By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

The classroom and the softball field have one glaring similarity, according to Pembroke Academy senior Stacy Seidner. Both require brains.

AIMING FOR EXCELLENCE – PA senior Stacy Seidner allowed just eight earned runs from through her first 101 innings pitched this season. But her best numbers came in the classroom, where she earned a 3.9 grade-point average. (Marc Thaler Photo)

A three-year member of the National Honors Society, Seidner said success on the diamond, just like the classroom, is based on one thing.

"I love it because it's all about thinking," Seidner said. "People think you stand around and wait for a ball. But you always have to be thinking."

Seidner, a softball team captain, has been a standout pitcher for the Spartans since her sophomore year. During that threeyear span, she started the majority of the team's games.

This year, Seidner was sensational from the pitcher's circle, allowing only just eight earned runs in her first 101 innings pitched.

She's also the star of her Amateur Softball Association summer team, once pitching the squad to a 1-0 state title-clinching victory.

On top of all that, Seidner's a captain and midfielder on the PA soccer team, and a manager for the boys basketball team.

Over the past year, Seidner has been recruited by several colleges for her athletic skills. And this fall, she'll attend Wheelock College in Boston on a scholarship.

Remarkably, her scholarship isn't athletic; it's academic. Seidner's passion and dedication to sports clearly mirrors a dedication to academics.

"I couldn't go a day without doing my homework," Seidner said. "It would just kill me."

As a member of NHS, Seidner has maintained a minimum 3.9 grade-point average during her membership, along with maintaining standards of character and leadership as required by the group.

She's also been an active member of the school's Key Club, organizing and performing regular community service activities, including an annual Thanksgiving dinner for senior citizens.

Seidner, humble about her success in so many different areas, said, "I like to keep busy because there's just not much to do around here."

She added that sports have helped form some of her greatest friendships.

"There are girls I played with in second grade that I'm still playing with now," she said. "That's probably my favorite part."

Along with memories of her friends, Seidner said she has many fond memories of her teachers at Pembroke Academy, particularly her honors history teacher, Chris Gleason.

Gleason led Seidner's class in a project during last year's presidential campaigns. Groups of students were given a candidate to profile, and because of the project, Seidner and some of her classmates met Wesley Clark, who was speaking at Keene State College. It was a big moment for Seidner.

"I used to be really shy," she said. "But Mr. Gleason helped me get confidence in myself. It was more than just teaching."

Seidner will be forced to forge new relationships next year at college, attending a small school of fewer than 600 students with no familiar faces.

When Seidner began thinking about college, she said she had visual images of a large quad with swarms of people walking around and people playing football.

But when she visited Wheelock, Seidner was drawn to the intimacy of the campus and the friendliness of everyone she dealt with.

And to seal the deal, Wheelock's softball coach happily welcomed Seidner to join the team.

At Wheelock, Seidner hopes to study special education or speech pathology. Having worked at summer camps for the past two years, her goal is to someday work with children.

This summer, Seidner said she plans to work at a day camp in Concord.

"I have to work outdoors," she said. "I can't be indoors in the summertime. It gets boring."

And based on Seidner's busy career at Pembroke Academy, "boring," it seems, is unacceptable.