Many teachers, coaches and counselors advise students to get involved in high school from the very beginning. WHS is filled with students who join athletics and clubs. One senior, however, is involved in the classroom and the field.

Lydia Juengling has been very involved since her freshman year. She has held many different positions throughout high school including Secretary of Mu Alpha Theta and National Honor Society; President of Renaissance; Public Relations Officer of Junior Optimist Club; Skills USA Member; and Student Representative for the Board of Education. While she holds many different titles, she also is a leader as a senior on the cross-country team and manager of the track and field team in the spring. When she first started high school, she got involved for one reason—resumes. Now as she prepares to graduate, she has learned that getting involved can be more beneficial than what it appears.

“I originally got involved because I wanted to appear more well-rounded on my resume,” Juengling said. “Now it’s something I do, not to appear involved, but to be involved.”

After taking three Advanced Placement (AP) classes her junior year, Juengling learned what it meant to be involved in the classroom as well.

“I really have to set my priorities straight [in the classroom and after school],” Juengling said. “It’s a lot to balance my duties as an officer for a club and do homework while still trying to apply for scholarships and college.”

As a senior, Juengling has taken her leadership positions in the classroom even further. For the second year she is editor-in-chief of Yearbook and a first-year staff member of Blue Jay Journal TV. Using the skills she has learned throughout her four years, she is able to manage everything that she does with one simple mindset.

“It’s really important to me that the staff feels like they can come to me with their problems and questions,” Juengling said. “I don’t want to people to see me as the ‘Boss Lady.’ It’s like you have to be the boss and the friend at the same time.”

With everything that she has learned over the years, she’s excited to take what once felt forced and turn her leadership into something that she can use every day in the real world.

“I’ve learned valuable people skills because of all the interviewing I have to do,” Juengling said. “Just stepping outside of my comfort zone and realizing that it’s not the end of the world if I feel uncomfortable will really help me in the future.”