All-Area Academic Excellence Team: Cade Wilkerson, Chanu Lee
May 10—CADE WILKERSON
—School: Carl Junction High School.
—Planned career field: Computers/tech.
—Long-range goals: I want to serve my country through a government agency and work in cybersecurity to protect the privacy of our citizens. I want to start a family and leave a lasting, positive impact on the world.
—Advice to freshmen for academic success: Your mental health should come first; don't be afraid to look out for yourself. Get involved in as many activities as you can while still taking the time to enjoy them individually. Take pride in your academics, but never let a disappointing grade or test score discourage you or diminish your self-perception.
—Parents: Brent and Barb Wilkerson.
—Inspiring educator: Mrs. Kristi Alford always goes out of her way to make kids feel valued and heard. Whenever you come to her with a problem, school-related or not, she always says the same thing: "What can I do to help you?" She walks into class with this genuine, caring mindset every day.
Mrs. Alford challenges us to put ourselves in uncomfortable situations and learn from them. For me, this meant learning to come out of my shell as a freshman. The atmosphere of her classroom empowered me to present projects in front of my peers, and she really helped me adjust to high school as a whole.
Having Mrs. Alford as an English and enrichment teacher was a blessing because those were the two areas where I needed her most. She helped me refine my writing skills and prepare me for the future. Her support throughout my high school years also helped to boost my self-esteem and ultimately gave me the confidence to tackle college and set high expectations for the future.
Mrs. Alford, thank you for everything you've done for me!
CHANU LEE
—School: Pittsburg (Kansas) High School.
—Planned career field: Science.
—Long-range goals: I hope to attend college and enter a science- or math-related career.
—Advice to freshmen for academic success: The advice I would give to freshmen is to keep track of the workload of each class and make sure you know the material.
—Parents: Jonghyuck and Younga Lee.
—Inspiring educator: Throughout my high school career and assortment of different teachers, the one staff member at my school that remained constant was Mrs. Mary Geier, the gifted facilitator. Year by year, teachers came and went, but Mrs. Geier remained at my side as they passed.
I came to depend on her for little bits of help that I needed for my classes or some other task. Whenever I needed something, Mrs. Geier was always just an email away and did the best she could to help me out. She made sure I was on task during my time in her room, and checked up on me to make sure I was keeping up with classwork.
Mrs. Geier also pushed me to get out of my comfort zone and try new things. Whenever there was a competition I might be interested in, she let me know and encouraged me to participate. Knowing my general timidness and tendency to keep to myself, she also highly recommended that I take the speech course offered at the high school and pushed me to speak up more often in class. I followed her advice, and Mrs. Geier constantly checked to see how I was doing in the class. Due to her encouragement and vigilance, I feel more comfortable speaking in front of others and am glad to have had the experience.
Mrs. Geier is the staff member that I have come to rely on for help and encouragement, and I feel that she has really helped me to grow as a person.
The All-Area Academic Excellence Team, a program of The Joplin Globe's Newspapers in Education department, honors area seniors who excelled on the ACT or SAT exams as well as in the classroom throughout high school.
