Her name is Treasure, and no, that’s not a metaphor. It’s on her birth certificate. And fittingly, it reflects both the depth and originality she brings to everything she touches.

Born in Galesburg and raised in Roseville since infancy, Treasure Handzo has spent her entire academic life in the Monmouth-Roseville district. Now, as she nears graduation, she’s preparing for her next chapter at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she’ll major in psychology with plans to pursue a clinical career helping others navigate their inner lives.

“I’ve always been fascinated by how people think,” she says. “Even when I was little, I was constantly observing people, noticing how they acted, how they carried themselves. It made me want to understand what was going on underneath.”

That early instinct to observe and understand has only grown. Through high school, Treasure has juggled a rigorous academic schedule, earning the title of Illinois State Scholar while pushing herself to complete four full years of math and science coursework alongside college-level composition classes.

There were moments, she admits, when her motivation wavered—especially during her final semester. “It was hard,” she says. “I seriously considered dropping a few of my harder classes. But I reminded myself that I had goals—finishing what I started, earning that Academic Hall of Fame honor. So I stuck with it.”

That blend of realism and resilience is part of what makes Treasure such a compelling presence. She doesn’t pretend to be fearless—she chooses to move forward anyway.

Though drawn to sciences like anatomy, she says her heart ultimately belongs to the humanities. “I love to create. I love to write. I love to paint,” she says, noting her recent discovery of acrylic painting as a new favorite outlet. “It’s forgiving,” she laughs. “I can fix mistakes. Watercolor scares me.”

That same honesty extends to her college plans. Originally, she imagined herself far from Illinois—maybe New York or Buffalo, somewhere electric and unfamiliar. But thanks to her father’s veteran tuition waiver, and a growing sense of alignment with U of I’s vibrant, urban-feeling campus, she made a practical and powerful choice to stay in-state.

And she’s excited. “I didn’t always have access to clubs or after-school activities here,” she says. “I lived too far out, didn’t have the transportation. But now—everything’s right there. I can try everything.”

On her list? Dance clubs. Art clubs. Creative spaces. “It’s not even about being the best,” she says. “It’s about doing what brings you joy.”

She traces much of her personal growth to the teachers who’ve challenged and believed in her. Mrs. Fornoff—who’s been a fixture since junior high. Mr. Barschinger, her former band director, who infused music with passion and made everyone feel they belonged. And Mr. Eaton, her comp teacher, who transformed her academic writing and pushed her to think more clearly, more deeply, and more bravely.

“He made me want to write outside of class,” she says. “Now I write little essays on my own. And I’ve always written poems and stories—I even submitted three poems to Bruner.”

Treasure is driven not by performance, but by potential—hers and others’. She wants to be a therapist, maybe a clinical psychologist. “I want to help people become better versions of themselves,” she says. “And I think you have to meet people where they are—not where you wish they were.”

It’s a profoundly empathetic stance. And it’s no surprise coming from someone who believes in the transformative power of story, who’s dreamed of New York, and who still remembers how it felt to be the quiet observer, watching from the edges.

Now, she’s stepping forward—ready for the stage, ready for the city, and ready for her future.

And as she goes, Monmouth-Roseville will be able to say: we knew her when she was just a girl named Treasure—already a gem in plain sight.