Whiz KId: Devon Barber

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Devon Barber 

Whiz Kid's Age: 20         

Whiz Kid’s Grade: Sophomore           

Whiz Kid’s School: Muhlenberg College

Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: The Absegami High School graduate has been on the dean’s list every semester at college as she exits her sophomore year and heads into her junior year.

Whiz Kid’s Keys to Awesomeness:

Galloway Township native Devon Barber is a standout as an athlete and in the classroom. She has been on the dean’s list every semester during her first two years at Muhlenberg College and she was an NJSIAA scholar-athlete when she went to Absegami High School.

She was also first-team all-conference in softball and field hockey at Absegami, and is on the conference all-academic team in college.

Her cumulative GPA at Muhlenberg is 3.75, and she graduated from Absegami 13th in her class.

She currently volunteers three mornings a week at the . She is in school studying to be an occupational therapist, but that wasn’t her original intent when she enrolled at Muhlenberg.

“I was originally going for math,” said Barber, who added she became more interested in science once she began attending Muhlenberg, a school known for its science program. “I became more interested in science and psychology, and (neuroscience) put it all together.”

So, Barber is now a neuroscience major with an eye on going to graduate school to become an occupational therapist.

“Occupational therapy is how to help someone get from a wheelchair into bed, or from a chair into the shower,” Barber explained. “They work with stroke patients and people who have had aneurysms.”

At Bacharach, she learns on the job.

She was recruited to attend Muhlenberg to play softball, and her team won the conference championship this year.

“I also played field hockey in high school, but I didn’t do that my freshman year (in college),” Barber said. “I played my sophomore year, though, and I’m going to continue to play.”

It will help Barber stay busy, which is something she doesn’t seem to have a problem with anyway.

“Before I started going to college, my friends would tell me, ‘You’re going to have so much time now,’ but it hasn’t been that way at all,” Barber said. “I’m always busy and I like being busy.”

Editor’s Note:

Although the school year is over, there are still plenty of Whiz Kids out there waiting to be recognized. Little Leaguers, travel teams, summer camps, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, students who were overlooked during the school year and those making general contributions to the community are all potential Whiz Kids.

Send recommendations to Anthony.Bellano@patch.com.