When junior Maggie Holt joined the girls’ swim and dive team, she didn’t think it would entail going to her swim coach’s house in a shark costume to sing Christmas carols.
Maggie and the rest of her team had bought wearable shark blankets to prank their coach, Tim Jasperse, by showing up at his door to sing Christmas carols for him. This, and many other memorable moments from the swim season, are why she loves the community and continues to participate in the sport. Maggie is also a water polo player and, because much of the swim team also plays water polo, she can be a part of this vibrant, hardworking community nearly year-round. Both these sports have impacted how she thinks about and approaches work.
“I think both water polo and swimming have made my work ethic more of a ‘do what needs to be done’ mentality instead of taking things slow and [focusing on] every little thing,” Maggie said. “Obviously, swimming and water polo take up a lot of my time, so I don’t have much time for anything else, so I do what I need to do.”
In particular, Coach Tim and Coach Sara, the former coach of her water polo team, have affected her significantly. Because she plays two sports, Maggie has multiple coaches who all have different ways of coaching their athletes, and their leadership styles have inspired her greatly.
“My coaches have a pretty big impact on me,” Maggie said. “Especially Tim Jasperse. He has always lifted me up and encouraged me to do my best in the pool and in school. Sara Fredricks has also always been there for me when it comes to relationships and how to handle situations.”
Even though she invests much of her time and energy into her sports, Maggie is still taking multiple AP classes, including AP Environmental Science (APES). Though she’s not settled on exactly what career she wants to pursue, she says the wide array of classes she takes has influenced what she wants to study after high school.
“I haven’t really looked at a lot of colleges, but I’ve always been leaning towards MSU or somewhere similar out of state,” Maggie said. “High school hasn’t really impacted my decision on whether to go to college or not, but what I want to study. I really want to study either biology or political science.”
While a class’s content is important, the subject material can only go so far if someone cannot teach it effectively. Maggie has found that certain teachers have truly changed her way of thinking, giving her the opportunity to interact with the course in a much more meaningful way. Mr. Pool, who teaches orchestra, and Mrs. Lipke, who teaches math, have had the biggest influences on not only her learning but also her general high school experience.
Maggie has had Mr. Pool as a teacher for the past six years, as he is the orchestra director for the high school, middle school, and sixth grade—when instruments are first introduced to students in school. She plays the violin, and her orchestra class has formed her since her elementary school years.
“Orchestra has taught me a lot about troubleshooting and doing what works for you, whether it’s a part in our music I can’t quite play perfectly—or at all—I can find what does work or find ways to practice to get better,” Maggie said. “I think it’s good to pursue music because the community is wonderful, and learning to read music and understand the value of music is important.”
Throughout her high school career, Maggie has learned so much. Of course, she’s memorized formulas and historical figures, but, more importantly, she’s learned how to live life. She’s learned what it means to be a hard worker, to appreciate music, and to be a part of a team.
“When I started high school, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect,” Maggie said. “I wanted to be in all of the hard classes and try to get way ahead in many classes, but now I realize that there is also plenty of room to have fun with the short time you have in high school.”
For Maggie, high school has been a transformative experience, full of life lessons and formative moments. When Maggie was starting high school, she was coming in almost blind. She hopes that future freshmen don’t have to experience that.
“I would tell incoming freshmen not to stress over grades and to get out of the house and hang out with friends,” Maggie said. “Get involved in clubs and sports. You will want fun memories to look back on, not just studying.”