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<< Previous   of   Next >> Mark Mulligan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Minhtam Nguyen, Cascade High School senior, outside the school.   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Super Kid: Piano man Eric McElroy 10/26/09 • Super Kid: Proud to farm 10/5/09 • Super Kid: Laura Pfeifer, 17, Mariner High School 6/29/09 • Super Kid: Success after rough start for Marysville senior 6/8/09   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, November 9, 2009 Cascade High senior a leader in school's food drive Minhtam Nguyen, 18, Cascade High School senior Taking a lead: Minhtam has helped on school projects in a variety of capacities since her freshman year. Among other roles, she was the junior class secretary and is ASB secretary this year. Helping out: She will be one of the leaders of Cascade High School's annual canned food drive in December. Last year, her school collected more than 67,000 food items and $20,000 in cash to help families in need. “I have always really loved what the food drive has meant to the community,” she said. Busy schedule: Her academic load includes leadership, physics, college-level Advanced Placement calculus, video production and college-in-the-high-school classes in government and English. Diverse interests: Minhtam is considering majoring in architecture or film with a career interest in screenwriting. Nice niche: This is her fourth year with the school's Technology Student Association. She is state's student president of the organization that includes regional, state, national and international competitions in a broad range of categories. Her favorite categories include architecture-based competitions. Dream destination: Although she has never been there, Minhtam loves Boston for its history, architecture and sports teams. “That is my dream to live in Boston and go see a Red Sox game,” she said. Applications under way: She's applying to University of Washington, Washington State University, UCLA and University of Southern California. Parents' sacrifice: Minhtam and her family moved to Everett from Vietnam when she was 7. Her parents made the move largely to provide their children with a chance for a good education. Keeping up: Minhtam still speaks Vietnamese at home, but not as well as she once did. She has been taking a course in Vietnamese on weekends to sharpen her skills. Thanks, Sis: The older she gets, the more Minhtam appreciates her younger sister, Anh, a sixth-grader at Evergreen Middle School. When she left for summer camps, Anh wrote her inspiring notes and put stuffed animals in her suitcase. Anh has also tried to help out her older sister. “One time when I came back, my room was clean.” Favorite authors: Amy Tan, J.K. Rowling, Dan Brown Good experience: Minhtan has spent three weeks over each of the past two summers working at Camp Prov, a camp for children with special needs. “I really, really, really enjoy it.” Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com. Know a super kid? E-mail schoolfyi@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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