Whiz Kid--Lucy Kemp

Each week, Athens Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments.

Name: Lucy Kemp

Age: She just turned 10

Grades: 4th

School: Athens Academy

Accomplishments: Lucy has been showing lambs with 4-H for as long as she can remember. She has won ribbons for her animals, "lots of them," she says. Her parents and she sell the wethers--those are the males, she explains--to UGA and often breed the ewes--the females, she says--for more lambs. Unlike the general public, Lucy knows firsthand that sheep are not stupid. They just like to be in groups and move around in groups.

The Kemp family--father Brian, mother Marty, older sister Jarrett and younger sister Lucy Porter--live on a farm in the country part of Clarke County. She says it's good to be the middle child. Her mother says that Lucy is the peacemaker of the family. At home, there are animals everywhere, and that arrangement suits Lucy just fine. She enjoys them all--The Sheep, four dogs, one cat, a goat and five horses.

A few years ago, Lucy was participating in horse shows, showing hunters and jumpers. She starting riding almost before she could walk. But now, she prefers the more relaxed activity of trail riding, using a Western saddle. She also judges horses for 4-H and plays basketball.

Lucy likes nothing better than to go to the barn, sit on Roanie, her horse, and read. She is reading The Order of the Phoenix, a Harry Potter book, having read all the Percy Jackson books, Lemony Snicket's books and Junie B. Jones books. As one might expect of a child who loves books, language arts is Lucy's favorite subject at school.

Her best friend is Barrett Jones. The two girls have been close since they were two years old. Barrett doesn't mind that, in a town of rabid Georgia Bulldogs, Lucy is a huge fan of the Tennessee Vols. She has many bright orange colored pieces of clothing, as well as a Tennessee pillow pet. A grandmother is from Tennessee, so Lucy comes by this attachment naturally.

Lucy loves animals--well, not all animals. She doesn't care for reptiles or amphibians, thank you very much. She's thinking of perhaps becoming a veterinarian, as long as she could avoid the slimy, scaley creatures. Her family and she have been to Zoo Atlanta, where she loved watching monkeys, kangaroos and owls. Oh, and she'd also like to have her own zebra.

The family is in the car so much, going to and from school, that most of their meals are at home, Marty says. Lucy's favorite meal is her mother's spaghetti with sausage meatballs. An ideal Saturday would be getting up early for coffeecake and milk, then heading to the barn with a book, getting a spicy Chick-fil-a sandwich for lunch, reading with Roanie, playing a little basketball with her sisters, and then mom's spaghetti and a Harry Potter movie.

Lucy is a calm, compassionate young woman who's kind to younger children she encounters at school and church. She's pleasant with adults, but with younger kids, she exhibits the same steady gentleness and patience with which she treats animals. Athens is lucky to have her!

We want to hear about amazing youth in Athens and select one each week as the Whiz Kid. Submit your nomination in our comment box below or email the information to rebecca.mccarthy@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information:

Nominator's Name
Nominator's E-Mail
Whiz Kid's Name
Whiz Kid's Age
Whiz Kid's School
Whiz Kid's Accomplishment
Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness (What makes him/her successful? Please include a 150-word description)