Kierstie Shellman an outstanding 11-year-old

Eleven-year-old Kierstie Shellman manages to stand out in just about every area in her young life.

Between school activities and gymnastics, where she spends more than 22 hours a week training at Funtastics, she still finds time to help her school place in the top 18 finalists in the “National School of Character” program, sponsored through the Character Education Partnership in Washington, D.C.

“We have a character program at school called ‘Spirit of Skyway,’ and there was an essay contest about what ‘Spirit of Skyway’ means to me,” said Kierstie, a fifth-grader at Skyway Elementary. “I did it, and the principal chose mine to send to Washington, D.C.”

“Kierstie’s letter was just amazing,” said Pam Pratt, Skyway principal. “She wrote how our character program has helped her strive for excellence, to be her best … it was just incredible. We could only send one student letter, and hers was so good we included it in our application.”

Kierstie was also selected by her teachers to be on the Spirit Squad, a leadership program for top students. She was also nominated by her peers to be a Peer Mediator. In addition, she participates in the special choir at school, otherwise known as the Star Spangled Show Stoppers.

When not at school, Kierstie is usually at the gym training five days a week.

Kierstie is part of the JETS at Funtastics, which stands for Junior Elite Trainers, and she hopes all her hard work will help her eventually earn a college gymnastics scholarship, she said. She attends competitions throughout the region, and recently placed third in the all-around event for her age/level group at the Great West Gym Fest, a recent competition at the Coeur d’Alene Resort, which featured gymnasts from as far away as Hawaii and Alaska.

“I like the challenges that gymnastics brings,” said Kierstie, who started gymnastics when she was almost 3 years old. “I like the competitions, getting to travel, and my coaches.”

Kierstie’s mom, Lisa Shellman, adopted Kierstie when she was nearly 8 months old from India, and says her daughter has never been one to just sit back and watch – she always wants to participate.

“When she was little, she broke her arm, and the next week I took her to gymnastics practice. I was talking to her coach, and she said she would make sure Kierstie didn’t do anything,” Lisa recalled. “And then I looked over, and she was hanging from the bars with only her broken arm.”

With help from her grandparents, Kierstie and her mom are able to juggle school, work, gymnastics and everything else. Yet, Lisa is still impressed with Kierstie’s internal motivation and her ability to balance all of her activities and responsibilities.

“I’m proud of how she organizes her life, and as school has become harder, her perseverance to get everything done,” Lisa said. “Monday is her day off from gym, so a lot of time she spends her hours after school and before bedtime doing homework.”

“Kierstie excels in whatever she does,” added Pam, the principal. “I’ve watched her in the classroom, I’ve watched her in the gym. She’s an amazing girl – your eventual valedictorian.”