This Senior spotlight goes to Aylah Purdum. Purdum has been a Bulldog for most of her life coming to the district in the 4th grade and starting her path to the class of 2023. Purdum has done many things throughout her life and will continue to do so much more.

Purdum has participated in many different activities in the 9 years she has been at Lakeview. One of them is Drama Club which she has been in since Freshman year. Her love for Drama Club has inspired her to go above and beyond.

Purdum states, “Joining the drama club during my freshman year was an experience I will never forget. The club helped me find so many friends and has been a hugely important part of my life over the last few years. Because of the opportunities it has provided me and the enjoyment I got from it, I now am considering minoring in Theater in college.”

One of the things that Purdum is most proud of is helping grow the Drama program. She was able to do this by being a council member and having a lot more say in the things she would not have done before. With this Purdum has made more than a positive impact on not only the students here but the community.

Throughout Purdum’s many years here, she has been in countless extra-curricular activities such as Marching Band, Drama Club, GSA, and NHS this year, as well as Sr.Beta and French Club. One of her biggest strengths is balancing school, extra-curricular, and other things outside school and maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

Lakeview has prepared Purdum for her bright future ahead. Purdum has taken countless CCP classes that have helped her understand the workload and difficulty of college. However, Purdum still had trouble finding classes that challenged her. Even in middle school she has never felt properly challenged by the classes at Lakeview and is hoping to have more interest at Dartmouth.

Purdum says, “Honestly the biggest obstacle for me in school was finding classes and work that challenged me. I took all the advanced classes I could, but I found them to be easy or not time-consuming. In high school, I was able to have more control over my schedule and take harder classes, though I still found some of them to be less difficult than I hoped. My biggest challenge has been sitting through those classes that bored me and discovering what classes and materials would keep my interest and challenge me intellectually.”

Purdum is planning on attending Dartmouth College with a full ride. Purdum discovered she loved the Dartmouth campus and the community after an on-campus visit. Her excellent grades and hard work led to the ultimate college financial aid package with Dartmouth offering her around $80,000 per year. She is attending Dartmouth to study biology/pre-med and then to eventually become a pediatrician. Purdum will also be in the marching band playing the tuba, which she has done all 4 years of high school.

Many things had interested Purdum in becoming a pediatrician but her main reasoning was Covid-19.

Purdum says, “I had already been considering a career in medicine, but seeing the shortage of doctors and the horrors of the virus over the last few years, I solidified my opinion. Now I want to major in Biology so that I can go on to be a doctor and help as many people as I can.”

Purdum would tell her freshman self many things and one of them is not to worry.

Purdum states, “Everyone is going to tell you that classes get harder every year and warn you about taking a full schedule with those hard classes, but it’s really not that bad and you shouldn’t worry so much about doing well in school because you most definitely will.”

Even with Senior year coming to an end, it is still Purdum’s favorite. She loves the classes she is taking this year and has been more involved with the school, friends, and family. What makes her proud to be a Bulldog is the academic standard and difficult courses that Lakeview offers.

Purdum has always had a love for helping others. We are sad to see her go, but happy she will be going into the next stage of her life. Lakeview wishes you the best of luck!