My family is really excited about it and proud. If they all come — my mom, dad, sister, brother and grandparents — I’ll be a little embarrassed.

The May Queen is someone who’s cheerful, helpful, friendly and faithful, a role model for all students. She’s always a really nice person. It feels weird for me to say that about myself. I didn’t think anybody knew me. I was shy as a freshman and sophomore.

This year has been full of new challenges. I’ve been worried about getting into college, then worried about picking a college, and now I’m excited to learn what my roommate will be like and to live on my own.

I just turned in my term paper. I wrote on the topic of how the government isn’t doing enough for homelessness. I’ve always been interested in efforts to help others. And I actually do think the government’s not doing enough. I’ve learned that it really doesn’t tell the homeless what their benefits are. If it increases the minimum wage by just one dollar, that could mean $2,000 more a year for many. I’ve read that 85 percent of money for homelessness comes from nonprofits; the government contributes just 14 percent. That doesn’t sound like very much. I’m kind of glad we did the project. — as told to Brandon Walters;

photographed by Scott Elmquist

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