DANVILLE — For a Danville High School senior, natural talent isn’t good enough.

Melissa Fuesting does her best even when it’s easy, and she recently imparted this message to a group of middle school students.

“The best role models try their best even when they don’t have to,” she said, quoting her speech at the first quarter honors assembly at North Ridge Middle School earlier this fall.

Her goal was to motivate the students to do well, so that they’ll have continued success in high school and beyond.

And Fuesting truly is one to talk.

Although getting good grades has always come easily to her, she admits she still works hard in class.

Recently, she was recognized for her efforts, which have garnered her national attention.

Fuesting was named as a Commended Student in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship program for her scores on the 2008 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

She’s one of 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation. Commended students will not continue in the 2010 competition for National Merit Scholarships, but they are among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2010 competition by taking the PSAT/NMSQT.

DHS guidance counselor Amanda Campbell said Fuesting is not only accomplishes much, but she’s a good person, too.

“She’s an all-around good person. She’s a good role model for all DHS students,” she said.

“It’s really nice to be recognized,” she said. “I do work really hard.”

Fuesting said she knows plenty of other smart kids at DHS who don’t work hard, but she doesn’t understand their mentality: “Why not try to be the best you can be?” she says.

Can you imagine if Michael Jordan had stopped trying? she asks.

Fuesting is considering attending St. Louis University, where she’s been offered a provost scholarship, Illinois Wesleyan University, Illinois State University or the University of Illinois.

She’s not sure what she wants to study yet, but she does want to attend a smaller school.

She’s interested and talented in a variety of subjects. This year, her classes include creative writing, AP calculus, AP rhetoric, physics and chemistry.

She doesn’t like chemistry.

If her biggest dreams came true, she’d become an author of sci-fi fantasy novels.

She does like to write in her spare time. She also reads a lot in that genre: this summer, she read about 25 books. Spy novels and young adult fiction are also among her favorites.

Fuesting isn’t always sitting quietly in her spare time, however.

She has a pilot’s license, and frequently flies with her dad, Michael, a local dentist.

Her mom is Kathy Fuesting.

If there was a job where she could combine all of her interests, she’d gladly take it.

Reading and flying are still only two of her occupations.

She’s also been to the state championships for tennis, where she competed in a doubles match. She serves as president of the school’s National Honor Society, vice president of student advisory board and will participate in the Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering competition this year.

She also works 10 hours a week at the Danville Tennis Center.