Milk: It builds strong bones, gives you nine nutrients and gets you into “Seventeen Magazine.” Michelle Lassen is a 15-year-old Pennfield student and lacrosse standout. She is also a Milk Mustache Celebrity. Lassen was selected as one of nine girls from across the country to represent “The Power of Nine” and appear in a Got Milk? ad in the teen magazine’s September issue. The idea: be one of nine girls that embodies confidence in knowing that lowfat milk’s nine essential nutrients, along with making good food choices, help girls look and feel their best. As a Milk Mustache Celebrity, Lassen …

Mikhail Khodak, 17, of Hatfield, may one day grow up to be an essayist and journalist like Tom Wolfe, Gore Vidal or Arthur Miller. For now, he will simply revel in being one of 17 finalists— four from North Penn High School—in the Penn State Essay Contest. Khodak was chosen as a finalist because his impromptu essay in response to an article written by New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman had a lot of control, analysis and writing skill. “I enjoyed it,” Khodak said of the article. “I enjoyed a topic I’ve read before. His ideas are very interesting.” Friedman’s article was called “Global …

There’s a slim chance Ishaan Nerurkar would ever be at a loss for words. The North Penn High School junior was one of four students named as finalists in the Pennsylvania State University Essay Contest. The task: Write an impromptu essay in under an hour after reading “Global Village Idiocy,” a New York Times article written by Thomas Friedman. The goal: Write an essay that has evidence of a broad range of analytical and writing skills. “My English teacher told me about it,” said Nerurkar, 16. “The article was on the impact on the Internet on a global society and how it’s connecting the world…

Shawn Kurnik's Eagle Scout project was just in time for Little League season. The 18-year-old North Penn senior and member of Troop 62 at St. John's UCC built a safety zone around the batting cage at the Moyer's Road Park, in order to keep youths safe from baseballs flying out of the net. "I'm very into sports, and I was looking for anything in the area that could help out a sports league," said Kurnik, a WWE fan. "Lansdale Little League was looking into making the field safer, so I helped out and built a fence for them." Kurnik visited the field and measured out a five-foot distance between …

You can breathe easier out there, knowing that Matthew Gibbs made the parks in Lansdale a little more beautiful. Gibbs, 18, is an Eagle Scout with Troop 62, sponsored by St. John's United Church of Christ. He recently completed his service project in the borough. "I planted 23 trees in parks around Lansdale," he said. Those parks are Fourth Street Park, White's Road Park and Wissahickon Park. "I wanted to help my community as an Eagle Scout," the North Penn High School senior said. "I was in Boy Scouts a while, so I wanted to take the next step." Gibbs approached Lansdale Borough Parks and …

North Penn High School junior Minzo Kim went through a phase in ninth grade where he didn’t want to play the cello, an instrument he has sat behind since the third grade. “My dad gave me an ultimatum,” the Montgomery Township resident said, “practice more or I’ll sell it. I didn’t want him to get rid of it.” Minzo switched cello teachers so he could have more time for school. “Through my teacher, it turned me around and put me into the scene. Now, it’s something I really like to do; it’s the only thing I like to do. Math and science don’t appeal to me.” If it wasn’t for that ultimatum, Minzo …

Erica Tolton, Dani Corradetti and Justin Dumke know their destinies are not held in the stars, but in themselves. Shakespeare, whose quote is paraphrased above, would be proud of this week's trio of Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch Whiz Kids. To be or not to be wasn’t a question at the recent Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival high school competition at DeSales University in Center Valley. The students in Andrea Roney’s theatre class were either going to win or lose at the festival. They came, they performed, they conquered first place as a team for the highest total combined scores. For all …

Tim Bilodeau pumped his foot on his effects pedal a couple times until he got it to the right setting. He adjusted the volume on his amp, and then proceeded to do a final tuning before rocking out to “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson. He set the volume, grabbed his bow, nestled the electric violin under his chin and jammed, albeit classically. This Whiz Kid, an eighth-grader at Penndale, has a passion for computers and electronics. He also has a passion for the violin and orchestral performance ever since he picked up the instrument in the third grade. Tim, an Odyssey of the Mind member, …

Veronica Grosse, of Montgomery Township, knows her purpose in life. The 15-year-old Lansdale Catholic student, and this week’s Whiz Kid, is meant to bring awareness to the effects and consequences of an untreatable genetic disease called cystic fibrosis (CF). The disease took the life of her best friend—her sister, Samantha, a Gwynedd-Mercy Academy graduate— in November 2009 at age 22. “It was rough,” Veronica said. “Me and my sister were really close.” She said when someone has CF, you don’t know it. Cystic fibrosis causes, among other things, scarring and cyst formation within the pancreas…