Flower Mound grad personifies perfection

What is it, exactly, that makes a streak impressive? If it spans three presidential administrations, exists in three different decades, and lasts longer than the average U.S. marriage, would those be impressive? Ask Katie Grandel.

For the last 13 years, the Flower Mound graduate did not miss a single day of school, and what makes her streak even more impressive, is that she appears to be quite nonchalant about her accomplishment.

“I was joking with someone the other day,” Grandel said. “I just got on Facebook, and one of the first comments I made on there was about my perfect attendance. I said ‘perfect attendance is pretty easy. All you have to do is show up every day.’ I didn’t do anything super important. All I did was show up.”

Grandel said that she was inspired to try to complete perfect attendance by something that happened to her in elementary school.

“In fifth grade, I was called up for perfect attendance,” Grandel said. “People started betting me that I could not do it all throughout middle school. Then in my sophomore year, a bunch of people told me there was no way I would make it again.

“Then, after I graduated, a bunch of people that I hadn’t seen in years asked if I made it, and I was like, ‘yep, I did!’”

Grandel said it was not always easy for her, but said she was determined to maintain her streak.

“There were times when I had really bad allergies, or I was just exhausted from not getting enough sleep,” Grandel said. “But I’ve only had the flu once in my entire life, and sometimes the random cold, but nothing to keep me out of school.”

Grandel said when she got to the last day of high school and realized she had accomplished her goal, she had an overwhelming sense of pride and relief.

“I was excited,” Grandel said. “Besides being the last day of high school, everyone told me that I couldn’t do it, and it is not a common thing to do. But I did.”

Grandel was also a member of the choir her freshman year at Flower Mound High School, ran cross-country from her freshman through junior years, and was member of Hope for Africa club, of which she served as the Vice President her senior year.

Grandel graduated in the top 25 percent of her class, and is headed to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville for college, where she plans to major in Hotel and Restaurant Management.