Westerhold: 'I want to do well in the world'

NORWALK — The world is in good hands with people like Audrey Westerhold graduating into it. Westerhold, the daughter of Teresa and Matt Emmons, ranks third in her class at Norwalk High School and graduates this weekend. Her activities include music, soccer, Academic Challenge, Girl Scouts and dance, and she works at Schild's IGA. She has been named to the honor roll, principal's list and is in the National Honor Society. Her future plans include studying zoology at Kent State University. "I always wanted to work with animals and make a difference for our world," Audrey said. "I kind of want to be a zookeeper and I feel that zoology would be the best path for me, the kind of job that would make me the happiest." She chose Kent State because it is not too big or too small. "It was the first college that I visited, and it just always felt like the perfect place. I feel like Kent has the best balance between city and country," Westerhold said. Of all of her activities, Audrey said performing in musicals has been her favorite. "I love musicals," Audrey says. "It's different from everything else. We all get to share our own passion for musicals and dance." She performed in "Hello Dolly," "The Wizard of Oz" and "Beauty in the Beast" while in high school. How does she juggle work, school and activities? "It's a lot of time management," Audrey said. "You just have to set aside time to do your homework and work. You just have to juggle all of that and make sure it all works out." Audrey says she works at Schild's IGA for up to 15 hours each week. As a result of all of her hard work, Audrey was selected for a merit scholarship and an Ohio First STEM scholarship. The Choose Ohio First program awards competitive scholarship funding to Ohio's colleges and universities to support undergraduate and qualifying graduate students in innovative academic programs, according to its website. "I'm very grateful for those (scholarships)," Audrey said. Audrey says what motivates her is being able to make a difference. "I want to do well in the world," she said. "I want to succeed and I want to do what's best for myself. I want to put myself in a good position to do that and I want to be able to help other people in the world also." Audrey said she's inspired by her friends. "I've been inspired by my friends because they're also at the top of the class. We can always just help each other," she said. "I'm inspired by my mom because she's a hard worker also." On the downside, Audrey says she sometimes has trouble with procrastination. "I always need to focus on what I need to do," Audrey says. "I have trouble with being a bit lazy and I've had to work on that." She says it helps to have a good group of friends to help push each other forward. "I like having a good group of friends," she said. "They can brighten their day and you can help brighten their day and always work for what's best." As far as progressing in school, Audrey says it was easier when she was younger. "When I was younger it was always pretty easy," she says. "But the harder classes in high school have challenged me." And what advice would Audrey have for underclassmen? "You have to find something that you're passionate about. If you have something you can look forward to, it makes the time so much more enjoyable."