Corinth girl learns, writes poetry, volunteers, never stops

CORINTH – Laila Sarah Dylan Sholtz-Ames is not your typical high school student.

Home-schooled and in the 12th grade, she is also a part-time student at University College in Bangor.

She has also written a book of poems, “… And So We Remember.” Published in June, it commemorates the events and aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001.

Sholtz-Ames is a Girl Scout, volunteers with 4-H working with young children and the elderly, hikes, swims and likes to read and cook. In other words, she keeps a schedule that would bring many others to their knees.

She began writing at age 7 when her mother and teacher gave her an assignment to write an essay for a contest. She wasn’t sure she liked writing, but it was a school assignment, and she had no choice. She discovered she loved writing and hasn’t stopped since. Several writing contests and prizes later, she turned to poetry.

After watching a newscast last year commemorating the anniversary of 9/11, Sholtz-Ames was moved to write a series of poems, which were eventually culled to 26 – one for each letter of the alphabet, and dedicated to those who were affected by the disaster. Her book also is dedicated to the two women who have been most influential in her life – her mother, Laura Sholtz-Ames, and her Girl Scout adviser, Karen Keim.

As a part-time student at University College, Laila is looking forward to entering college next fall as a freshman with an eye toward a major in journalism and English, and an eventual career writing for a newspaper or news magazine. Laila plans to obtain an undergraduate degree in three years.

Girl Scouts has played a major role in Sholtz-Ames’ life. She began as a Daisy Girl Scout and is now a teen member of Corinth Troop 70.

She has earned the Girl Scout Bronze and Silver awards and is well on her way to earning the Girl Scout Gold Award. With all the prerequisites completed, she is putting together plans for her major project. She is in conversation with the local elementary school in hopes of starting an after-school program. When she gets approval for the project, she’ll be a few months away from Girl Scouting’s highest award.

Sholtz-Ames hasn’t wasted her time in the summer, either. For the past 13 years, she, her older sister Ariel, and her parents, Bill Ames and Laura Sholtz-Ames, have spent summers at Acadia National Park doing volunteer work, clearing trails, taking census of trail use and continuing her education in an outdoor classroom.