Schools
Meet Madison Newberry
Lakes High School's Daffodil Princess is staying busy in her senior year before heading off to college to study pre-med.
Whiz Kid's name: Madison Newberry
Whiz Kid's age: 17
Whiz Kid's school: Lakes High School
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Whiz Kid's accomplishment: Madison was recently selected as Lakes’ Daffodil Princess, an honor bestowed upon one female student in the senior class.
At Lakes, Madison is involved with Ignite Mentoring, National Honor Society, Young Life and is a member of the school’s national award winning choir. She also plays club and beach volleyball.
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She balances her extracurricular activities with a full course load that includes Advanced Placement physics and college-level human anatomy. She has taken four other AP classes and maintains a 3.85 grade-point average.
After high school, Madison plans to attend a four-year university and study pre-med. She plans to join the Air Force or Army ROTC program and one day become a flight surgeon “so I can help soldiers and overseas committees alike.”
Among the colleges she is interested in are Washington State, Penn State and George Washington.
Whiz Kid's key to awesomeness: Madison said she feels that she benefits from pushing herself and trying new things while also using things that she loves, such as music or sports, as a creative outlet.
“I also surround myself with people that I love and who share similar goals and strengths,” she said.
Madison’s favorite thing about being a senior is all of the surrounding excitement about the future.
“Next year is a huge step in my life,” she said. “I don’t want to waste a moment.”
Being crowned Lakes’ Daffodil Princess is a great honor – and it came as a surprise, she said.
“I guess I’m not a typical princess,” she said, adding that she has known some of the other nominees since kindergarten. “All of the girls I went against deserved it as much as I did, and I can’t believe I was nominated to be up there with them.”
Madison will compete for the title of Daffodil Queen and represent her school in the annual Daffodil Festival in the spring. The festival started in 1933 as a tribute to the Puyallup Valley Flower industry and has grown to be one of the largest festivals and parades in the nation.
“It feels absolutely amazing,” she said. “I just pray I represent Lakes for what it truly deserves – which is a lot.”