Whiz Kid: Julianna Laird

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Julianna Laird           

Whiz Kid’s Age: 13

Whiz Kid’s Grade: Eighth grade                       

Whiz Kid’s School: Galloway Township Middle School

Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: Julianna Laird is a straight-A student who is preparing to take a shot at playing in the Absegami High School marching band and is looking to a career either as a meteorologist or a pastry chef.

Whiz Kid’s Keys to Awesomeness:

Diverse is definitely a word that describes Julianna Laird. The eighth-grader plays the drums, tennis, is a straight-A student and volunteers in her community. But perhaps the one thing that shows how diverse she is would be her choice of career options.

“She either wants to be a meteorologist or a pastry chef,” her mother Patti said on Thursday. “They’re two opposite ends of the spectrum, but she really enjoys what she does.”

“Since I was very little, the Weather Channel was always on in my house. It was basically a part of my daily routine to watch the Weather Channel,” Julianna Laird said. “I was always so enthused by the weather, and when I was little, I happened to be terrified of thunderstorms. In fourth grade, I got stuck in the middle of a funnel cloud on top of the Ocean City bridge. I was terrified as it is, and that just made everything worse. When I got home, I did some research on funnel clouds, and I just got so interested. Ever since then, I've wanted to be a meteorologist, or something to do with weather. Science was always my favorite subject in school, and my experiences with weather just made me want to explain to people what I've learned about weather, and what other people can learn as well.”

She also loves baking, her mother said, but the time for her to make a decision concerning her career will come later down the road. For now, she’s focused on volunteering.

She was a member of a Girl Scout Troop that recently earned a silver award for their work with the Betty Bacharach Rehabilitation Center. The troop also performs beach clean ups in Brigantine, and cleans up Eighth Avenue in Galloway.

“Concerning my Silver Award project, the name was Gardening Activity Program at the Betty Bacharach Rehabilitation Center," Julianna Laird said. “We renovated the greenhouse, and built wheel chair accessible carts for the patients. We also held entertainment nights, consisting of music provided by us, and bingo with the patients. “

She also volunteers her time at senior homes.

“I like to volunteer because I love helping the community,” she said. “Helping other people in need makes me feel better about myself. Contributing to the community is such a good thing, and I feel that more people need to volunteer. If everyone volunteered a little bit, the world would be a much better place.”

“She likes to give back to the community,” said Patti Laird, who also does volunteer work with schools and in the community. “She feels lucky she can do things for other people.  She feels rewarded by doing it.”

To volunteer and work on her Girl Scouts project, she had to give up playing tennis, which she did for three years. She also gave up the sport to give herself more time to practice playing the drums, which she has done since she was in fourth grade and is looking forward to doing in high school.

“She loves music. Music is her world,” Patti Laird said. “She’s musically inclined. She gets a lot of satisfaction out playing, and she loves all kinds of music.”

“I'm a drummer, so I have to build up my wrist strength by doing certain warm-ups,” Julianna Laird said of her preparation. “Also, I practice from 15 minutes to one hour every day, just regular rudiments. I take drum lessons so I can improve on my playing, and I can play some really cool stuff. I'm in my school band, and this winter or spring I'll be starting marching band for Absegami High School.”

Julianna’s sister, Jessica, was a member of the band from 2005-09, so Julianna has already received a small taste of what it’s going to be like at the high school level.

“I was at every competition and practice for all four years,” she said. “I would be decked out in brown and gold and scream at the top of my lungs for them, so having that experience really made me want to do it. I can't wait to be on the field, performing.”