct. Some of these animals, she said, are certain varieties of eagles, dogs and snakes.  She then created a poster about the animals as another portion of …

Name:  Jessica Johnson and Kallie Thomas School:  Fifth graders at Lincoln Elementary School Accomplishment:  Won in their category in the Technology Fair at Lincoln, and went on to compete in the May 4 Technology Fair of the Intermediate Unit 21 in Schnecksville. Key to Awesomeness:  They created a logo for next year's Elementary Technology Fair. Jessica and Kallie searched for designs on the computer and then “made some changes to it” to call it their own.  With additional help from their parents, their logo was placed onto a poster and a cup. Their logo was a professor holding up a meat …

Name: Lucy Lin School: Eighth-grader at Eyer Middle School Accomplishment: First-place winner in the chemistry category at the Region 3 science fair of the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science. This region includes Schuylkill, Berks, Lehigh, Carbon and Northampton counties.  She also took home a $25 cash award. Key to Awesomeness: In Lucy’s project "How Temperature Affects Luminosity," she tested the luminescence of glow sticks and phosphorescent (glow-in-the-dark) paint at different temperatures. She used 0-, 20-, 40-, 60- and 80-degree Celsius water. “I would soak them in that degree of …