Hawaii’s Super Students




Saturday, March 8, 1997

Name: Tiffany Ieremia
Age: 11
School: Hauula Elementary School
Favorite subject: Reading
Future: Lawyer

"When I was young, I wanted to be a singer," Tiffany said. But now that she's an older 11-year-old, she has changed her mind. "I'd like to know how the justice system works."

Tiffany said her curiosity about law was sparked while reading, one of her favorite pastimes. "She finds a good book, hides away in her room and just gets lost in it," said dad Phillips Ieremia. "Her reading exposes her to new words, new ideas." He and wife Dawnell are proud of how bright and articulate Tiffany is.

In the Ieremia household, which includes five girls and one boy, there is a hard-and-fast rule: "My dad makes us study for two hours every day before dinner, but it's a good rule," Tiffany said.

Hauula teacher Laurie Flores said, "Tiffany has a bubbly personality and can talk and talk and talk. She enjoys helping out her friends and is one of the top students in her class." But even top students have their roadblocks.

Math was a challenge. "Fractions," she said. "I'd cry when I was in fourth grade because I just didn't get it. In fifth grade I really wanted an A."

With determination, she has it conquered in her final year at Hauula. "Now, I love fractions."