Student Spotlight: Arden Harris

Don't be surprised if you start hearing a lot more about seventh grader Arden Harris in the coming years. She's got the talent, the passion and the dedication to make it big in whatever she applies herself to accomplish. She's friendly, mature and not afraid to put herself in unfamiliar situations so she can grow as a person. For instance, for the past 2 years she has attended a three week long sleep-away camp in Carthage, Wisconsin. Kids of all ages come to this camp to work on developing their theater skills with other students. At the end, they put on elaborate productions such as "You Can't Take It With You" starring Arden herself.

Arden also attends Camp Pinewood, which is a little more rustic. At Camp Pinewood, Arden and a group of other kids rough it in the middle of the woods, building their own fires, practicing their archery and rock climbing while also working on their dance skills and other talents.

As you can probably tell, Arden has a passion for the arts. In fact, she has her own hip hop group, where she sings and dances with 2 friends. Inspired by her favorite artist Ciara, she wants to make it as a performer. To accomplish this goal she practices singing and dancing every single day as well as practices the piano multiple times a week!

Arden also works on her dance skills on the Cheerleading team, which is a lot of work, particularly when they are preparing for competitions as they are now. She'll stay in performing shape this spring by playing soccer for her school team for the second year in a row!

Arden and her mentor Fran Fritzmann work together to ensure Arden's grades stay high and never go below the A's and B's she knows she can work to achieve. She and Fran have been working together for years. They were paired up at Cabrini Green Tutoring Program and have been working together ever since. This stability has permitted Fran to get to know Arden's family and work with her mom to ensure Arden's success in the coming years

Discussing her drive to succeed Arden says: "I've seen what happens when you don't push yourself to success, and if I don't push myself, who's gonna push me? I wanna have a great future and it's never too early to worry about your future.” Congratulations Arden, your student spotlight feature is long overdue!