Whiz Kid of the Week: Gladwyne Author Jake Waldman

Editor's note: Each week, we will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as our Whiz Kid.  Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to danielle.vickery@patch.com.

This week's Whiz Kid: Jake Waldman

- School: Gladwyne Elementary School fifth grader; Jake lives in Gladwyne.

- Accomplishment: Jake, 10, won first prize in the fifth grade non-fiction category of the Gladwyne Library League's 39th Annual for his story "The One that Got Away... and Came Back," about a fish that escaped Jake's first attempt and then was caught for good when he cast the rod again. Last year, Jake won honorable mention for a fictional story he wrote about someone who was in a perfect world that was later discovered to be flawed -- and that the man was in a dream.

Jake also won a design contest for the cover of this year's edition of Gladwyne's yearbook.

"I drew the school, which is really hard because it’s Gladwyne and it looks really weird," Jake said of his design.  "It has a wolf on it, which is the school’s mascot, reading the yearbook and kids throwing a football."

- Key to awesomeness: "I have good ideas," said Jake, who enjoys writing. "What I like about (writing) is … I’ve been taught it for a while, and then I got an interest in it because it’s fun to express your ideas on paper."

Jake also enjoys playing squash and the cello. He likes squash because it's air conditioned, and he used to play tennis but prefers squash because it's easier to retrieve the ball.

He used to play the piano and the drums but didn't like them. Then, he had considered playing the violin but thought the pitch was too high, so he took up cello.

"It's not that easy, but if you practice more, then it is," Jake said.

Jake has some advice for other kids who want to be as multi-talented as he is: "Explore new things and practice them."