Pekin senior Kaleigh Adrian

Kaleigh Adrian is a Pekin senior in the spotlight this week. She is the daughter of Joe and Melissa Adrian. Kaleigh has one brother, Kieran.

While in high school she was involved in National Honor Society, Volleyball, Winter Volleyball, Dance, Competition Dance, Band, Honor Band, Pep Band, Jazz Band, Winter Drumline, Color Guard, Choir, Honor Choir, Musical Solo and Ensemble, Theater/Drama, Speech, FCCLA (STAR Events), FBLA, FCA, ISTEP, Cross-Age Mentoring, Spanish Club, Iron Chef, 4-H, and Pekin Ruritans. She’s also helped with different babysitting jobs.

What's your favorite school memory/OR what will you remember the most? My favorite school memories are centered around my friends and me hanging out after our activities or playing the role of Mrs. Potts in the Beauty and the Beast musical this year.

If you could go back and change one thing, what would it be? I wish I would have taken it all in more and just enjoyed every single moment. High school really does go by way too fast!

Finish this sentence: "I could not live without..." Reading and traveling.

What's the best and/or worst thing about being a senior? The worst thing about being a senior is that it means one very large chapter of our lives is coming to an end.

Which teacher or staff member has had the biggest impact on you and why? Ms. Carlson has made a big impact on me because she has helped me grow in so many ways over the past few months. She has shown me resiliency, compassion, dedication, and encouragement. All these attributes have not only helped me become a better person but have shown me the importance of how much one individual can impact another’s life.

Advice to incoming high school freshmen: My advice is to not take anything for granted and enjoy all the little things.

What are your plans after graduation? My plans after graduation are to attend the University of Iowa to major in Biology and possibly minor in Communications. After getting this degree I hope to apply to a Master’s Program in Marine Biology.

What is one outrageous thing you want to try in your lifetime? One outrageous thing I want to try in my lifetime is to swim with sharks.

If you could move anywhere in the world, where would you go AND why? If I could move anywhere in the world I would choose Sweden. This is where I would go because it looks absolutely breathtaking and because I would finally be able to meet some of my relatives.

Who has been your biggest influence AND why? My biggest influence has been my mom because even when she is going through hard situations she always puts her family first.