About Stephanie:

Born June 29, 1988. Daughter of Lawrence and Jean Kucsera, of Highland. Sister to Kyle and Janelle. Granddaughter of Dorothy Kucsera, of Hammond. Member of St. James Parish in Highland.

Accomplishments: Stepanie Kucsera is a freshman at the University of Indianapolis, double majoring in theater education and English education. She is taking six classes and was named to the dean's list first semester for having straight As. Kucsera is a member of the theater department and works with all the shows; she will be in "Red Herring," a dinner theater show later this month; rehearsals are 7 to 10 p.m. every day. Last month, Kucsera traveled to the American College Theater Festival in Milwaukee to compete in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition. She also performed in "The Shape of Things" that traveled to Wisconsin and worked on the costume crew. Kucsera received a Dean's Scholarship based on academics along with a theater department scholarship. A 2007 graduate of Highland High School ranked in the top 10 of her class with a 10.86 grade point average (based on a 10-point scale), Kucsera was a member of National Honor Society and president and choreographer for the theater

company. She was cast in lead and supporting roles in all the shows (a total of 10) and as a sophomore stage managed the production of "The Odd Couple." Kucsera was treasurer of National Art Honor Society, a member of French Honor Society and sang with varsity choir. She is named in Who's Who Among American High School Students and The National Honor Roll.

Personal hero: "Mr. James Boylan, my sixth-grade teacher at Merkley Elementary School. He's the one that got me interested in the fine arts."

What I read: "Historical fiction, lots of it. I just read ‘The DaVinci Code' and enjoyed it a lot."

What I do for fun: "I enjoy spending time with friends, going to the movies, the beach, shopping and I like going out for coffee and reading."

People might be surprised to know: "I actually was considering a career in archeology."

-SUE BERO, Times Correspondent

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