Whiz Kid--Esther Cole-Conaway

Each week, Athens Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments.

Name: Esther Cole-Conaway

Age: 13

Grade: 8th

School: Clarke Middle School

Accomplishments: As a 7th grader, Esther took the SAT and rocked it, with a 4/5 on the writing portion and a 1600 on the test itself. Not bad for a 12-year-old!

Key to Awesomeness: Esther is a 13-year-old 8th grader at Clarke Middle School who has a 97.7 GPA. This year, she's taking a 9th grade math class on-line. Her mom, Megan Cole, a school nurse at Burney-Lyons-Harris Middle School, says Megan "is really dedicated to her school work. She's a hard-working girl, driven."

But academics isn't Esther's only interest. She's a trapeze artist who's been taking classes and performing at since she was six. She's even learned to choreograph some performances. Her years of trapeze have built her upper body strength so much that it was fairly easy for her to segue into climbing at Active Climbing. The facility is near the Barber Street home she shares with her mom and two youner brothers---which is great, because she's practicing there up to three hours a day.

In March of this year, Esther joined the competitive team at Active Climbing, her mom says. Last weekend, she got her first taste of competition. In a USA climbing event at Stone Summit in Atlanta, Esther placed 2nd in her age group. At Active Climbing, she helps out by belaying children at birthday parties, an activity that earns her a spot on the team.

(Some of her climbing ability may be inherited. Her dad, John Conaway, owns Iron John's Tree Service and climbs trees for his work. There may be a connection, her mom says.)

Somewhere in between school work and working out on a trapeze bar or a climbing wall, Esther finds time to practice the cello. She's been playing the instrument since she was in sixth grade, and she participates in Clarke Middle's school orchestra. After school, she likes to go to in Five Points with her friends, her mother said. Esther doesn't have a lot of time for eating out, since her practice at Active Climbing often goes until 7:30 in the evening.

Oh, did I mention that she's also on Clarke Middle's cross country team?

It's clear that Esther has discipline, dedication and desire as well as talent. It will be wonderful to see how high this particular Owl soars in the next few years.

We want to hear about amazing youth in Athens and select one each week as the Whiz Kid. Submit your nomination in our comment box below or email the information to rebecca.mccarthy@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information:

• Nominator's Name
• Nominator's E-Mail
• Whiz Kid's Name
• Whiz Kid's Age
• Whiz Kid's School
• Whiz Kid's Accomplishment
• Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness (What makes him/her successful? Please include a 150-word description)