2015 PHS Valedictorian & Salutatorian

Plymouth High School Announces Top Students

Emma Libersky
Emma Libersky

Plymouth High School is pleased to announce senior Emma Libersky as the valedictorian of the Class of 2015 and Katelyn O’Neal as the Class of 2015 salutatorian.

Emma is the daughter of Tamara and Jeff Libersky. She holds a GPA of 4.340 and is ranked number one in her class of 263.

Emma has earned an Academic Honors diploma. She also attained distinguished honor roll status all four of her years at Plymouth High School.

She has a deep passion for reading and poetry. Emma has been involved with the Poetry Out Loud competition at both the state and national levels.  Contestants of both levels must memorize and recite three poems in front of a panel of judges while being assessed on their physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, level of (poem) difficulty, evidence of understanding, and overall performance.

Emma has taken top honors for the last three years, becoming the first State Champion in the eight-year history of the event to win top honors in the Indiana Poetry Out Loud competition three years consecutively.

This year was the first time she placed while competing at the national competition. Emma advanced to the final nine competitors vying for the National Poetry Out Loud title on April 28-29, 2015 in Washington, D.C.

While in school, from 2012 to 2014 Emma was a member of the Global Discussion Club, formerly known as the Junior State of America Club. She said she enjoyed discussing current events, often relating to government and politics.

This year she joined the Plymouth Gay Straight Alliance Club and has been actively involved in promoting the understanding and acceptance of LGBT, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.

For the past two years in her spare time, she has volunteered at the Marshall County Museum by greeting visitors, giving tours, sewing labels on donated clothing, and cleaning.

Inside and outside of school, Emma spends much of her time reading and embracing literature. She is honored by the fact that she was chosen as the 2015 inductee for Plymouth High School’s English Academic Hall of Fame. Earlier this year, Emma was recognized for her exceptional academic achievement as she was named a Commended Student in the 2015 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Emma’s future plans are to attend Grinnell College, a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa where she plans to major in psychology. She would like to go on to earn a masters and Doctor of Psychology and focus on mental health research. She said she looks forward to studying literature further and eventually would like to be able to have a career where she can help people suffering from mental illness.

 

Emma was awarded a Tri Kappa Honor Scholarship and a Grinnell Trustee Honor Scholarship.

Katelyn O'Neal
Katelyn O’Neal

Katelyn O’Neal, the daughter of Kasi and Dave O’Neal, is ranked number two in her class of 263. She carries a GPA of 4.333 and she has earned an Academic Honors Diploma.

In school, Katelyn was an active student council member her freshman year and KEY Club member for 2 years, serving as treasurer her senior year. She was active in the PHS Theater for 2 years and was involved in 7 performances.

By being a member of the Interact Club her senior year, Katelyn participated in helping beautify the Plymouth community through various service projects.

She was also inducted into the National Honor Society at the end of her junior year and served as a proud member her senior year.

Raising awareness and donations for the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis was important to her as well shown through her participation in 3 Riley Dance Marathons hosted by PHS her sophomore through senior years. Katelyn was also involved in the PHS Crimson Connection Show Choir and served as soprano section leader.

Katelyn is proud to say faith has influenced the choices she makes in life, as she was also a member of Prayer Club for all 4 years of her high school career.

She is proud to have been a member of the Plymouth Pilgrims track team all 4 years as a varsity hurdler. Throughout her athletic career at PHS, she mainly ran the 100m high hurdles and 300m low hurdles. She also competed in the JV 4x400m relay and Varsity 4x100m relay during her senior year.

This year, she received NLC All-Conference for 100m high hurdles and was also a recipient of an NLC Academic All-Conference Award. She received an NLC All-Conference Honorable mention her junior year.

Outside of school, Katelyn is heavily involved in the Plymouth Missionary Church and their youth Ministries. With the help of the church, she has participated in several missions trips with her youth group including a trip to Jamaica, organized by Praying Pelican Missions in the summer of 2013. She has also gone on other urban missions trips in Fort Wayne, Chicago, and Atlanta.

Katelyn will be attending Grace College & Theological Seminary, a four-year Christian Liberal Arts college located in Winona Lake, IN. An honor roll student throughout her high school career, she is grateful to have been awarded a Grace College National Merit Finalist Academic Scholarship for her Salutatorian ranking, as well as a Winona Merit Scholarship; both renewable for 4-years.

Katelyn has not decided on a major area of study. However, she is considering majoring in the fields of engineering or administrative business with a minor in intercultural studies, where she can focus on her true passion- missionary work.

 

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