NEWS: Teen determined to stretch her comfort zone BY GENEVIEVE POSTLETHWAIT gpostlethwait@paducahsun Jordan Rudolph, senior at McCracken County High School, is the Paducah Bank Teen of the Week. Jordan Rudolph knows and nurtures what she loves, but shes also not afraid to venture into the unfamiliar. In fact, shes oddly comfortable outside her comfort zone. Though the thought of being in a theater production once intimidated Rudolph, last year she enrolled in a drama class and auditioned for McCracken County High Schools production of Footloose. She got a part as a member of the ensemble cast for Footloose, this fall she was stage manager for You Cant Take it With You, and this spring shell audition for Seussical. Rudolph said that before getting involved with the drama department at McCracken, she was shy. Shes always loved to sing and was involved in the show choir at Heath High School but never imagined shed be so involved in theater. I am so glad I put myself out there, Rudolph said. I am just a completely different person this year because of it. I loved it so much. ... It makes me happy just to think about it! Rudolph, daughter of Bart and Tammy Rudolph of Kevil, is the Paducah Bank Teen of the Week. Each Monday, The Sun features a different teen selected from nominees submitted by guidance counselors across western Kentucky and southern Illinois. Next spring, a Teen of the Year will be chosen from the weekly winners. The Teen of the Year will receive a $2,500 scholarship. Rudolph hopes that theater will continue to be a part of her life after high school, but shes long been determined to devote her life to her first love: children. Her dream is to become a pediatrician and then eventually a pediatric surgeon. Its an ambitious dream, but one she seems more than capable of attaining. Her teenage years have not only been marked by academic excellence - she stands to be named valedictorian this spring - but also above-and-beyond school involvement and community service. In high school shes been involved in more than just choir and theater, earning positions as vice president and president of the National Honor Society and Future Business Leaders of America, respectively. Also, through the Heartland Worship Center of Paducah Youth Group, shes taken part in a long list of community service projects. Her favorite project, she said, has been Jumpstart. Every summer Heartland Worship Center hosts Jumpstart, an event that gives clothes and necessities to under-privileged children in the community, getting them ready and excited to go back to school. Its so awesome, Rudolph said, because we get to see how happy the kids are getting new clothes, and I even get to paint the little girls nails for the first day of school. Its really fun. Its a blessing to me to be able to do that. She also volunteers regularly in her churchs nursery and Health Elementarys library, has worked as a baby sitter for years and recently began working part-time at Kohls. If and when she gets stressed, she said she relies on her faith in God to give her peace, and leans on her family - at home, school and church - to calm her nerves. And when it comes down to it, she said, shes simply determined. Honestly, I would say my parents are the reason why Im so determined, Rudolph said. They always push me - not to limits that I would be uncomfortable with and not for their sake, but because they know thats what I want - and they always support me in what I do. Contact Genevieve Postlethwait, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8651 or at gpostlethwait@paducahsun.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 14:43:23 +0000
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