Sportsmanship

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Rebekah Dagraedt

Cherry

Principal:

Cherry's Rebekah Dagraedt has a full schedule of basketball, cheerleading, volleyball, track and field, scholastic bowl, music and golf among her activities.

When it comes to golf - Rebekah's great aunt earns much credit for impacting this eighth grader. It's Mary Dagraedt that Rebekah says she most admires. She says Great Aunt Mary's coaching career has taught her how much one person's pioneering perseverance can impact a sport for women, while also teaching Rebekah the fundamentals of the sport.

The accomplishment Rebekah is most proud of doesn't happen on the golf course or playing field, but instead in the classroom. Rebekah was chosen for an accelerated freshman math class while in eighth grade. She says she was ready for the challenge and it shows in her 'A' average in the class.

She is already using those math skills to decide that professional athletes are paid too much money. The one change she'd like to see in the world is a reduction in the salaries paid to these professional athletes. She says if that change happened, tickets would cost less and the money saved could be donated to those in need. She looks forward to the possibility of getting into a career related to alternate sources of green energy after receiving her electrical engineering degree from the college of her choice, the University of Illinois.

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