All-Area Academic Excellence Team: Mitchell, Spencer, Estes, Satterlee

May 25—Talon Mitchell

—Parents: Tim and Michelle Mitchell.

—School: Neosho High School.

—Planned career field: Neurological surgery.

—Long-range goals: I plan to attend Missouri State University to major in cell and molecular biology, then attend medical school and earn a degree as a neurosurgeon. One of my long-term goals is to have yearly medical clinics in impoverished areas. Being from Ghana, Africa, and knowing how it feels to have little access to medical treatment, I don't just want to help those who have access to medical treatment, but more importantly, those who don't.

—Advice to freshmen for academic success: First, organization is the key to academic excellence. I have always put my most important tasks with the shortest deadlines first, then other assignments that are less important and have longer deadlines last. This helps better allocate your time. Second, get involved with clubs and activities outside the classroom. I have found that being involved in extracurricular activities such as sports, debate and FBLA help teach teamwork, time management and academic skills that prepare you for college and future jobs.

—Inspiring educator: An educator who inspires me is Mr. David Watkins. I am a four-year member of the speech and debate team, which is taught by Mr. Watkins. Throughout this time, I learned important research, writing and public speaking skills, but more importantly, I gained a great admiration for Mr. Watkins.

As a student-athlete playing three sports, it was very difficult to add speech and debate to my schedule. But from the beginning, Mr. Watkins was willing to work with me to make sure I got the most out of speech and debate, but not at the expense of my other activities. That type of consideration is something that most student-athletes rarely experience from other programs and coaches.

There are so many ways in which Mr. Watkins has inspired and supported me. Being born in a Third World country inspired me to choose a topic for my informative speech each year, with issues that were often uncomfortable to talk about and called for social change. Although these issues didn't directly affect him, he always made me feel like they were just as important to him, and he never discouraged me from speaking about them. Furthermore, his accommodations for me at tournaments and in class after my ACL surgery only showed me his heart and compassion even more.

Thank you, Mr. Watkins, for being a great role model throughout my high school career.

Olivia Spencer

—Parents: Amanda Fox and Kevin Spencer.

—School: Joplin High School.

—Planned career field: Undecided.

—Long-range goals: Go to Cottey College and get my bachelor's degree.

—Advice to freshmen for academic success: Don't disregard small assignments. Even a few points can help your grade and they add up fast.

—Inspiring educator: An educator that has inspired me is Mr. Butts, a Spanish teacher at the high school. He encourages people to do their best but understands that there are sometimes circumstances that can prevent that. He helps people with both classwork and other problems. He has also traveled a lot and knows about different areas and cultures. After listening to his stories about his trips to other countries, I decided I want to study abroad. He has inspired me to continue learning Spanish and about other cultures.

Ethan Estes

—Parent: Melinda Estes.

—School: Seneca High School.

—Planned career field: Music education.

—Long-range goals: Become a high school band director after graduating from college with a double major in music education and music performance.

—Advice to freshmen for academic success: Focus. Start now. Stop making excuses. Hold yourself accountable to what academic success you wish to achieve and do it. A million things can go wrong, a million things can be different than what you wanted or what you planned, but be the best you can be in spite of it all.

—Inspiring educator: The teacher that inspired me the most was my jazz band director, Mr. Jones. He showed me what a teacher could be: someone who had so much fun every day with what he did while remaining as passionate as he is with music. His example is a large part of why I decided on pursuing music as a career.

Wyatt Satterlee

—Parents: Spencer and Kim Satterlee.

—School: Joplin High School.

—Planned career field: Military/law.

—Long-range goals: I hope to achieve commission into the U.S. Navy. At some point, I hope to attend law school and receive a J.D.

—Advice to freshmen for academic success: If you really want to elevate yourself, then focus on your classes throughout high school. Good grades can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships. The four years of high school will shape the rest of your life. When you become tired of the monotonous and tedious assignments/projects, look at the bigger picture. Excelling academically will put you on a faster pace to achieving financial freedom.

—Inspiring educator: Throughout my high school years, I was fortunate enough to be a part of many special clubs, groups and organizations. However, becoming a lawyer for the JHS mock trial team was one of the best experiences. For the first time in 20 years, JHS had a mock trial team. Shawn DeGraff, a former lawyer, rehabilitated the program and coached us to a top 10 finish in state our first year back. On top of the vast amount of information about the law that he taught me, Mr. DeGraff also inspired me outside the courtroom.

First and foremost, Mr. DeGraff's commitment to winning is very admirable. In a trial, there is a winner and loser — no in between. He grounded my thought process to focus on winning. Law is a battle like any other sport or conflict. Mr. DeGraff has inspired me to use the power of words to win and promote justice.

Secondly, Mr. DeGraff shows a tremendous amount of respect to his companions, competitors and strangers. He taught me how to win with humility and lose with grace. Lastly, Mr. DeGraff's work ethic is exceptional. Every day of the year, he would show up at school an hour early to work on the case with us. On the weekends, he would be in communication with our team, ensuring our questions were answered. This commitment to me and my team inspires success.