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MANCHESTER SENIOR ALWAYS ON THE GO

The Record (Bergen County, NJ) January 5, 1997 | MICHELE COMANDINI, Staff Writer MICHELE COMANDINI, Staff Writer The Record (Bergen County, NJ) 01-05-1997 MANCHESTER SENIOR ALWAYS ON THE GO By MICHELE COMANDINI, Staff Writer Date: 01-05-1997, Sunday Section: EDUCATION Edition: All Editions — Sunday Column: NORTH JERSEY SCHOLAR Biographical: LYNN VANDEMEULEBROEK Notes: Passaic edition

It may be her senior year, but Lynn Vandemeulebroeke is one student at Manchester Regional High School who is not breaking stride because of it.

Whether she is running around the track or running her fingers along the keys of her piano, Lynn said she always tries to work as hard as she can. This is especially true of her classwork, she said.

“I just want to keep doing my best,” the 17-year-old from North Haledon said. “I have done it all these years, so why stop now?”

Of the 104 students in her graduating class, Lynn currently ranks in the top three, an accomplishment her guidance counselor, Robert Mitchell, said is “based on academics and her drive to do the best while she is here.”

Mitchell said he has also been impressed by Lynn’s desire to constantly challenge herself. “She always takes the most rigorous course work she can take,” he said.

For several years, she has been in the gifted and talented program, and she also is enrolled in most of the advanced placement courses offered at her school. in our site blocked games at school

Lynn said she comes from a family of hard workers, and she does not consider the effort she puts into her schoolwork anything exceptional.

“It’s common sense,” she said. “If you want to go somewhere in life, you have to put effort into things.”

But sometimes the things Lynn enjoys and excels at the most take almost no effort at all. Playing the piano, for instance, may not come easy for many people, but after working at it for the past eight years, Lynn has little difficulty playing even the toughest classical pieces.

“I like playing piano just for fun, it’s not a chore for me. It actually helps me relax,” she said.

She said her parents began taking her to piano lessons when she was 9 years old. They had her play piano because her older sister, Pam, had played. But unlike her older sister, Lynn continued to play long after her parents brought her to lessons.

“I wanted to quit a couple of times, but my parents forced me to keep going, and I am glad they did that,” she said.

Now, instead of being dragged to lessons, she actually chose to take a keyboards class this year. She has played keyboards in the concert band and during football games at school since she was a freshman.

Her other favorite pastime is running. For the past three years she has been a member of the school’s cross-country team, although she said it is an activity she is not known for and acknowledged that she is not a star on the team.

Although she did not win all her races this fall, she still managed to stand out among her teammates. That is because she was the only girl on the team.

She said she did not mind being the sole female and said the eight boys on the team made her feel like one of the guys. She said she joined the team just to have fun and, although it would have been nice to have other girls on the squad, she still enjoyed the season. go to site blocked games at school

Lynn, who ran in individual competitions, said she does not worry about winning, but just tries to enjoy being outdoors.

“Competition is not important to me,” she said. “Track is really more a way for me to stay in shape.”

Besides running, she said she also likes to ride her bicycle and ski. She tries to find time for these activities whenever she is not working.

She only runs one season of track so she can work during the rest of the year and earn money for school. Currently she divides her time after school between working behind the counter at a bakery in North Haledon and teaching piano lessons at a music center in Hawthorne.

She recently started her job at the music center after a friend in the school band told her about it. On Tuesday afternoons, she gives lessons to six students between the ages of 8 and 13.

While she enjoys working with youth, she said it is sometimes frustrating when they do not practice their scales or songs. But she said their lack of enthusiasm for practicing is something she can relate to and remembers well.

She said she hopes to continue playing the piano in college. She wants to go to a local college for two years, then transfer to another school for four years to study chiropractic.

Six years of college may sound like a lot, but the hard work is not unusual for Lynn. For her, it is something she just has to do.

Illustrations/Photos: PHOTO – DANIELLE P. RICHARDS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER – LYNN VANDEMEULEBROEKE

MICHELE COMANDINI, Staff Writer