Brian Templet

PHS senior a community service leader and top academic with plans to enter medical field

Brian Templet has dedicated hundreds of hours to community service. He joined the Cub Scouts when he was in kindergarten, and then he joined the Boy Scouts and achieved the Eagle Scout rank — the highest honor.

“I think Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are a good program that helps people start on giving back,” Templet said.

He said he continued his involvement with Boy Scouts because of the hands-on, meaningful experience.

Templet said becoming an Eagle Scout was a major milestone in his life. For his culminating project, he organized a project at Penrose Point State Park to replace an eroded trail overlook. It took more than 200 hours to fence off the dangerous overlook and build a new one.

Templet also has served with several clubs at Peninsula High School. He’s the current president of the Key Club, the co-founder of the Philosophy Club and treasurer of the National Honor Society.

Templet is a National Merit Scholar who said math and science are subjects that come to him naturally. Recently, he was on the school’s Knowledge Bowl team that placed first at a regional competition and competed at state.

“Brian is not afraid to get stuck on a challenging task,” said Peninsula High School math teacher Patrick Gillis. “He does an incredible job of trying different approaches, connecting ideas presented earlier in the year to current problems and knowing when to get help on a particularly rough idea.

“As a teacher, I really enjoy the questions Brian throws out during class discussions. They take the classroom conversation forward.”

Templet has maintained an excellent grade-point average while taking many advanced-placement courses. He considers his high SAT score and National Merit Scholar award among his biggest achievements.

Templet hopes to follow his interest in science and chemistry in college, and he plans a career in medicine.

“I like the idea of helping people, and this seemed like a natural fit,” he said.

To get a first-hand look at the profession, Templet has been volunteering in the emergency room at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma. He spent more than 100 hours there, and he said he has great respect for those who work in such a challenging setting.

“Brian has the ability to handle complex situations,” said Richard Shaffer, professor emeritus at California Polytechnic State University who is the Kiwanis adviser for the PHS Key Club. “He can break the complex situations down into their component parts and evaluate situations.

“I have found him to be an outstanding and dedicated student.”

Brian Templet

Education: Senior, Peninsula High School

GPA: 3.985

Parents: Beth and Allen-Paul Templet

Activities/achievements: Boy Scouts of America (more than 700 hours); AP chemistry tutor; National Honor Society treasurer; volunteer at St. Joseph Medical Center ER; Key Club treasurer and president; Model United Nations charter member; Knowledge Bowl co-captain; Philosophy Club co-founder.

Favorite teacher: Patrick Gillis — “Though he makes his classes fun and interesting, he still does an exemplary job of teaching the course material,” he said.

Best thing about high school: “The variety of electives: I have taken a multitude of courses, such as aviation, business law and psychology (among others), and I have learned something interesting from all of them.”