» Age: 17
» School: Columbus East High School
» Who are your parents, grandparents and siblings?
My parents are Scott and Tammy Files; my grandparents are John and Jean Johnson and Tom and Carolyn Files; my siblings are Regan and Grant Files.
» Which elementary and middle school/junior high did you attend?
In elementary school I attended Parkside, St. Peters and CSA-Lincoln, and in middle school I attended Central. I also attended a British all-girls school while living overseas in England (from eighth to 11th grade) and am currently a senior at Columbus East.
» What’s your favorite class or part of the school day?
I really like a biomedical science class I am in because it’s something that I find interesting to learn about and I was not very knowledgeable about the topics we cover in class before I started.
» In which extracurricular activities do you participate?
I’m on East’s gymnastics team. I also participate in my church’s youth group, and I work as a cashier at Kohl’s.
» When you’re not in school, where’s your favorite place to be and why?
I think that my room is my favorite place to be because it’s peaceful and helps me to relax after a long and sometimes stressful day of school.
» What has been your greatest high school memory so far and why?
I think my greatest achievement or memory was getting my senior project proposal accepted by the board I presented on. Since I had just moved back from England I was surprised that I had to do a senior project and it took a lot of hard work and a few stressful weeks to think of an idea for my project as well as my research paper. For my project I am conducting a donation event at CSA-Lincoln to collect toiletry items to turn into care packages for families at the Ronald McDonald House. I’m pretty excited to be doing my project because I know that it will positively benefit people.
» What are you looking forward to after graduation?
I’m pretty excited to go to college because I’m going to be majoring in chemistry at IUPUI for my undergraduate degree and will eventually go on to pharmacy. I’m pretty set on this major because it’s a something I’ve been interested in a while and I really like the school I will be going to in the fall, so I think it is going to be a perfect match.
» Who in your life has inspired you or whom do you look up to and why?
My parents have inspired me because they have taught me that working hard and standing by what you believe in pays off in the long run.
» What is the most important thing you’ve learned during, or from, high school?
That it is important to try to get any work you are assigned done early so you don’t have to worry about it or forget about it.
