Allison Pinterpe said she is really good at Guitar Hero. She plays with her brother – he plays the drums, she plays guitar. She also is an athlete. Pinterpe played volleyball all four years at FHS, and is dedicated to serving students through Link Crew, a student-run organization that welcomes incoming freshmen with orientation activities and individual contact throughout the year.Graduating this May, she said high school taught her to get along with a variety of people and personalities. Pinterpe said she is looking forward to going to Cornell University and applying everything she has learned.What activities do you participate in?I’ve been on various mission trips to Juarez, Mexico; Avendale, Colo., and Colorado Springs.When we’re in Mexico, we build a house for an impoverished family. In the afternoons we work in a clinic with the mission doctors, sit in patient rooms and play with kids.It’s interesting to see how the kids react to the boys in the group. Many have never seen boys as responsible – most of their dads are in gangs. I really just learned to appreciate everything we have, seeing how little they have.I’ve been doing it for three or four summers and I’m doing another this year. It’s a really amazing experience.Why did you choose Cornell University?A lot of my family is from the Buffalo, N.Y., area. I knew I wanted to go back east. I fell in love with the research center and the engineering building. It’s a gorgeous campus.What is your major?Chemical Engineering. I’ve always known I liked math and science. Last year, I took AP chem from Mr. Smith. He really made the subject interesting for me and I really loved that class. Looking into it I thought chemical engineering is the way I want to go as opposed to just being a chemist.What are you looking forward to about going to college?I’m looking forward to the new atmosphere, being with new people, doing different things different ways. I love moving because it makes you be more of an individual, helps you find who you really are and not who your friends want you to be. I’m going into the field I really want to go into – I’m excited to learn more about calculus and physics.What is one of your favorite high school memories?Our chemistry classes have been crazy. We do lots of fun things. When we write our conclusions, we have to write what type of error we had in our lab – personal error, experimental error. We came up with a new type of error called Smith error – saying it was his fault for all the various things going wrong.How did you handle the stress of taking a heavy load of advanced classes?I think at the end of the day I knew I had to get everything done. If I was up until 2 o’clock in the morning, at least it was getting done. I am probably one of the worst procrastinators that I know.I had to keep in mind what I want in the long term. Just because I don’t want to do my homework now doesn’t mean I don’t want good grades at the end of the year.I would just tell myself it doesn’t sound like the most fun now, but it will pay off in the end.What advice would you share with new high school students?You have to get yourself out there and be involved. Getting involved with different activities opens your eyes and lets you meet people that you wouldn’t have met otherwise.
