Class of 2017
Academy
Williamsburg
Madison Michaelis
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
– Winnie the Pooh.
First, a little bit about me: Everyone calls me Maddie. I love to read (#bookworm), I love spending time outside, I love music and I sing, play the violin and the piano, I am a ballerina, and I live on a farm.
Throughout Elementary school I was homeschooled in the morning and went to the elementary school in the afternoon. At the end of fifth grade I made the decision to become solely homeschooled and I loved it. As I approached my 8th grade year my family heard about Williamsburg Intermediate, an online middle school that would be open for enrollment for the coming fall. My family researched it, loved it, and I enrolled for classes and began my wonderful Williamsburg journey.
I learned so much that first year and my life was forever changed by the mentors and friends I met. The next year as a freshman I enrolled in Williamsburg Academy and I have loved every minute of it.
Throughout my Williamsburg journey I have been challenged and stretched and have grown beyond my former limits. Those challenges, the classes, the environment and culture have done a lot to shape me into who I am today. I have learned valuable lessons about teamwork, time management, commitment, accountability, and leadership. I have made friends with amazing people and I have had incredible mentors.
Along this journey I have discovered who I am, overcome insecurities and weaknesses, and discovered strengths and talents. I have learned to enjoy subjects that were hard for me and I have learned to ask for help when I needed it. I am so grateful for each mentor I have learned from, each class I have taken, and each student I have met and interacted with. I have learned so much from them and I am excited to take these lessons with me as I begin a new journey following graduation.
What is my advice to current and future students? Learn all that you can. Become a lifelong learner. Your education is an opportunity, get the most out of it. Be present and focused; come on cam and mic and participate. Manage your time; use your SAR. Schedule your time in a way that allows you to keep your commitments and make sure that you leave time to sharpen the saw.
The senior motto is “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” Part of being a leader is going first, exercising personal leadership, and being the one to make a path for others to follow. While at Williamsburg we have been given the tools and knowledge we need to make new paths, and now we get to go out there and do it! I am so excited for the new paths and horizons that are out there for me. I am grateful for the challenges I have faced which have taught me that while making a new path may not be easy, I can do it and it will be worth it because of the impact those paths will have on those who come after me.
What are my plans for the future? This summer I will be singing in Europe with the Utah Ambassadors of Music and working on my family’s farm. I will attend BYU-Idaho this fall where I will be majoring in horticulture. I plan for music to remain a huge part of my life, and I may serve an LDS mission. I hope to get married in the Temple and raise a family. I want to inspire a culture of lifelong learning in everyone I meet. I want to be creative, to show the beauty of hard work, and bring joy to those around me. Most of all, I want to inspire everyone I meet to become a leader and share their light with the world.
