For everyone to have the right to be who they are – this is what senior Meredith Rosheim is passionate about. Rosheim prides herself in her open-mindedness and she tries to reflect that in her activities. Rosheim is a member of the Breakfast Club executive council, as well as National Honors Society and Key Club.

“For Breakfast Club, it’s about making sure everyone is included and making everyone feel welcome at the school,” Rosheim said. “In NHS and Key Club, I just really wanted to get into volunteering and giving back to our community.”

Rosheim’s passion for feminism and equality started in middle school, when she first learned about the wage gap. She credits both her mother and another woman as someone who inspired her.

“I have a celebrity role model: Emma Watson,” Rosheim said. “I first looked up to her as Hermione in Harry Potter. I appreciate intelligence, so I love how she was able to use her wit to get far in life. Even outside of Harry Potter, Emma Watson did the ‘He for She’ campaign, which was a UN group promoting equality for all. I just really like what she’s done.” Like Watson, Rosheim sees herself in a career where she can follow her passion for helping people be who they are.

“I really want to be happy with what I end up doing,” Rosheim said. “I’m fine if I don’t make a lot of money working for a nonprofit or working in the government. I just want to be proud of who I am.”

In the fall, Rosheim will enter the honors program at the University of Minnesota, double majoring in Political Science and Global Studies with a minor in French.

Many seniors wonder how they’ll be remembered by their peers. Rosheim hopes she leaves a positive legacy.

“Even though I’m not the most outspoken person or the most well-known, I hope I inspired some of the people I left behind to be who they are, appreciate where they are in the moment and stay positive about their lives,” Rosheim said.

During high school, Rosheim had an effect on sophomore Nancy Gillespie’s life.

“She’s great at reading people,” Gillespie said. “She’s really good at being supportive for other people. She’s an overall kind and caring person who doesn’t have a bad thing to say about anyone, which is something we really need.”

History teacher Doug Winkler agrees.

“Meredith is a great student,” Winkler said. “She works, she asks questions and she truly desires to learn and not just to get a grade, which is endearing to every teacher. She’s positive most of the time and even when she complains, she does it in a way that’s never insulting. As a teacher, you say ‘this is the kind of student I would love to have all of the time.’ She cares, she works hard and she’s smart.”

To get to this point in life, Rosheim had to put in hard work. Her determination and drive has pushed her to where she is.

“I’m proud of myself,” Rosheim said. “There’s definitely been times when things haven’t gone my way but I’ve been able to move past it and make it more of a learning experience, instead of an awful event that’s happened to me.”