By By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
YEATESVILLE — Ashleigh Cornelius is in her sophomore year at Northside High School, but she’s already making a good impression on her teachers — and she has her eye on the future.
“Ashleigh is a reserved, studious and self-motivated student that expects the best from herself,” said NHS teacher Gil Robbins. “In class, she is active and engaged. She waits for others to complete responses and interjects her own comments and questions in a manner to further explore topics. She is helpful to others when asked. She is a pleasure to teach and an asset to others in class.”
As for her future, although she has two years of high school remaining, Cornelius has decided on a career.
“I want to go to UNC-Chapel Hill for nursing,” she said. “Some of my family members are nurses.”
To further explore her interest in the medical field, Cornelius plans to serve as a volunteer at a local hospital this summer, and she’s a member of Northside’s chapter of Health Occupations Students of America.
She’s on the all A’s honor roll. Cornelius is a member of the Beta Club and the Key Club, a service group affiliated with the Kiwanis Club. She also plays in right field for the school’s softball team. She was a member of the Panthers’ volleyball squad last year.
Cornelius, apparently, is popular among her peers. She has been elected to Northside’s homecoming court for the past two years, and before that she was chosen for Northeast Elementary School’s homecoming court for three years.
The 16-year-old daughter of Donna and Joey Cornelius of Belhaven, she has a younger brother, Joseph, a student at Northeast Elementary School. The family attends West Belhaven Church of Christ, where she is involved in the church’s youth group.
Cornelius said NHS’s faculty is helping get her ready for life after high school.
“I feel like I’m prepared for what I need to know,” she said. “The teachers here are doing a really good job.”
Teen Spotlight is a joint project between Beaufort County Schools and the Washington Daily News. The students profiled are selected by their respective school.
All about Ashleigh Cornelius …
• Grade and school: sophomore, Northside High School.
• Birthday: Dec. 11.
• Favorite school subject: psychology.
• Favorite movie: “Law Abiding Citizen.”
• Favorite TV show: “Secret Life.”
• Favorite entertainer: Jennifer Aniston.
• Favorite food: Strawberries.
• Favorite book: “Thirteen Reasons Why.”
• If she could spend one day in history with anyone, she would choose: “I’d like to spend a day with the colonists when they came over and were settling, meeting the Indians.”
• Dream vacation: Australia.