4-time SV class president gets job done
ZELIENOPLE — Go ahead. Call him Dorko.
“In elementary school I took a beating,” said Adam Dorko, 17, Seneca Valley senior class president, of his Eastern European surname. “But people have matured.”
He said everyone calls him Dorko, even his teachers.
“Some people don't even know my first name,” he said.
The uniquely monikered class president has been on the road to success since ninth grade, and there's no evidence he'll veer off course.
Dorko was elected class president in his freshman year at Seneca Valley, and has been re-elected since then.
“People know I can get the work done, and I'm good at fundraising,” Dorko said. whose drive and achievement have not affected his unassuming personality.
With a $30,000 senior prom in the planning stages, Dorko said much of his student council work revolves around fundraising. This year, the council, under Dorko's leadership, is selling “Senior 2011” T-shirts.
The shirt fronts proclaim the wearer to be a Seneca Valley Class of 2011 member, and the back lists the tiny names of each graduate in the about 600-strong class.
Dorko said the annual prom fashion show brought in $1,600. He and his fellow student council officers coordinated the multifaceted event.
Regarding school, Dorko said he appreciates the efforts of the Seneca Valley School Board and the creative programs administrators are continually initiating.
“Seneca Valley is constantly trying to catch up with other large school districts in the area, and they are constantly progressing with new innovations,” Dorko said.
He names gifted education teacher Dale Wagner as a teacher who has had a great affect on him. He said Wagner got him involved in extracurricular activities and has entered him in various academic competitions.Dorko is a team member in the Moot Court competition at the University of Pittsburgh last year, where Seneca Valley came in as a runner-up.In the competition, students chose an international war criminal and present a 20-minute argument for or against the criminal's appeal.Dorko's favorite subject at Seneca Valley is advanced placement government and politics because he finds it fascinating to see how political structures work.“Current events are discussed in class every day,” Dorko said.After graduation, Dorko plans to major in finance for his undergraduate degree, then enter law school. His ultimate goal is corporate law.“I've always been the argumentative type, so from a young age I've always wanted to be a lawyer,” Dorko said. “Plus, I like finance and business, so I thought I might as well combine the two.”Dorko has been accepted to Georgetown University, and is awaiting acceptance results from Yale, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania.Dorko credits his parents, David and Lydia, with helping to instill a hunger for success in him from a very young age.“They taught me to take advantage of every opportunity you have, every chance you get,” Dorko said.
<B>Age:</B> 17<B>Address: </B>Jackson Township<B>Family: </B>Parents, David and Lydia Dorko; sister Lara Dorko<B>Education: </B>Seneca Valley High School senior<B>Extracurricular activities:</B> School mascot, indoor track, pole vaulting, mock trial team, diving team, Model U.N. Club, president of the National Honor Society<B>Interest: </B>4th degree black belt in tae kwon do<B>Quote: </B>“People know I get the work done.”
