Kristen Ziegler: She can't wait to get started

High school: Trinity Academy in Raleigh

Headed to: Auburn University in Alabama

Kristen Ziegler, 17, of Wake Forest, plays tennis and soccer and is in the school choir. She baby-sits and is a summer camp counselor. In her spare time, she helps her grandmother around the house.

She hopes to keep up the pace in college.

"I'm definitely going to try everything," she said.

Her decision to apply to Auburn was a last-minute one, but after she was offered a full four-year scholarship, she couldn't say no, even if the idea of leaving the Triangle is intimidating.

"I'm a pretty independent person," she said. "But this is the first time I've had to live on my own for such a long time. It's in a different time zone. It's only an hour, but it seems like I'm leaving forever."

Still, Ziegler said she's ready for the challenge and excited about the prospect of picking a major. "At a high school, you can't really study what you're interested in," she said. "You have to get the basics down. In college you get to study what you want."

She thinks she'd like to be a writer or a doctor and would love to travel to Africa to practice medicine.

"I could see myself working and living in Africa all my life," she said. "I'm worried about being so far away from home, and I'm kind of nervous about being on my own for the first time - like really on my own. ... As much fear as I have, there's also much excitement. I can't wait to get started."