Bryn Dolan

About Bryn: Born Oct. 3, 1994. Daughter of Andrew and Laurie Dolan, of Homewood. Sister to Clare. Granddaughter of Matthew and Clara Kozubowski, of Palos Hills, and Patricia Dolan, of Downers Grove. Member of St. Joseph Church in Homewood. Likes to read.

Accomplishments: Bryn Dolan, a sixth-grader at Millennium School, is a finalist in the Invest Write national essay contest, in which students across the country were asked to imagine themselves as the CEO of a pencil eraser company faced with the decision of taking the company public or staying private. She decided her company would remain private and her essay placed sixth out of about 600 essays submitted by students in sixth through eighth grade nationwide. She received a $100 gift card from the Foundation for Investor Education and a pizza party for her class from the Illinois Council for Economic Education. Dolan is in an accelerated math class and an enrichment program. She is active in Storytelling Club, yearbook, plays violin in the concert orchestra and sings with the choir. She likes writing poems and had three verses published in the school's literary magazine last year. Dolan takes private violin lessons along with piano lessons weekly.

She volunteers with her family to help senior citizens through Midwest Care Center and is an altar server at church. She is a member of The Valkyres traveling soccer team.

Personal hero: "My second-grade teacher, Emily Larsen at Willow School. Ever since second grade we've kept in touch. She's my favorite teacher. She's the person who started me with all my writing."

Favorite book: "The Harry Potter series. I like reading fantasy books."

What I do for fun: "I go on the computer to play Nancy Drew Mysteries and when my grandma comes over I like to play cards."

People might be surprised to know: "I like eating fish."

- SUE BERO, TIMES CORRESPONDENT