Meet Emily Ritter
School: Honesdale High School.
Parents: Robert and Tina Ritter.
Plans: Attend Millersville University of Pennsylvania to major in biology with a focus in animal behavior and a minor in chemistry.
Emily Ritter is simply proud to be alive.
“Human life and life in general is so fragile,” Emily said. “I’m happy to just be breathing the air of Earth, and I think simply existing on this wild planet is the biggest accomplishment of all.”
Emily’s most rewarding school activity was her involvement with the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science
, she said. It taught her how to design her own research project, collect data, analyze the data and then draw scientific conclusions based on her findings.
“As I plan to work as a research biologist, this program directly correlates with my life goals and was very rewarding to participate in,” she said.
In 2016, Emily conducted a research project on color blindness in dogs for the 2016 PJAS competition. She placed first at the regional competition held at Wilkes University, and she went on to place second at the state competition held at Penn State University.
This year, her PJAS research studied how different scents affect the stress levels of shelter cats, she said.
Emily has been a member of Honesdale’s Reading Competition Team for her entire high school career. As a freshman, she placed third at regionals with her team, and she served as the team’s captain in both her junior and senior years. She has read more than 40 novels as part of the competition.
She also participated on Honesdale’s Envirothon team where she finished first at the regional competition, and she competed at the state competition held at Susquehanna University.
Emily’s other academic achievements include a 4.385 GPA, consistently achieving high honor roll status and membership in the National Honor Society. She only missed nine days in her entire high school career, and she had perfect attendance in her sophomore year.
In her free time, Emily, who is an identical twin, enjoys reading classic literature, spending time in nature and drawing plants and animals.
Someday, she hopes to become an animal research biologist “with a big dog and many cats,” and she wants to live near the ocean, she said.
She considers John Lennon to be her inspiration in life.
“He is my inspiration as he used fame to spread a message of peace and compassion around the world,” she said.
Emily’s philosophy of life is to live for the present.
“Don’t dwell on the past, don’t live for the future, but rather focus on and enjoy the present,” she said.
— FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY