When Angie Church discovered she might inadvertently destroy reality if she invented a time machine, she decided to search for a dream with less potential for devastating side effects.
That was a crushing blow, but the 11-year-old said she is still interested in physics and dreams of one day attending either Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Georgia Tech.
In the meantime, she fills her week with a wide range of activities, from serving on Nolan Elementary School’s student council and studying tae kwan do – she recently earned her black belt – to playing piano and handbells.
Who knows, she said, somewhere along the way she may discover a less-catastrophic passion.
“I’m probably going to do many things [in middle school] but keep an eye on which ones I like and which ones I don’t really care for,” she said. “That will help me make my career decision, if I keep trying all these new things and find what I like the best.”
Earlier this year, Angie began studying guitar and recently ended a month-long stint as a volunteer in her school’s comprehensive developmental classroom for special-needs students.
When she enters sixth grade at Signal Mountain Middle/High School this fall, Angie said she’s excited by the prospect of new after-school opportunities.
“I’m definitely going to do more,” Angie said, laughing.
Although she praises her daughter’s time-management skills, that statement elicits an audibly in-drawn breath from Lyn Church. With so much on her plate already, there’s not much breathing room in Angie’s schedule as it is, her mother said.
“I’ll be the first one to clear the calendar to make time, because we can’t sacrifice sleep,” Church said. “I’m trying to let go and let her make sure she has it in check but also make sure, ‘OK, what do you need me to do this week? Do we need to clear this? Do we need to shuffle?'”
Church and Angie’s father, Chris Church, are both engineers and have sought to instill in Angie and her brother, Eric, that school takes priority, she said.
“We’ve always told the kids that their job in this family is school,” Church said. “God let them be a person in a country where we have freedom. It’s our responsibility to try to utilize that.”
Angie has earned straight A’s since second grade. She has also received numerous academic awards, including representing her school at the 2011 Regional Spelling Bee and placing second in two categories of Nolan’s Reflection Arts contest last year.
Carol Downs has been Angie’s gifted-education instructor since third grade. She said Angie is the kind of student who will take on difficult tasks with a positive attitude.
“All children don’t do that,” Downs said. “She has an excellent work ethic because she will accept any challenge. She always works to improve herself.”
To Angie, devoting herself to her studies is a forgone conclusion, since that will be the key to achieving her dream – whatever that turns out to be.
“Everyone has the ability to learn, and I’ve taken advantage of mine and put it to good use,” she said. “I know that if I work hard now, it will pay off later … [and] I might win a scholarship to go to the big expensive college I’m hoping to.”
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205.