Thornock

SCHOLARLY STARS

Bonneville senior hits the mark

The third test was the charm for one Bonneville High School senior.

Katherine Thornock, 18, earned scores of 33 on the ACT test (only three points away from a perfect score of 36) the first two times she took it. Those scores were good, but Thornock wanted to do better. On her third try, she got a 35.

'We were really excited when she got those test scores and saw the opportunities that open up,' said Annette Thornock, Katherine's mother.

In addition to being a stellar student -- her GPA is 4.0 -- and test-taker, Thornock participates in scholastic team and fencing at Bonneville and is the book club president. Bonneville counselor Troy Cook credits Thornock's success to a combination of family support and work ethic.

'She has superb parental involvement in pushing her toward higher education,' Cook said. 'However, Katherine is very self-driven and that shows with the course work she's taking here and the volunteer work that she's doing after school.'

Outside of the classroom, one of Thornock's favorite ways to unwind is spending time with her 12-gauge shotgun.

'When I'm shooting I can relax, I can just focus on that and forget about anything that's bothering me,' Thornock said. She has taught basic National Rifle Association gun classes for women several times and enjoys helping women feel comfortable around firearms.

'Some of these women have never even fired a gun,' Thornock said. 'It's nice to teach them that there's nothing scary about it.'

Thornock and her family are hoping her extracurricular activities and ACT scores will help her hit her next target, admission to Stanford University.

Thornock was 'hooked' on Stanford after visiting the campus with her mother. It seemed like a beautiful place where famous ideas and people come from, she said. Her application is complete and she'll learn in December whether or not she was accepted.

'I feel OK for now, but I'm sure I'll get more nervous,' Thornock said of waiting out Stanford's decision. She plans to studying chemistry or creative writing.

Cook hopes Thornock will be an inspiration to other female students.

'I would hope that other young women would see (her possible admittance to Stanford) and want to pursue higher education in math and science,' he said.