Whiz Kid: Rachel Marcus

Rachel Marcus is known for her smile and caring ways. She's plain old kind and likeable.

An honors student since her first marking period at Amity Middle School, Rachel has always been very passionate about her education and is adored by teachers, past and present.

She is a good student, but it's not her academic successes that her parents are most proud of. It is her giving nature and involvement in local organizations.

For example, she is an active member of the Student Council and enjoys being involved in all aspects of the school community. She hopes to be able to continue her involvement in student government at Amity High School next year. Rachel is also a member of the Youth Services Advisory Board and reports news from the middle school at the advisory board meetings. This year she joined the Fabulous Friends after school program, a group that works with students with special needs.

Rachel has studied piano for 8 years, and gives her family many hours of pleasure listening to her play. Rachel has also become involved in volleyball this year, playing on the Panther team. She looks forward to her practices and games each week. She enjoys being in the spotlight, but what makes her special is that she enjoys shining the spotlight on others.

Her long-term goal is to be a pediatrician as she loves working with children of all ages and abilities. Rachel has felt strongly about helping children suffering from illness for many years, and has donated her hair twice to Locks for Love hoping to help another child. She has also spent quite a bit of time working with the Ronald McDonald house in New Haven; cooking and serving meals to families and children with life-threatening illnesses. She has even been able to use the Spanish that she has learned as many of the children come up from Puerto Rico for specialized treatment at Yale.

Another passion of Rachel’s is animals. She has spent many days volunteering at animal shelters with her parents and grandfather. She would like to continue this work and become even more involved in helping animals as she gets older.

Always eager to learn, Rachel completed her studies at her synagogue and celebrated her Bat’ Mitzvah this past May. However, she continues to want to expand her knowledge and has joined Makom, a weekly education program that teaches students about their culture, religious philosophy, and ancestry.