Kaeleigh Stucko is the next Sherlock Holmes

Senior Kaelaigh Stucko will be living like it's N.C.I.S over at Tiffin University studying forensic science. 

When asked why she decided to go into such an obscure field of study she said with a hint of pride, “Ever since I was little, I knew that I wanted to help people. So, this is my way of doing it. Also, TU is absolutely gorgeous and I love the community aspect of the school.” With a brillant investigator like Kaeleigh on the case, criminals everywhere should be wary. 

When dealing with the pinnacle in most high school students' lives, that being graduation, it’s normal to feel a sense of fear, or anxiety and like so many others, Kaeleigh is feeling about the same. “ I’m both excited and terrified because I’ll be leaving everything and everyone that I’ve grown up around. However, I know that this is the first step of my future,” she explains. For so many, the first step is the most nerve-racking, yet I have a feeling that it won’t even phase her. 

To be blunt, these halls can be rather bland and boring, yet to the seasoned eye there is something special about these well-worn halls, something beyond the posters, the trophy cases, the scuffs and cracks. Past the room numbers, that no-one remembers, and the awkward staircases that always over crowd; there are memories, echoes of high school heroes past, present and soon to be future, memories that deify or demonize this school. Yet for some, these memories emancipate themselves from the halls of academia and lie elsewhere. In the case of Kaeleigh, her memory lies elsewhere: “My favorite high school memory would have to be the summer before Sophomore year. Hanging out with all of my friends, going to Nelson Ledges, Geauga Lake, etc. It was a really fun time and I’ll miss it!” Those places have been ingrained in almost every kid from Aurora, so it's no shocker that those places would have a special place in her memories. 

All of us have our favorite subjects and as an extension of that most of us have our favorite teachers, for Kaeleigh her favorite teacher helped her discover what she wanted to do in life, “ Mr Horvath helped me to better understand science, and I found my love for chemistry in his class. He would also help me when I started my CCP classes, which I greatly appreciated.” I was in class with Kaeleigh in Mr. Horvath’s and she was beyond a doubt the most fascinated with what we were learning. 

With so many students obsessing over trying to be the perfect student, getting into the most prestigious universities, or being the best at their given sports, within it of themselves are admirable goals, but it doesn't give yourself a chance to be a kid. Kaeleigh has a similar view as many other seniors have when looking back on the choices they have made, “Make memories, mess up, have fun. This is the prime time to let yourself go before you have to get serious about your future. Take advantage of it.”. 

We all hope that we can answer this question, we all think we know where we will be in ten years but no one knows for a fact where we will be. So I posed the question to Kaeleigh and said, with a sarcastic yet serious tone, “Hopefully I’ll be in a lab somewhere, maybe even a scientist for the FBI.” When she makes it to the F.B.I you can bet that no crime will go unpunished ever again.

To end on a positive note, Kaeleigh’s senior quote is one of cautious inspiration: “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”