Jamie Goering is a high school senior from Portland, Michigan.She is the Valedictorian of her class, and she is involved in many different activities, including Tennis, Band, Student Council, NHS, SADD, Community Service Club, Band Council, Band Mentoring, and many more. She is currently employed at McDonald's of Portland as a Crew trainer. Next year she will be attending Central Michigan University with the assistance of the Centralis Scholarship to study Secondary Math Education.
Dear Reader,
As I am thinking about the new life that lies ahead of me, I cannot help but look back at these last four years of high school and realize how much they have changed me. I am far removed from the person I was when I walked through the doors on the first day of freshman year, and I wonder how so much changed in just four short years.
I remember a short speech my eighth grade teacher gave our class on the last day of middle school, about what to expect from each year of high school. He said to us “Your high school years can be summed up in the word HOPE. Your freshman year is where you will learn Humility, the H in HOPE. In your sophomore year, you will be presented with many Opportunities to grow as a person. Junior year is represented by Perseverance, as it is, according to most, the toughest year of high school. When you are a senior, you have a chance to Excel in an area of your choosing, and to distinguish yourself from your classmates. All together, your high school experience will give you HOPE for your future, and prepare you for the world outside of school.” These words, uttered four long years ago, have stayed with me throughout my entire high school career, and when I think about it, they represent my journey through the perils of high school quite well.
When I started my freshman year, I was definitely not a candidate for any character awards. I was immature and ignorant, and I didn’t respect or tolerate others as well as I should have. Thankfully, when you are the youngest (and quite possibly one of the smallest) in a school of 600, you learn your place very quickly. I started high school with two credits already completed because of accelerated middle school classes. In my mind, this made me better than others, when, in reality, it only meant that I took classes where I was the only freshman among 30 sophomores. In these classes, I learned that I should respect my peers, for though they were learning the same things I was, they had more experience from taking the freshman level courses in that subject area. I also learned patience and gained knowledge of social hierarchy through the actions of upperclassmen, which will help me as I enter into the work force in an entry-level position. As a freshman, I had to be last in lines, wait the longest for lunch, and be looked down upon by my elders, while waiting to grow up in order to get the special privileges bestowed upon the upperclassmen. This is the year I learned the concept of seniority, and it has stuck with me to this day. These and other experiences truly made my freshman year a constant source of insight into Humility.
In my sophomore year, I was presented, as foretold, with many Opportunities, to grow academically as well as socially and emotionally. In class, I began to take on leadership roles, such as being a co-section leader in my band. I also tried new activities that I was nervous about attempting, like quiz bowl, which turned into one of my most successful endeavors. I pushed ahead in my classes and earned a reputation as a reliable mentor for other students, younger, older, and my own age. My social and emotional traits also became more developed because of opportunities I had in sophomore year. My self-confidence was boosted substantially when, in the beginning of sophomore year, I was asked out for the first time and entered the potentially perilous world of dating. I also began to shed the permanent cloak of shyness I wore for as long as I could remember, and branched out, making an amazing group of new friends in the process. As a sophomore, I grew up considerably because of the Opportunities I decided to pursue.
My junior year, more than any other, was a tough one. It definitely conveyed to me the importance of Perseverance, however. The biggest struggle for me in my junior year, and I had been told that this would happen to me, was that all of my senior friends were going off to college, and I was starting to think more and more about the life I would (and will) lead after high school. This put my schoolwork on the back burner in my mind, but I knew I had to work around that, since my dreams would never be realized if I stopped trying in school. I had to complete all my work, which, though it had come naturally to me before, was now a constant mental battle, since it didn’t seem quite as important as it had upon entering high school. Another challenge as a junior was my abysmal time management skills. I put myself in a position where I had to juggle almost twenty extracurricular activities, including two sports, as well as a part-time job. This was incredibly difficult for me at first, but over time, I learned to manage, giving up my free time in lieu of helping the common good by completing all of my duties. My junior year involved many sleepless nights spent worrying about an upcoming performance or presentation, but it also proved to be rewarding since by the time it ended, I had kept up all the goals I set for myself at the beginning of freshman year, and I was a well-respected member of my class and my school. Persevering as a junior opened my eyes to the mental sacrifices made every day in the real world, and that lesson will be with me for the rest of my life.
My Senior year was, true to the wise words of my eighth grade teacher, a year of Excellence. For the most part, I continued working diligently like I had as a junior, with the constant time struggle between school, extracurriculars, my job, and my social life. One major difference made Senior year much more bearable, however. The work I had done in the past 4 years finally paid off with recognition from my peers and teachers. At the beginning of the year, I was inundated with college applications, which took up a large portion of my time. I attended scholarship competitions at various colleges in the hopes that they would pay off and help me to offset the cost of college. These competitions gave me more than I ever dreamed possible when I got a call one afternoon from Central Michigan University, telling me I was the recipient of the Centralis Scholar Award, a full tuition and room and board scholarship worth $86,000. My hard work, long weekends, and perseverance had actually paid for my college. I am still in shock that I receieved this award, and I am incredibly grateful for it. As the year went on, I was nominated by my school for various other awards and recognized for my leadership in extracurricular activities. My hard work as a section leader in band lead to me receiving the prestigious John Phillips Sousa Band Award, and my constant dedication to my grades meant I ended the year as Valedictorian of my class. Though I was not doing anything particularly world-changing, the lessons I learned about hard work and perseverance throughout my high school years lead to a gratifying senior year of recognition for my distinction.
Next year, as I attend college and attempt to excel as I did in high school, the lessons I have learned through the past four years will be absolutely invaluable. I now know Humility and am able to be patient and modest. I know to take advantage of any Opportunities which come my way. I have seen that the results of dedication and Perseverence can lead to Excellence. With these skills, I will be armed and ready for whatever college and my life can throw my way. Because of my high school experience, I have HOPE for the future.
Sincerely,
Jamie Goering
As I am thinking about the new life that lies ahead of me, I cannot help but look back at these last four years of high school and realize how much they have changed me. I am far removed from the person I was when I walked through the doors on the first day of freshman year, and I wonder how so much changed in just four short years.
I remember a short speech my eighth grade teacher gave our class on the last day of middle school, about what to expect from each year of high school. He said to us “Your high school years can be summed up in the word HOPE. Your freshman year is where you will learn Humility, the H in HOPE. In your sophomore year, you will be presented with many Opportunities to grow as a person. Junior year is represented by Perseverance, as it is, according to most, the toughest year of high school. When you are a senior, you have a chance to Excel in an area of your choosing, and to distinguish yourself from your classmates. All together, your high school experience will give you HOPE for your future, and prepare you for the world outside of school.” These words, uttered four long years ago, have stayed with me throughout my entire high school career, and when I think about it, they represent my journey through the perils of high school quite well.
When I started my freshman year, I was definitely not a candidate for any character awards. I was immature and ignorant, and I didn’t respect or tolerate others as well as I should have. Thankfully, when you are the youngest (and quite possibly one of the smallest) in a school of 600, you learn your place very quickly. I started high school with two credits already completed because of accelerated middle school classes. In my mind, this made me better than others, when, in reality, it only meant that I took classes where I was the only freshman among 30 sophomores. In these classes, I learned that I should respect my peers, for though they were learning the same things I was, they had more experience from taking the freshman level courses in that subject area. I also learned patience and gained knowledge of social hierarchy through the actions of upperclassmen, which will help me as I enter into the work force in an entry-level position. As a freshman, I had to be last in lines, wait the longest for lunch, and be looked down upon by my elders, while waiting to grow up in order to get the special privileges bestowed upon the upperclassmen. This is the year I learned the concept of seniority, and it has stuck with me to this day. These and other experiences truly made my freshman year a constant source of insight into Humility.
In my sophomore year, I was presented, as foretold, with many Opportunities, to grow academically as well as socially and emotionally. In class, I began to take on leadership roles, such as being a co-section leader in my band. I also tried new activities that I was nervous about attempting, like quiz bowl, which turned into one of my most successful endeavors. I pushed ahead in my classes and earned a reputation as a reliable mentor for other students, younger, older, and my own age. My social and emotional traits also became more developed because of opportunities I had in sophomore year. My self-confidence was boosted substantially when, in the beginning of sophomore year, I was asked out for the first time and entered the potentially perilous world of dating. I also began to shed the permanent cloak of shyness I wore for as long as I could remember, and branched out, making an amazing group of new friends in the process. As a sophomore, I grew up considerably because of the Opportunities I decided to pursue.
My junior year, more than any other, was a tough one. It definitely conveyed to me the importance of Perseverance, however. The biggest struggle for me in my junior year, and I had been told that this would happen to me, was that all of my senior friends were going off to college, and I was starting to think more and more about the life I would (and will) lead after high school. This put my schoolwork on the back burner in my mind, but I knew I had to work around that, since my dreams would never be realized if I stopped trying in school. I had to complete all my work, which, though it had come naturally to me before, was now a constant mental battle, since it didn’t seem quite as important as it had upon entering high school. Another challenge as a junior was my abysmal time management skills. I put myself in a position where I had to juggle almost twenty extracurricular activities, including two sports, as well as a part-time job. This was incredibly difficult for me at first, but over time, I learned to manage, giving up my free time in lieu of helping the common good by completing all of my duties. My junior year involved many sleepless nights spent worrying about an upcoming performance or presentation, but it also proved to be rewarding since by the time it ended, I had kept up all the goals I set for myself at the beginning of freshman year, and I was a well-respected member of my class and my school. Persevering as a junior opened my eyes to the mental sacrifices made every day in the real world, and that lesson will be with me for the rest of my life.
My Senior year was, true to the wise words of my eighth grade teacher, a year of Excellence. For the most part, I continued working diligently like I had as a junior, with the constant time struggle between school, extracurriculars, my job, and my social life. One major difference made Senior year much more bearable, however. The work I had done in the past 4 years finally paid off with recognition from my peers and teachers. At the beginning of the year, I was inundated with college applications, which took up a large portion of my time. I attended scholarship competitions at various colleges in the hopes that they would pay off and help me to offset the cost of college. These competitions gave me more than I ever dreamed possible when I got a call one afternoon from Central Michigan University, telling me I was the recipient of the Centralis Scholar Award, a full tuition and room and board scholarship worth $86,000. My hard work, long weekends, and perseverance had actually paid for my college. I am still in shock that I receieved this award, and I am incredibly grateful for it. As the year went on, I was nominated by my school for various other awards and recognized for my leadership in extracurricular activities. My hard work as a section leader in band lead to me receiving the prestigious John Phillips Sousa Band Award, and my constant dedication to my grades meant I ended the year as Valedictorian of my class. Though I was not doing anything particularly world-changing, the lessons I learned about hard work and perseverance throughout my high school years lead to a gratifying senior year of recognition for my distinction.
Next year, as I attend college and attempt to excel as I did in high school, the lessons I have learned through the past four years will be absolutely invaluable. I now know Humility and am able to be patient and modest. I know to take advantage of any Opportunities which come my way. I have seen that the results of dedication and Perseverence can lead to Excellence. With these skills, I will be armed and ready for whatever college and my life can throw my way. Because of my high school experience, I have HOPE for the future.
Sincerely,
Jamie Goering