The piercing above her left eye, the spiked collar around her neck, black clothes and pink streak of hair belie the academic bent behind Kelsey Palma’s “goth” exterior.

In fact, Kelsey, 15, says she really doesn’t like gothic, she just wanted to be different from the other students at Braden Junior High School.

She does it with more than external appearances, however. During her two years at the school, the North Kingsville resident set herself apart with academic performance, earning straight-A’s in both seventh and eighth grade. On her last day of school, her accomplishments were recognized with an Outstanding Scholar trophy for both school years.

Kelsey was the only Braden student to receive the trophy this year, although in past years other students rose to the challenge.

It will be a while before it happens again, however. There were no seventh graders who had a 4.0 in the past year, so there will not be a Outstanding-School trophy winner next year, either.

The daughter of Patsy and Greg Palma, Kelsey is a self-motivated learner.

“When it comes to education, Kelsey makes it easy on us because she does it all on her own,” Patsy said.

Kelsey said there’s no secret to how she accomplishes perfect grades.

“I prepare for class,” she said. “And when I’m going to take a test, I study for it, unlike a lot of other students.”

She makes homework a priority — it gets done before she plays video games or watches television.

“Her parents never have to tell her to go study,” says Cindy Bucci, their neighbor who considers Kelsey her “second daughter.” “She’s very independent. She takes her education very seriously.”

Kelsey’s interests in dance, music and art are more likely to distract her from academics than electronic media. She has been a student with Colleen’s Studio of Danse for nearly 10 years. She plays French horn and trumpet in the school band and is learning the alto horn. Kelsey loves art; her father admired one of her drawings so much he had it tattooed on one of his legs.



Well-rounded

Patsy said her daughter is one to give to others. When she had hair down to her waist, Kelsey had it cut and donated the hair to Locks of Love.

“She’s very well-rounded,” said Patsy.

This summer, Kelsey is taking three classes through the Allegro Program, held at the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School. Her choices: Japanese, art and robotics.

“I like robots,” said Kelsey, who was wearing a retro-robot design T-shirt.

Neither Kelsey nor her parents can identify the source of her unconventional fascinations or motivation. Bucci says Kelsey is a perfectionist and that trait drives her to be the best, regardless of her pursuit.

“When she gets a B or C on a test, she gets really upset,” Patsy said. “She’s really hard on herself and she will punish herself.”

Kelsey has broad goals for her life that require self-discipline. She already knows she wants to be the valedictorian of her class.

“I want to be successful. When I get out of high school, I want to go to college and get a good job,” Kelsey said.

She has no idea what that job will be, but her mother feels Kelsey would do well in any career that involves helping others, such as being a counselor.

That image clashes with her outward appearance.

“If you saw her on the street, you wouldn’t think that she’s a straight-A kid,” Bucci said.

Patsy feels her daughter’s style causes some students and even teachers to wrongly assess her.

“A lot of people look at Kelsey and label her,” Patsy says. “They don’t get the chance to know the person. Kelsey gets a lot of heartache from kids at school. She wears a lot of black and piercing. They just look at the image.”

“I’m really not goth,” Kelsey said. “I just like to wear the stuff. People label me like that, and I don’t like it.”

“She likes to be different,” Patsy says.