Warrenton junior Payton Duncan isn’t afraid of a challenge, including the challenge of broadening her horizons and becoming involved in lots of different activities.

Along with college prep classes in school, Duncan is involved in extracurriculars involving the arts, language, agriculture and leadership skills.

“I just like the challenge. Also knowing that I’m in high school doing college stuff is a motivator,” Duncan said.

Duncan’s current class lineup includes AP language and government classes, math analysis, chemistry and concert band, combined with classes in culinary skills and greenhouse management. After school, she spends her time on marching band, theater, FFA, 4-H, French club and National Honor Society.

Q: What’s your favorite class in school?

A: “Probably band. I’ve been in band since sixth grade. I play percussion. We work on some of the same pieces (of music), but usually it’s all different, so it’s not the same every single day, which is nice.”

Q: What do you enjoy about being part of the band?

A: “The community that we have. The percussion section is very close-knit."

Q: What classes do you find challenging?

A: “Chemistry is probably my hardest class right now. Just the memorizing of all the elements, things like that.”

Q: Has anything helped you with that?

A: “Remembering acronyms definitely helps. ... I use a lot of flash cards and Google Keep — you can list what you need to do and it keeps me organized. ... Quizlet also helps. I make a bunch of quizlets and then I study using that."

Q: Are tech tools involved in a lot of your school activities?

A: “Yeah, especially using Canvas (learning platform) every day. I feel like I do better on paper test-wise, but that’s about it. I like the online studying better because I don’t have to carry around a stack of flash cards.”

Q: When you encounter a difficult subject, how do you deal with it?

A: “If I hit a wall, I try to think that’s there’s going to be something later that I’ll understand, and I just hope with that.”

Q: You’re in 4-H and FFA. Is that something your parents were involved in?

A: “Historically, no. My parents grew up in Wentzville. They really weren’t involved in it. Some of our friends were in FFA and 4-H, and they invited us into 4-H, and that stuck.”

Q: What have you learned that carries over to other parts of life?

A: “In FFA and 4-H, I’ve learned a lot about leadership, and how to manage time and money well. With FFA, you have ... supervised agriculture experience, our project that we do for four years and try to improve.”

Q: What are your plans after high school.

A: “I plan on getting a four-year degree in business if I don’t find a specific thing I want to do.”

Q: Has anyone been a big influence on you?

A: “A lot of my friends, and my parents. They help support me while making sure I’m doing everything on the right track."

Favorite food: "Chicken"

Favorite show: “Boy Meets World”

Favorite movie: “Facing the Giants”

Favorite music: "A little of everything"

Favorite destination: "Florida or North Carolina"