Second in a series

Surprising outcome of early IQ test

Meghan Boitnott

When Meghan Boitnott was in kindergarten, her teacher thought she might have a learning disability. But, an early IQ test cleared up that misunderstanding.

Since then, the 13-year-old has shown she's more than just a good student. She also excels in sports, music, at church and in community service.

And, those early troubles have shown the St. Charles girl a career path for when she's an adult. Meghan plans to be a pediatrician so she can help young kids as they grow up.

Earlier this spring, Meghan was selected as a 2003 Young Achiever of the Year. She was one of 12 St. Louis area youngsters given the award for personal accomplishments.

(Young Saint Louis.com announced the Achiever winners in its May edition. Last month, YSL.com began a series of Achiever profiles of the four elementary and four middle school winners. This is the second of the eight Achiever profiles.

(To read the May announcement story, click here. To read the June profile on Kristen Delia, click here. To learn more about the Achiever, visit www.iln-gateway.org.)

About her kindergarten problems, Meghan said her teacher was concerned she wasn't learning in class. "She told my parents I ought to be tested by a doctor," Meghan said.

"The tests showed I had a high IQ but I learned differently. I was learning but I didn't care much about learning," she said. All that's changed.

This fall, Meghan will be an eighth grader at Borromeo Catholic School in St. Charles. She's an honor student and has been in enrichment classes for the last three years.

In addition, she's been on student council, plays musical instruments and excels in soccer and dance. She's also a "school buddy," who help younger kids get familiar with school.

One of the things that attracted the Achiever judges was Meghan's work with the Friends of Kids with Cancer. That program helps kids cope with their cancer.

"A couple years ago, I was having a birthday party. I invited my whole class from school. There were 37 of them. I told them the presents would go to Friends of Kids with Cancer," she said.

"We ended up with two big buckets of toys and $75," she added.

When she turned in the toys and money, she learned other ways she could help.

For the last two years, she's been chairman of her school's "Hats-on Day." If kids make at least a 50-cent charitable donation, they can wear "any kind of hat they like" in school that day, Meghan said.

Friends of Kids with Cancer has been the recipient of those donations.

This summer, Meghan is turning to another project to help kids. She's planning to develop a website for kids with attention-deficit disorder (ADD).

"There are lots of websites for parents of ADD kids. But, my website will let ADD kids exchange information," Meghan said. She's seeking a grant from an organization called Youth Venture. "It helps with finances for kids with dreams," Meghan said.

Her website would have a message board so kids "could tell others what works for them" in overcoming ADD. There's also be information about local reading clubs.

"Two of my teachers have told me that they'd help me with the website," Meghan said.

But, she's already had some experience with websites.

Two years ago, she went to New York with her mother, who was on a business trip. While there, she took some dance lessons at the Broadway Dance Center. Her guest instructor was Mike Minery, a professional tap dancer.

Meghan said, "I really liked his classes. After class, I asked him if he had a fan club and he said 'no.'" When she got home, she built a Mike Minery Fan Club website.

Meghan has more than just website work on her summer schedule. She's the goalie for the traveling Gateway Strikers under-13 soccer team. She's also finishing classes for certification as a youth soccer and softball official.

In addition, she'll be taking dancing lessons at two schools.

Then, there'll be music camp at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. She already plays clarinet, bass clarinet, trumpet and drums. But, she wants to take saxophone lessons this summer "so I can be in the high school jazz band."

Longer term, Meghan wants to attend medical school so she can be in practice with her older cousin, Caroline Goodwin. Caroline is now in pre-med at Saint Louis University.

"I hope some day to work with learning disability children," she said.