By Tru Swoboda
“A four year prison sentence.”
“A waste of time.”
“Glorified child labor. “
These are all phrases used to describe the high school experience.
“Memory filled.”
“A privilege.”
“The best four years of my life.”
These are also phrases used to describe the high school experience.
But what makes these phrases significant is that they are told from students who graduate the same year, at the same high school, with the same access to the same opportunities.
The only difference is that one group of students chose to take advantage of those opportunities, and by doing that, turned the typical high school experience into a success story.
Seniors Samori Mckell-Jeffers, Ryder Turner, Nicki Southerland and Layna Bowman all share at least one key characteristic. They all have in common a drive to succeed.
This success can be noticed by their many accomplishments through academics, extracurricular involvement and athletics. They have made it a common priority to stay involved.
”Getting involved in high school gives you the opportunity to grow as a person and become well-rounded,” Mckell-Jeffers says.
And his priority to stay involved is the main reason why Samori, still not yet 17 years old, is graduating a year early to play soccer at Wittenberg University this fall.
However there were some difficulties leading up to his commitment. Mckell-Jeffers had to learn to adapt to the heavy workload that came with the process of being a successful early grad.
“I’d say learning to adapt to the process and staying organized with all the moving parts,” he said. “Learning to cope with everything and handle the stress on my own, but also with the support of my friends and family has definitely helped with the workload.”
Mckell-Jeffers gives credit to both his family and friends for aiding his high school success.
“I have been driven for a long time and I have my parents to support me in everything I do,” he said. “That’s led me to success both on and off the field.”
Samori is just one of many successful graduating student-athletes here at Delta. However, athletics isn’t the only way to get involved. In fact, various of these high achieving students express that extracurriculars may be just as important.
“By being involved in extracurriculars, you get the opportunity to meet so many new people,” senior Layna Bowman says. “It just makes the high school experience so much more enjoyable.”
Bowman has held the position of Student Council and Freshman Mentors president, as well as being a part of several other activities such as class officers, Chick-fil-A Leaders, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Riley Dance Marathon, Ping Pong club, as well as being a swim and volleyball athlete.
And although she’s constantly juggling a busy agenda with her various activities, she claims they all bring enjoyment. Staying involved has helped her positively develop not just as a student, but as a person as well.
“Now that I’m a senior, it’s so rewarding to know that with the things I’ve been involved in, I’ve been able to make an impact and maybe even inspire others to want to be more involved,” Bowman said.
Bowman views her high school success through how she’s impacted others and values each opportunity she took in the process.
It’s evident that the hard work and dedication devoted by these two students have resulted in a gratifying end to their senior year, but the process to achieve such success didn’t come as easily.
To stay on top of their studies and continue to excel in academics, they learned to adapt and develop tricks to make the process more manageable.
And one of these tricks, as simple as it may sound, happens to be getting an adequate amount of sleep.
Senior Nicki Southerland says she prioritizes at least nine hours of sleep every night so she can perform her absolute best both in school and at practice.
Southerland has found success in athletics and academics throughout her high school career, with being a highly achieving three-sport athlete, an NCAA Division 1 commit to the University of Notre Dame, and class valedictorian. With that success, she learned to pick up some helpful strategies to always be at the top of her game.
And as simple as it may seem, she says getting the proper amount of sleep makes all the difference.
“Even on late nights, I know that if I don’t get enough sleep I won’t think as well the next day, and I won’t be in the right headspace to perform my best,” she said.
Being valedictorian of her class, there are sure to have been countless days where the combination of athletics and schoolwork became overwhelming for Southerland. Because of this, time management during the school day is extremely crucial so she can continue to stay well rested for the day ahead of her, whether that involves a difficult Chemistry test or a State qualifying track meet.
Finding success as a high school student requires many personal traits like perseverance, discipline and accountability, and as described previously, time management. However, the people you surround yourself with have an impact on how you perform as well.
“You’ve got to find a good support system,” Turner says. “I have a lot of friends that push themselves just as hard as I push myself so when I need help, I know who to reach out to.”
National Honor Society president and two-sport varsity athlete Ryder Turner expresses that by surrounding himself with people who have the same values and goals as himself, he was able to not just set the bar high, but achieve his goals as well.
One of Turner’s greatest goals was to achieve all A’s throughout high school, and he feels that by surrounding himself with people who also prioritized their grades, Turner managed to meet that goal.
By staying involved, these seniors were able to not only meet their goals, but also form relationships and impact the lives of others in the process.
It may sound daunting, considering the immense dedication, willpower, and responsibility required by each of these individuals to achieve their success. However, according to them, any student has the capability to make the best of their high school experience by taking the right opportunities.
“There are so many different clubs and leadership positions here at Delta, you just have to be willing to put yourself in those positions,” Bowman says. “Taking advantage of those opportunities is just how I think I achieved success.”
So whether you desire to become more involved, make new friends, achieve better grades, or even if you’re simply new to Delta, these seniors are sure to provide you with some helpful advice.
But the first step in achieving that success is by taking advantage of the opportunity first.
