Over the summer, certain OHS students were able to achieve and be a part of extraordinary events and accomplishments. It is important to recognize the students who are going above and beyond in order to reach their goals and pave paths to success.
One opportunity for outstanding success is through connections to ROTC. ROTC is an expansive program that provides various opportunities for high school students, and certain students at OHS are putting in the effort and working towards their futures.
“Through ROTC I was able to apply for a scholarship program where there was a list of about 15 flight schools, and I chose to go to Tuskegee, Alabama for the Heritage to get my pilot license,” said Logan Leonard, senior.
Fulfilling this accomplishment was not an easy feat, and required an extensive amount of hard work and dedication.
“Over eight weeks I did all of my training, which was about ten hours of ground training per day, and about two-three hours of flight training per day,” Leonard said.
Taking risks and following dreams, even at a young age, can benefit students and put them ahead in their future career paths.
“It has always been a dream of mine to fly, and this has given me such a stepping stone towards going further and going to possibly [be a] military pilot, possibly commercial pilot,” Leonard said.
Life can be extremely busy, especially in high school, but students who make the sacrifice to achieve their goals are able to learn important life lessons.
“It was a bit of a work-life balance thing, and getting practice with that early, but I’ve been able to manage it and get it done,” Leonard said.
Some OHS students are also displaying massive achievements within their sports, getting the rare and impressive opportunities to play with top teams.
“I went and played for the U19 national team for volleyball in Honduras, and we got to compete against a bunch of different countries and we won, so we qualified for worlds which is next year,” said Devyn Wiest, senior.
Being selected to play for any national team is not an easy task, and making the roster really showcases the amount of determination and dedication that some students display.
“Over the year and past years, 20 athletes were selected, and then in June there was a week-long tryout for the 20 athletes to narrow it down to 12 for the travel roster,” Wiest said.
Within these opportunities, students are able to expand and further develop their level of play, as well as experience a setting with other like-minded athletes working towards the same goal.
“It’s so much more competition, even at practice, and I think sometimes in practice it was harder than the actual games, so it was really cool seeing that many hardworking people and just being a part of that,” Wiest said.
Being in high levels of competitive sports also comes with extremely busy schedules, and students learn at an early age the importance of prioritizing the different aspects of their life.
“We traveled as a team, so before the Honduras trip, we had a week in Colorado Springs to train, and then we went straight from Colorado Springs to Honduras,” Wiest said. “I just think it’s really important to stay on top of school and get ahead when I can.”
Other students at OHS have been showcasing their extraordinary musical talents and creating impressive platforms which aid them in developing their careers.
“Currently at the moment I’ve started a[n] Instagram channel and I also have a YouTube channel where over the next few years I’m going to be promoting my new works on the piano, and I’m hoping to build a more personal brand that can kind of get my name out there in the music industry,” said John Simcoe, senior.
The level of maturity and intent that various students put into their interests can help them gain confidence and wisdom within their chosen career paths.
“Creating songs is really a spontaneous process but I would say that you have to get inspired first, so just seeing the world around you and how people interact with each other, and getting an emotional vibe. Melodies and thoughts will just come into your head at random times so you just have to be ready for when it comes,” Simcoe said.
It is important to explore different interests and recognize the facets of life that bring someone joy since that happiness can become influential in successful careers and futures.
“I have a classical music background, so I’d say from the very beginning I was very inspired off of that, and I was involved in music along with bands in elementary and middle school, and then along with that, I shifted perspectives to more piano because that was the main instrument that I really enjoyed,” Simcoe said.
Even at a young age, students are able to receive recognition for their impressive hard work and dedication being put towards the fields that interest them.
“Most recently, I got invited by the Deer Valley Unified School District the summer before my junior year to play at their GCU pep rally, and there were about 5,000 teachers there,” Simcoe said. “I’ve also done some online competitions where I have won some prizes for that.”
OHS students are chasing their dreams and putting in an impressive amount of effort to achieve their goals and inspire others around the school to do the same.
“I think I would like to get involved in the music-making industry and possibly become a film score producer and write music for movies, or also just music editing and kind of production in that sense. I want to become a performer and self promoter for my own product, so maybe travel and perform that way too,” Simcoe said.
