Due to the 3,000 students in one massive high school, being well known by all students is almost an impossible feat. Most students can barely name a quarter of their own grade, never mind an upperclassman. Whenever the name of senior Jamie Devine is mentioned, however, many people will smile and talk about her genuinely kind personality.

Students showed their for appreciation for Devine this past October by voting her North Penn’s Homecoming Queen.

“Being crowned Homecoming Queen was very surprising and surreal, I honestly did not expect it but was so honored.” She admitted. “It was so special and I really wish everyone got the chance to experience it. [Students] all deserve to dress up and be recognized for the great things they do [in high school]!”

In North Penn, Devine is an active participant in all aspects of theater. She holds the titles of co-vice president of the Thespian Troupe, publicity coordinator for chorus, a member of both women’s and chamber choir, and is always a part of the fall play and spring musical.

When Devine sings, it’s easy to say that she is extremely gifted. Like most who have as much talent as Devine, her involvement in theater is what started it all.

“When I was in fourth grade I saw an ad for North Penn High School Theater’s Children of Eden, and they needed little kids. I auditioned, and that was my first show. I loved the experience, so I decided that I wanted to do theater, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Theater has been a great outlet for Devine, and she, like all who do theater, loves the people.

“The people are so accepting, and everyone is so different. Yet we all come together to do the same thing, and everyone is so talented. It is so great to see everybody doing what they love, and you get to be another person. You get to play a part and not be yourself, like my sophomore year I was a broomstick. I was like ‘how am I going to do this?’ but I did it and it was so exciting to see it all come together.”

Most recently, Devine was involved in North Penn’s As You Like It; she played the role of Amiens. Additionally, she participated in an IE (Individual event) at the Pennsylvania Thespian Conference this past weekend.

“At states I participated in an IE, and I did a solo musical number, I performed the song ‘I’d Give my Life for You’ from Miss Saigon as the character of Kim. There were three adjudicators and they scored my performance. The hope is to score high enough to qualify for internationals, which is held in Lincoln, Nebraska. Although I qualified last year, I unfortunately did not this year. It was still a great experience and the adjudicators gave me some awesome feedback that I can use for future auditions!”

Devine knows theater is a serious commitment, especially for a program such as North Penn. Having attended North Penn High School for the past three years, Devine explained how she manages it all.

“Without sleep!” she joked. “We’re here all day for rehearsal, and they [can be] long nights. A lot of coffee, and keeping focus. We have a lot of [free] time at rehearsal, so whenever I get a chance, I try to get my homework done.”

Although Devine is heavily involved in the theatrical programs, she has decided to take a slightly different route for her future.

“I will be going to college for secondary education, so hopefully I will become an English teacher. I’m hoping that whatever high school I am teaching at I can help with the theater program there. Although I am not doing theater, I definitely think theater has prepared me for a job like teaching. I’ll be in front of people, I’ll be speaking and presenting myself, and I just think that it is so important that I did it all these years.”

Devine successfully found a way to make North Penn smaller, so she recommends students start in the exact same place she did: theater.

“Absolutely get involved! It is such a great way to make this school smaller. You can feel so lost [in this school], there are so many people, and there are always so many different things going on. It is really a place where people get together and you make friends so quickly, and you become so creative. You work outside of the box to push yourself and do things that you never thought you could, and it is such a great place to experiment with what you can do.”