MARYSVILLE Nancy Couls and Michael Stadum are the Marysville Kiwanis and Soroptimist Marysville School District Students of the Month for January. Both say their favorite subject is math, due to the objective nature of the discipline and both plan careers in the hard sciences.
Couls is one of many Marysville-Pilchuck High School girls who say they do well at higher math courses and the senior lists Advanced Placement calculus as a class thats tops in her book.
I just really like numbers, Couls said. Its just straight from the book its just really fun.
Math has been one of her better subjects since elementary school, largely because there is nothing subjective about math and there is always a right or a wrong answer.
Couls has won many academic awards during her high school years, including the Best Scholar-Athlete Award from Marysville Junior High School in ninth grade, the Outstanding Scholastic Award in 10th grade, she was a Crystal Lodge Junior of the Year nominee in 11th grade and as a senior was nominated for the Washington Scholars Award and the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship.
Couls is 5 8 and plays on the M-P basketball, volleyball and track teams, where she was an alternate at state championships for the 4 by 100-yard relay, as well as participating in triple jump and high jumps during the regular season.
It was pretty decent, I guess, Couls admitted sheepishly. I really love playing sports, and the girls on our team, it was really fun to play with them. It was really enjoyable.
For all her success the Getchell Hill resident said she is pretty laid back and well-rounded. She doesnt have any classes or teachers she dreads, and as might be expected she loves physical education. That would probably surprise someone looking at her extensive resume.
Im pretty relaxed person, she said. I guess I dont worry about stuff, I get things done.
She plans to attend Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz. where Couls might study either electrical engineering or pharmacology. The sunny climate and small Christian college are the ideal growth media for her intellect, she said.
I think its going to be an all-around better learning environment.
Her fellow student of the month is also a math wiz. Michael Stadum scored a 2,010 on his SAT test, after earning an initial 1,800 score on a practice run.
Actually I didnt study at all so, Im glad I pulled that out, Stadum said modestly.
He cops to padding his resume with lots of AP classes, not just for the possible college credits he can earn. His transcript groans with AP history, comparative politics, calculus and chemistry. His favorite class was AP chemistry for the degree of difficulty and the concepts themselves.
I like being challenged a little bit more, Stadum said. I did study a lot but it was like a sense of accomplishment. When I was done it felt really good to say I did it.
He also has taken physical science, computer and biology classes but he said calculus was another favorite, noting the ensemble nature of how the teacher has students work together on tasks.
That kind of makes it more enjoyable rather than being told what to do, he said.
He plays guitar for his church worship service and has volunteered for the YMCA fun run and his church auction and food drive. In addition to coaching tee-ball hes been a youth group leader and Sunday School leader too. He played baseball for a year but has been on the M-P tennis team for four years.
I can hold my own, Stadum said.
He plans to study civil engineering at Gonzaga University, where his elder sister and February 2005 Student of the Month Dannica Stadum is studying mechanical engineering. His father is a mechanical engineer at Boeing so he gets lots of encouragement to excel with school work.
Thats almost the expectation, he said dryly.