Their interests may differ, but high school seniors Abby Gomulkiewicz, Jeffrey McNerney and Tian Kisch have all made an investment in their schools — one that is sure to pay off.

During their tenure, The Bear Creek School’s (TBCS) Gomulkiewicz and Redmond High School’s (RHS) McNerney and Kisch have all gone beyond their roles as students to leave their personal stamps on campus before saying goodbye.

Gomulkiewicz will graduate on Saturday while McNerney and Kisch will receive their diplomas on Wednesday. And then all three will venture out to make their marks in the world.

GOMULKIEWICZ: SHADES OF GRAY

Gomulkiewicz discovered her passion for public speaking through a Model United Nations program when her family moved to London her sophomore year.

Upon her return to Bear Creek, Gomulkiewicz, who has attended TBCS since kindergarten besides that year in London, wanted an outlet for her passion.

“I wanted some competitive speaking opportunities,” she said.

As a junior, Gomulkiewicz joined Bear Creek’s forensics program (forensics is the classical designation for speech and debate).

“I could tell she was a very driven, passionate young lady,” said program head coach Kevin Davison. “That view of her was reinforced through the years.”

He added that Gomulkiewicz has a keen mind and likes to ask difficult questions and get involved in a higher level of critical thinking.

While most high schoolers would shy away from this, Gomulkiewicz thrives on it. The 18-year-old loves the complexities surrounding forensics topics such as international relations and current events, saying so many things are composed of so many facets that simplifying things only tells part of the story.

“Some people like to see things in black and white,” Gomulkiewicz said. “I like to see everything in gray.”

Gomulkiewicz also loves being on stage. She has participated in TBCS performances since sixth-grade. This year, she played Rosaline in Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” and the title character in “Alice,” an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

“I love being able to dress up and be someone I’m not,” Gomulkiewicz said.

Outside of school the 18-year-old does Scottish Highland Dance, which connects her cultural heritage with an athletic outlet.

Next year, Gomulkiewicz will attend The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. She will be part of a joint-degree program — the first of its kind in the United States — with the University of St Andrews in Scotland. With her love of the past, especially pertaining to Russia, Gomulkiewicz will major in history and when she graduates, will receive a degree from both schools.

She may pursue further degrees in international relations or policy (her dream job is to be the U.S. ambassador for Russia), but will decide when the time comes.

“I’m taking my undergraduate years to pursue something I really love,” she said.

MCNERNEY: STUDENT-STAFF RELATIONS

As Associated Student Body (ASB) president this year, McNerney has made it his mission to make student government accessible to RHS students and staff alike.

Having been part of student government since junior high school, the 18-year-old said for his senior year, he especially wanted to improve student-administration relations.

“I’ve always loved bringing people together,” said McNerney, who has a 3.6 GPA.

His goal was to make sure staff and administration knew who their student contacts were and to make sure ASB did more than organize dances and assemblies. He wanted ASB to have an “active role in school policy.”

One way they did this was by having monthly meetings with RHS principal Jane Todd.

McNerny knows his efforts have made a difference just by the positive response and “good jobs” ASB has received from staff this year.

But with all great jobs come great challenges.

McNerny said dealing with budget cuts has been difficult this year. ASB has had to plan their events on a lower budget, which meant less glamour than previous years.

Another challenge has been planning events and programs while keeping in mind that freshmen will be entering RHS the fall of 2012.

“(RHS) is going to be completely different in two years,” McNerny said.

Aside from ASB, McNerny is part of RHS’s jazz choir. In elementary school, he saw older students singing at the end-of-the-year assembly. After the performance, McNerny wantd to be part of the choir as well.

So McNerny joined the choir the following year and has been singing ever since.

“I love music,” he said. “It’s been a way for me to meet people I normally wouldn’t meet.”

McNerny has been part of Lake Washington School District’s (LWSD) Quest program his entire schooling career and said because of this, his classmates usually remained the same from year to year.

McNerny has also been part of Boy Scouts. He earned his Eagle Scout ranking last year, the organization’s highest ranking. McNerny’s service project for his Eagle Scout was building an orienteering course for map and compass practice. The course was built at Beaver Lake Park in Sammamish and took McNerny 150 hours in addition to about 100 hours from other volunteers.

Next year, McNerny will attend the University of Washington. He plans to study science and maybe business and said he wants to work in science, but wants to focus on the people rather than development and research.

KISCH: PRESERVING HIGH SCHOOL LIFE

Even though her high school career is ending, Kisch, 18, has worked to ensure future classes are able to experience high school life to its fullest.

This year, the ASB vice president ventured outside the RHS “bubble” to raise awareness of the LWSD’s February levy addressing the district’s overcrowding issues — something that directly affects students at RHS.

Kisch and her fellow ASB officers weren’t even aware of the levy until Todd informed them. And when they learned about the issue, Kisch knew the issue was something ASB needed to address and let their classmates know what was happening.

“(Students are) supposed to know,” said Kisch, who has a 3.96 GPA.

Working with the Lake Washington Citizens Levy Committee, Kisch and ASB rose levy awareness among students, encouraged seniors of age to register to vote and told students to encourage their parents to vote.

Even though she’s leaving, Kisch said some of the possibilities if the levy failed such as double shifting, would adversely affect sports, clubs and other after school activities, which are part of the high school experience. With a younger sister who will soon begin high school, Kisch did not want her sister to miss out on opportunities.

And if anyone knows anything about after-school activities it’s Kisch.

Her role in ASB has had her staying at school late into the night painting posters and organizing events. Sometimes Kisch thought spending the night at school would just be easier since she’d have to come back early for jazz choir.

“You stay here for a pretty long time after school,” she said about her ASB duties.

Fortunately, Kisch was able to retire at home in her own bed rather than find a comfortable section of floor at RHS.

Next year Kisch will attend Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. She’d been accepted to several other schools including Duke University, Middlebury College and the University of Souther California, which offered her a full-ride scholarship. But when she received her acceptance letter from Harvard, the decision was made for her — especially since the school offered a fair amount of financial assistance.

“How do you turn down a college like that?” Kisch said.

She plans to study East Asian studies, which is due in part to her Chinese heritage — she was born in China, adopted and moved to the United States with her parents. Kisch is also considering studying government or history. As a career, she would like to do something in foreign service such as working as a consulate or for the U.S. Embassy.