RALEIGH, N.C. — This week’s High School Scholar, Gwen Peterson, hopes to use her academic prowess to help those who are living with a genetic disease — just like her. 

Gwen Peterson is a senior at Athens Drive Magnet High School in Raleigh.

When she’s not hitting the books, she is hitting the court to practice volleyball. 

“I love just like the physicality of the sport, the competition,” Peterson said. 

Peterson has been playing volleyball for about four years, practicing multiple hours every week, depending on the season.

Gwen Peterson (right) giving a high-five to a teammate at volleyball practice. (Spectrum News 1/ John Stampf)

“It’s a very mental sport, you know, with all the super technical aspects. It’s very, you know, we’ve got to keep them excited and confident no matter what the score is,” Peterson said. 

She applies the same precision to spiking a volleyball as pipetting in the lab. 

“Volleyball is a lot of practice in your physical skills. And then here, you know, obviously it’s a lot of practice with things like chemistry and calculations,” Peterson said. 

She has been interested in genetics for a few years after learning about the topic in Middle School, pivoting from her original plan of math. 

Although unsure of her future path in genetics, classroom or medical field, she said her studies hold deep personal meaning. 

“I have Type 1 diabetes, which is a genetic disease. And I want to help people like me who have genetic diseases to be able to live easier lives,” Peterson said. 

While Peterson’s list of awards and involvements is as long as a code of DNA already, she’s continued to add to her accomplishments.

Last summer, she reached out to the Nature Research Center at the Museum of Natural Sciences, which created an internship for Peterson. Expanding her knowledge of genetic research and lab etiquette.

“I did a gel electrophoresis just with bacterial DNA that we swabbed around the lab. And that was really interesting because those techniques, even though this is a wildlife lab, are kind of applicable to all genetics labs in general,” Peterson explained. 

The love of studying life runs in the family, as her dad is a professor at N.C. State with areas of expertise of the Intersections between Human and Natural Systems, but that doesn’t mean genetics came easy to her. 

“My wife and I joke about the fact that, several years ago, she started taking classes we can’t help her with anymore. So whenever she scratches her head working on, like, her calculus theory, where it is like, sorry, it’s nothing we can do,” said Nils Peterson, Gwen’s dad. 

Gwen working at the Nature Research Center at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. (Spectrum News 1/ Sydney McCoy)

For those interested in genetics, she recommends watching YouTube explainer videos. 

“In school, pay attention in your science class. Most science classes now are starting to have, like, a genetics aspect to them,” Peterson said. 

Peterson is also leading the charge for an athletic tutoring program at her school, and she said tutoring helped her craft her passion for teaching. 

“We have really enjoyed having her as a member of our Athens Drive family the past four years, and a great example for other students. I say absolutely great example for other students,” said Athens Drive Magnet High School Principal, Amanda Boshoff. 

As part of the Spectrum High School Scholars program, Peterson was awarded a $1,000 scholarship to her by Raleigh City Council Woman, Jane Harrison, on behalf of Spectrum to go toward her studies. 

“Gwen is obviously a unique young person who has done so much, and she will be a model, I think, a leader for others. You know, whether they get to know her or have known her at Athens Drive when she goes to college, you know, in her future career, whatever opportunities that she wants to take on,” Harrison said. 

Peterson has not decided where she will go in the fall but is looking at UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. State. 

As Spectrum News 1's High School Scholar, she was awarded a $1,000-scholarship. She was presented with her High School Scholar certificate by Raleigh City Council Woman, Jane Harrison.