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Katie Takach of Cape Elizabeth has helped a Kenyan girl become a nurse and taught children in Guatemala City.

Press Herald coverage of Cape Elizabeth High School's graduation continues with a list of graduates, top seniors, award winners and a short video of graduation.

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KATIE TAKACH

SCHOOL: Cape Elizabeth High School

"My parents really taught me that it is a duty to reach out to others. You really have the obligation to help, if you have the means."

Katie Takach credits her interest in community service to a decision her mother made back in 1998, when Katie was just 6 years old.

"Some of my friends and I wanted to be Girl Scouts, and she offered to be our troop leader," said Takach, 17, a member of this year's graduating class at Cape Elizabeth High School.

Takach and nine close friends joined the troop and stuck with it all the way through high school. Together and individually, the girls have made significant contributions to communities in Greater Portland and around the world.

"Girl Scouting has really allowed us to challenge ourselves, and to reach out to others," Takach said.

One of the first Girl Scout projects Takach was involved in was the support of a girl from Kenya. The Scouts were pen pals with the girl, and as sixth-graders, they raised enough money to bring her to the United States to have surgeries performed on her eye. They later raised money to put her through nursing school. The girl, now an adult, is a nurse in Kenya.

As a sophomore, Takach cofounded the Cape Elizabeth High School chapter of Safe Passage, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving children who live in Guatemala City near a garbage dump.

She helped lead a group of 14 students to Guatemala in the summer of 2007, where they taught children math, reading, music, English and communication skills. Takach focused on games and projects that taught the children to work as teams.

"That was the most eye-opening experience," Takach said. "You hear the stories about people living in such poor conditions, but there is nothing like actually seeing it for yourself."

Takach will attend Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore this fall. She intends to major in biomedical engineering, and also Spanish if her schedule allows. She hopes to use those skills to help communities in developing Spanish-speaking countries.

"My parents really taught me that it is a duty to reach out to others," Takach said. "You really have the obligation to help, if you have the means."

Staff writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at:

tmaxwell@pressherald.com