Name: Amy Bechtel, 17
School: Senior at Mountain View High
Activities: President of the school's drama club, homecoming committee float chairwoman and a member of the Los Altos Youth Theater. Bechtel has also participated in Youth and Government and studies hip hop at Marti's Dance School in Los Altos.
As a member of the Homecoming Committee, Bechtel recently delivered fliers to nearly every downtown Mountain View business via roller blades.
"It was pretty hard getting in and out (of stores) on my roller blades," she said.
Future plans: Bechtel has applied to the University of Lethbridge in Canada where she hopes to study political science. Bechtel said she wants to work for the United Nations.
"I have family up there," Bechtel said. "My mother went there. It has a really good program. I'm going to keep up with drama, too."
How do you find time for all of these activities and school work? "It works out pretty well. I have things pretty much before and after school, during lunch, on the weekends, but I always set time aside to do homework. My parents make sure I do," she said. "I've learned to balance everything. I have a planner where I write everything down."
Has high school been what you expected? "It's not at all what I imagined," she said. "I thought everything would be a lot bigger - the locker's would be bigger, the breaks between classes. It wasn't that big of a deal."
What's your advice to this year's freshmen? "Just that sophomore year does count," Bechtel said. "You have to keep your grades up all of the time. I wish someone had told me that."
What are you looking forward to this year? "I'm looking forward to having fun. I worked really hard last year," she said. "I want to make the drama club better, and see what I can do for the school."