For all of you who have ever gone to high school, there was always that so-and-so, remember? That role model who set a near-impossible standard.

Parents would say: “Why can’t you get straight A’s like so-and-so? Why can’t you make quarterback on the football team like so-and-so? Why can’t you reshingle the roof/save a bundle on car insurance/stay out of prison ... like so-and-so?”

At Bay Village High School, where a particularly large number of student bands and vocalists have gone onto local prominence, the name on every youthful musician’s mind is Kate Voegele. During her high-school term this teenage singer-songwriter (and Rockette cheer dance team member) became the youngest winner of the USA Songwriting Contest, with her pop composition “Only Fooling Myself,” which has also been used on network TV show soundtracks. In a busy performing schedule she ranged from the stages of Tower City to a Women-in-Rock show in Austin, Texas.

Voegele also performed at two consecutive Farm Aid benefits in 2004 and 2005, with Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp. She recently recorded an EP, “Louder Than Words,” in New York City.

Even Elephant in the Living Room, an all-male ensemble of Bay students, said that they get more comparisons to Voegele, a graduate of the class of 2005 than to those student-rock superstars Jaded Era, from Cuyahoga Falls.

Now, just when you kids thought it was safe to slack off over the lazy summer-vacation months — she’s back! Voegele will be giving a full-band show, at no charge, at Rocker’s Cafe in Olmsted Falls on Saturday. 

“My friend Pete Nischt, who is a really talented musician, will be opening,” Voegele said. “He’s really awesome and will definitely add a lot to the show. For my set, I’ll be playing with my new band — who are all really talented and really cool guys — for a majority of the time, and by myself acoustically for some of it, too.

“Rocker’s is a really fun, relaxed venue, so the show is always really up close and personal and just overall laid back, and those are my favorite kind of shows. Not to mention, it’s free and they have great food there.”

Showtime is 9 p.m., and Rocker’s is located at 27148 Bagley Road. The phone number is (440) 427-CAFÉ.

Yes, there will be copies of “Louder Than Words” for sale, so listeners can take home the Voegele musical stylings that have often inspired parallels with Sheryl Crowe, Michelle Branch and Patty Griffin.

“Though it probably won’t be ready for this show, I’m very close to releasing an unplugged acoustic CD of new material that gives fans a taste of what I sound like when I’m just playing by myself,” Voegele said. “Also, I’ll be playing a bunch of songs that I’ve just recorded/written with my band and by myself, so there will be a bunch of new material for returning fans to hear.”

Voegele just completed her freshman year in college at Miami University in Ohio.

“I am loving college right now!” she said. “My senior year, and even into the summer before I started at Miami, there was definitely a question of whether to put college off or not. I was debating moving to New York to continue working on my career.

“The great thing is, going to college has been the best career move I’ve made so far, because it’s gotten my music in front of so many people and really amped up the fan base.”

She has still not decided on music as a major.

“First semester I was studying visual art because I love to paint and draw and work with computer graphics. Though I would have loved to continue pursuing art at Miami, it ended up being way too much of a commitment on top of having a music career that took first priority. So basically, now I’m just taking core classes to fulfill university requirements and seeing where things go from there.”

And, while school is out, she’ll have a touring schedule taking her to Chicago, Milwaukee and Indianapolis.

“I’m especially looking forward to playing at Summerfest in Milwaukee because it’s one of the biggest summer festivals there is, and it should be great exposure and just a really cool experience in general,” she said.

Her live appearances, news updates and music samples, are posted online at www.katevoegele.com, as well as Kate Voegele sites on MySpace.com and PureVolume.com.

Finally — since “overachiever” is such a terrifying word – any academic subjects that gave Kate trouble?

“I think there are always those classes that you find yourself struggling in,” she said. “For me, it was probably the ones I ended up writing a bunch of songs during - because I couldn’t stay focused … in high school, I hated math and it wasn’t usually my strong point. And in college, aeronautics was pretty rough first semester.

“In the end, though, I found a good balance between working hard for my grades and doing everything I wanted to get done with my music at the same time. It’s definitely possible. It just takes time management and dedication.”