Ursuline Academy student takes time to volunteer and is in the top 3 of her class

BLUE ASH, Ohio - Kelly Kaes divides her time volunteering, maintaining a very high GPA at Ursuline Academy and being heavily involved in sports.

"I think you just need to know how to balance things and be able to focus on what's important at the time and really be able to prioritize what you're doing," said Kaes.

Kaes is also a member of the National Honor Society and serves as the vice-president of the student council.

Colleen Dehring, the assistant athletic director and soccer coach at Ursuline says Kaes has been an integral member of the soccer program for four years. This year, Kaes chose to stay a part of the team as a team manager.

"While she has not been the most talented player, she has been the most positive, respectful, hard-working player we have had. And this season as the manager, she has accepted her role, but still made an impact on the team," Dehring said. "She is at every practice, every team meeting and game. She does what is asked of her and does it with a smile on her face."

Dehring added that Kaes is the perfect example of a team player.

"The girls just know that she's giving everything she has to everything that she does. Because of that they look to her as a leader by example, if not in many other ways as well," Dehring said.

The senior says she feels blessed to be able to donate her time and help those less fortunate than her and give back to the community.

"The fact that it's actually helping people just makes it so much more gratifying and I think just that look on their faces when they receive help, it just kind of says it all, it can't be explained in words," said Kaes.

The inspiration to volunteer didn’t come far from home. Kaes says she saw her sisters helping out, and knowing she was the baby in the family, she had to not only carry on the tradition, but raise the bar set by her sisters.

Kaes plans on studying business in college.