In Quinn Rahme's home, an unlikely friendship has blossomed. Margo the dog and Daphne the bunny—two animals that might normally view each other with suspicion—instead coexist in harmony under the watchful eye of their eight-year-old caretaker.

"They actually get along," Quinn explains with the straightforward confidence of a third-grader who finds nothing particularly remarkable about this peaceful animal kingdom she's fostered. To her, it's simply the natural order of things.

This special connection with animals offers a glimpse into Quinn's future. When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, her answer comes without hesitation: "I want to be a veterinarian." Not for farm animals, she clarifies, but "for people's pets"—a fitting ambition for someone who has already demonstrated a knack for nurturing creatures great and small.

At Je-Neir Elementary, Quinn navigates the familiar rhythms of third-grade life. Under the guidance of Ms. Robinson, whom she describes as helpful and occasionally funny, Quinn is tackling multiplication and division in math while particularly enjoying reading and art.

"I like diamond art," she explains, describing a craft where "little diamonds" are placed on sticky paper to create colorful designs. She also enjoys painting "pictures of trees, birds and other stuff," her artistic interests already reflecting her appreciation for the natural world.

As May 13 approaches—her ninth birthday coinciding roughly with the publication of this magazine—Quinn stands at the threshold of significant changes. Fourth grade looms ahead, bringing new challenges and expectations. When asked if she's nervous about this transition, she admits, "Yeah, a little bit," the slight apprehension understandable for someone preparing to navigate new academic waters.

Outside the classroom, Quinn finds joy in simple pleasures. Soccer tops her list of favorite sports, and she cherishes time with friends where they "run around and play and talk"—the essence of childhood distilled into its purest form.

Her connection to the Momence community runs deeper than mere residence. "I just like living in it," she says of her hometown, appreciating its small-town character. She has even participated as one of the Glad dancers in the community's annual festival, an experience she says requires "practice and courage and other stuff"—a modest description that belies the significance of representing local traditions at such a young age.

In many ways, Quinn embodies the qualities that make childhood such a magical time—curiosity about the world, openness to new experiences, and the ability to find wonder in everyday moments. Whether she's placing colorful diamonds on sticky paper, running across soccer fields with friends, or ensuring harmony between Margo and Daphne, Quinn approaches life with the unaffected enthusiasm that adults often struggle to recapture.

As she prepares to don a wristband and ride the scrambler at this year's GladFest carnival, Quinn remains blissfully unaware of how perfectly she represents the community's future. In her simple joy in painting birds, her natural empathy for animals, and her clear-eyed vision of becoming a veterinarian, she demonstrates that even the youngest citizens of Momence carry dreams worth nurturing.

One day, perhaps not so many years from now, the pets of Momence might find themselves in the gentle, capable hands of Dr. Quinn Rahme, veterinarian. And when they do, they'll be cared for by someone who understood, even at eight years old, that creating harmony between unlikely companions—whether dog and bunny or human and animal—is both an art and a calling.

For now, though, there are diamond art projects to complete, multiplication tables to master, and two special animals at home who remind her daily what her heart already knows: that caring for creatures who cannot speak for themselves is not just a future profession but a present purpose that brings its own quiet joy.