2023 Profiles - page 2

By Jaxon McElwee, Bixby High School Sports, arts and social life — many excel in one of these fields, but Joslin Tinline excels in all three.  Joslin, born in Duncan, is now a rising senior at Plainview High School in Ardmore. Joslin finds many ways to balance her track, theater, academic team and National Honor Society. On top of these, she also consistently maintains great grades. She spent her time while she was younger playing outside, drawing or acting out skits with her brother in the living room of her grandparent’s house. As she would act in front of her grandparents,…

By Lucas Jackson, Epic Charter Online You typically hear stories about big voices, but what about smaller ones? The ones that are underrepresented, and would often be muffled from being heard?  Jeremiah McBurrows is looking to lend a mic to these voices that represent unnoticed communities. Jeremiah is the copy editor for the yearbook of Heritage High School in Frisco, Texas. He started in photojournalism, but his teacher signed him up for yearbook after seeing how he took photos and wrote captions, and thought he’d be a “fantastic addition to the team.” Jeremiah said his favorite story he’s written was…

By Becca Jolly, Harding Charter Prep, Oklahoma City Jensen Mckey is a person of many interests. Despite being homeschooled, the 17-year-old has a booming social life between soccer, an aspiring career in media and being a referee. Jensen was homeschooled until second grade and then again since sixth grade. She was pulled out due to threats being made to her school in Harrah, Oklahoma. Since then Jensen has continued attending classes online through Epic Charter Schools, where her mom is a teacher. Going through a change like this is hard, especially for younger people. After leaving public school for online,…

By Joslin Tinline, Plainview High School, Ardmore  From sports podcasting to working with young Afghan refugees, one thing remains true for 17-year-old Jaxon McElwee: He finds meaning in bettering people’s lives. Jaxon is the oldest of the siblings in his household. He lives with his mom and her fiancé. Jaxon is involved in his church, South Tulsa Baptist Church, which helps Afghan families by giving Afghan dads jobs and teaching their wives how to handle money and learn English.  “I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for people in need, more so for kids,” Jaxon said. “I love…

Kylee Crisswell, Yukon High School Problem solving presents itself in everyday life ranging from small tedious tasks, to work life and large projects. Houston Williams, a rising junior from Frisco, Texas, began 3D modeling last year and uses his creativity to bring concepts to reality and sometimes that creativity shows up in other aspects of his life. While creativity is just one component of 3D modeling, sometimes it takes trial and error to get to the root of a problem to make a design work.   For example, in one project Houston did in his modeling class, students were asked to…

By Rylie Lockerman, Vandegrift High School (Austin, Texas) In a volleyball game, players serve the ball back and forth. If the player drops the ball, then it’s set over and you have to serve again. This game of repetition and perseverance is what Hannah Joo experiences on and off the court. Hannah, a rising sophomore at Norman North, found her place with volleyball, a sport and hobby that she didn’t discover until middle school but is an experience she hopes to carry with her forever. “Joining my high school volleyball team was kind of a big deal because I started…

By Thalia Henry, Lawton MacArthur High School Ethan Dixon was on his way to athletic success when a doctor found a lack of major disk fluid in his spine and told Ethan he may never play sports again.  Though this discovery meant Ethan was not able to play sports until cleared; he persevered and once he returned to the field, he worked to play to the best of his ability.  “Everything I do,” Ethan said, “I am going to be the best in.”  Born and raised in Frisco, Texas,  Ethan is no stranger to athletic competition. By age 14 he had…

By Keely Betenson, Bartlesville High School Fort Worth, Texas, is a fast-paced city of 935,508 people, which could seem intimidating to those flourishing in its city limits. Though challenges may come with having such a dense forest of people surrounding her, Eboni Montgomery, a 17-year-old rising senior at Crowley High School takes her time shaping her education and her passions for the better. Being an only child, Eboni still had a plethora of cousins, aunts and uncles to cheer for her on the path to success, alongside her loving mother who supported her in her goals and encouraged her to…

By Jensen McKey, Epic Charter Schools Becca Jolly has seen the devastating effects mental health has had on her loved ones. She wants to use her studies to help and improve people’s lives. “I want to help people,” she said. “So many people need help and no one is willing to help them.”  Her goal is to attend the University of Michigan and major in its advanced psychology program, which is ranked 10 in the country.  “I want to be able to help people,…They’re human beings. They deserve to have help, and I want to be able to do that.”…