Paityn Mellott

Parents: Jeff Mellott & Jessa Wilde

GPA: 3.3

Class Rank: 26 out of 52

Co-Curricular Activities: Iron chef, Student Council, National Honors Society, FCCLA, Spanish Club, Yearbook, Diversity Club

Community Activities: Volunteer for the SEIDA Christmas Program every year,

Future Plans: I plan to attend the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) next fall to pursue a degree in Education.

How will your high school experiences help you in the coming years? The information and experience that I have been given over the last thirteen years at Pekin will help me both personally, and professionally. I have been lucky to get a lot of hands on experience, in elementary classrooms that will help me on my path to becoming a teacher.

Fondest memory of high school: Getting to make CANNOLI’S in Ms.Goudy’s class and getting to take photos at all of our school events.

Which teachers have had the biggest impact on you and why? It will come as no surprise to those who know me that Ms.Goudy has had a huge positive impact on my school experience and my life in general. I have enjoyed all of my teachers growing up and they have all taught me a ton and I appreciate all of them as well.

Who is your role model and how did they influence you? Honestly I don’t think I could ever choose just one role model because everyone around me has such a huge impact on everything that I learn. I would say however that the teachers I have had at Pekin are some of my biggest role models.

What is special about your high school? Like most small town schools everybody knows everybody, which sometimes can be both good and bad. It does however mean that if you ever need anything you have a community there to support you.

If you go back to when you were a freshman, what advice would you give yourself? Trust your instincts, and try to experience as much as you can you, are only in high school once.