Name: Kristine Miyata
Age: 18
School: Hawaii Baptist Academy
Favorite subject: History
Pastimes: Movies, shopping, friends
Future: High school history teacher

Kristine Miyata, who just graduated from Hawaii Baptist Academy, credits good teachers for her success and aspires to be one of them herself.

"The teachers I've had were so good," she says, adding that they made learning fun. "I want to do that for my future students."

Social studies teacher Lynn Nakano says Miyata planned review sessions for her history classes by using games.

"She's very creative in taking the material and devising a way that's fun to do it."

The daughter of Melvin and Jeannette Miyata has accepted a four-year full scholarship at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., where she will major in secondary education.

"I'm very pleased that such intelligent people see the need to go into teaching and to share that kind of knowledge with other students," Nakano says.

Miyata had a 4.082 grade-point average, was student body vice president and was active in the National Honor Society and the Servant Group.

Miyata enjoys kids and has volunteered with preschoolers to sixth-graders at the YMCA and Palama Settlement.

Student Council adviser Todd Yokotake says Miyata is hard-working, dependable and reliable.

"She's fastidious about work and the projects she's undertaken. She's demonstrated excellent leadership through the years."