Michelle Steinhebel, Lebanon Express writer | Posted: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 5:00 pm
Kaitlyn Stone is not only a princess, she's also going to be a sailor.
The 17-year-old Lebanon High School senior signed up for the U.S. Navy the day after she turned 16. Stone will report to Great Lakes, Ill., on Aug. 5 for boot camp.
"I'm very adventurous," she said. "I thought I could stay and go to college, but with the Navy I'll get to travel. When I turned 16, I knew this is what I wanted to do."
No one in her immediate family has a military background.
In the Navy, Stone will work as a hospital corpsman, which is similar to a medical assistant.
"I will be working in a Naval hospital, but I really want to be on a medical ship. They travel to poverty-stricken areas, take people aboard, and help them," she explained.
Her ultimate goal is to become a psychologist.
"I want to help people. I'm fascinated by the mind, I think there's so much people don't know yet about the human brain," Stone said.
Physical activities top the princess's list. She enjoys kayaking from River Drive to Gills Landing. Her freshman and sophomore years she participated in cheerleading and tennis, which she still plays for fun. She was on the LHS Explosion! dance team her junior and senior year. Her junior year, the team took first place in state competitions; this year the team took third at state.
At LHS, she is involved with Students Today Aren't Ready for Sex (STARS), Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA), and is a news anchor and script writer for the school's television news. She also is the Associated Student Body secretary. She is part of the Social Systems academy.
In between her school and sports activities, Stone works at Dutch Bros in Lebanon and attends the Lebanon Mennonite Church.
Her parents are Bev Smethers of Lebanon and John Stone of Salem. She has three sisters, Nicole, 20, Brittney, 15, and Carly, 7, all of Lebanon, and one brother J.T., 10, of Salem. She moved to Lebanon four years ago from California and lives on a farm with chickens, sheep, ducks, dogs, cats, and her favorite, pigs. Everyday she feeds the pigs and makes sure her favorite, Ogie, gets belly scratches and playtime.
She is proud to be a Strawberry Princess.
"It's really important to be a good role model to the whole town. It's a big job and a big responsibility. I really like it," she said.