About Lynne: Born July 30, 1989. Daughter of Jay and Linda DeYoung, of Schererville. Sister to Lisa, Laura and Jon. Granddaughter of Annabelle DeYoung, of Griffith, and Donald and Carol Doorn, of Michigan. Member of Community United Reformed Church in Schererville.

Accomplishments: Lynne DeYoung was valedictorian of the 2008 graduating class of Illiana Christian High School in Lansing. A National Merit Commended Scholar, she earned a 4.33 grade-point average and completed Advanced Placement English and calculus senior year. DeYoung was a member of National Honor Society and active in the school's tutor center and Big Brother/Big Sister program. She was on the math team that qualified for state all four years and involved in athletics. DeYoung earned two athletic varsity letters in basketball, cross country and track. She received MVP in track sophomore and junior years and was second team All Conference for basketball. She qualified for state in cross country this year and track all four years. DeYoung set school records in the 400-meter dash, 300-meter hurdles, 100-meter hurdles, 4 x 4 relay and the 800-meter medley. She will attend Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights in the fall to major in accounting. She's received a presidential and

athletic scholarship from the school.

Personal hero: "My dad. He's always pushed me to excel academically and sets a very good example for my Christian faith."

What I read: "I like reading a lot of fiction books. I like John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark and Karen Kingsbury. I also enjoyed some of the AP reading this year."

What I do for fun: "I go running and do a lot of sports. I love to read, play Frisbee and sometimes I work out."

People might be surprised to know: "Not only do I excel in the classroom, but I excel in the sports arena."

- SUE BERO, Times Correspondent

To nominate someone for this feature, e-mail slbero@hotmail.com.