Whiz Kid: Rose Hill Teen Puts in Work for Parks

Name, age: Amy Johnson, 16.

School and Neighborhood: Amy is a junior at . She lives with her family and her golden retriever, Josie, in South Rose Hill.

Accomplishments: A real go-getter, Amy serves as the youth representative for the Kirkland Park Board. She plays for the Crossfire Premier Soccer Club and holds the position of captain on the LWHS Varsity Girls’ Soccer Team, in addition to enrollment in three advanced placement courses. She also plays the viola, a talent she has been cultivating since the fourth grade.

Key to awesomeness: Amy began her involvement with the Park Board last September.

“I love my parks in Kirkland so much, I wanted to do something for them,” Amy said of her position as the Board’s youth representative.

Amy serves on an eight-member panel that includes other members of the community. Amy is the only youth representative, a position that she will continue to hold until her term is up in March of 2013. The board is consulted when there are issues or problems in the community concerning the parks. They also assist in the planning of events.

“We discuss what can be addressed and devise a solution,” Amy said.

Most recently, Amy and the rest of the Park Board discussed the issue of naming Kirkland’s new dog park. The Kirkland Dog Off-Leash Group (KDOG) is currently fundraising for and constructing the not-yet-open park. KDOG presented the idea of naming the park ‘Jasper’s Park,’ in memory of KDOG president Jean Guth’s recently deceased dog. KDOG approached Amy and the rest of the board with this proposal.

“We approved of the name and recommended it to ,” Amy said, “I think they approved it as well.”

Amy is no stranger to getting her hands dirty for her Kirkland parks. She assisted in clearing blackberry bushes at the new dog park, which is located near the Municipal Court.

Amy’s park participation isn’t the only thing that makes her a kid worth watching. She is also a highly accomplished soccer player. Universities of great caliber have taken notice of her skills as a defensive player. Schools’ scouts that have contacted Amy include Gonzaga, Boston University, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell and Yale.

She has yet to make a decision on where she would like to attend, but she does know that she would like to focus her educational endeavors in the science field. She knows she will have to work hard at her studies, as well as soccer.

“Sports are what get you in, but academics are what get you out,” Amy said.

Regardless of where she ends up, Amy said it’s exciting to be noticed by colleges and she knows she will be successful if she keeps up what she’s been doing.