Community Corner
Whiz Kid Ben Mays: Being Involved Is His Thing
The Parkland High School senior class president has a full schedule, and that's the way he likes it.
- Name: Ben Mays, 17
- School/Church: Parkland High School, 12th grade; member of Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church, Allentown
- Greatest Accomplishment: Being elected class president, an office held since his sophomore year. He says, “It shows that my peers respect me and see me as a leader.” Being named “Mr. Parkland” also ranks up there as another great accomplishment. “This was the first year there were tryouts, and we had to come up with some sort of idea to show for ourselves,” he says. “I recorded two to three minutes of background music of myself, and then I sang a cappella live to the background. Some of the songs I sang were ‘Down’ by Jay Sean, ‘ Angel’ by Shaggy, [Michael Jackson’s] ‘Thriller,’ ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ ‘by Journey and ‘Viva la Vida’ by Coldplay. For the final, I sang live in front of a projected video of four of myself singing different parts….it looked like five of me performing. It just gave me an opportunity to get creative.” Ben’s artistic bent extends beyond solo performing, as he’s demonstrated by being a cast member in eight school plays, including last fall’s “Noises Off,” a non-musical production, and this spring's “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” where he played Freddy Benson. He’s also performed in “Aida” (2010); “Godspell,” (2009); “Les Miserables” (2008); “The Skin of Our Teeth” and, as a freshman in the lead role of “Aladdin” during a children’s show presented annually at the high school.
- Key to Awesomeness: “Not to be afraid to be over-involved,” he says. “School dominates my life, so I decided to be involved as much as I can. People call school my ‘cage,’ but I don’t need to be caged, I prefer it; it keeps me occupied. It also means that people give you a break. When people recognize the effort you’re putting forth, and see you have so much to do, they’re not as hard on you.” No doubt about it, he is involved. He’s also a member of the Parkland chorale, participated in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association District 10 and Region V chorus, is treasurer of the school’s Performing Arts Club, and a member of the National Spanish and Math honor societies. Aside from his love of musical theater, Ben says he likes “numbers” and that makes chemistry and math his favorite subjects. That interest has paid off for him, as he heads to Penn State’s main campus this fall, where he’ll enter Schreyer Honors College to study chemical engineering, with a minor in theater. Ben also makes time to participate in activities at Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church: he’s active with the youth group, helps out with the children’s program, and is a group leader for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Bible study group. Outside of school, he enjoys hanging out with friends and going to the movies.
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