By Anastasia Salazar and Grace Noonkester
Over 4 years, Maddie Mikkelsen has put in an extraordinary amount of work to fulfill her time here at Minarets and leave a mark before she graduates. A couple of important activities/clubs that Maddie has been involved in was mock trial and art. Maddie was a topnotch Mock Trial Artist and that helped her gain experience with drawing out scenes of a trial and learning new things. Maddie explains “It was harder than I originally thought it'd be since I had a very limited amount of time to draw out a scene of the trial. Though I thought it was very fun and I learned that I should work on my art.”
Since attending Minarets, Maddie has made a lot of connections with students and teachers who have helped her grow into the inspiring individual she is today. Maddie explained that her old friend group were the ones who helped her through a lot these past 4 years, and she appreciates everything they did for her. Maddie also recalls her favorite memories with a staff member who has been an integral part of Maddie’s success. Ms. Gamble, the one and only art teacher here at Minarets, has helped many inspiring artists, including Maddie. Maddie says, “She's been here since I started high school and I've always taken at least two of her classes each year.”
One of the many things that Minarets does to keep the senior’s spirits alive and leave a mark at Minarets before graduating, is the SLE program. Along with every senior, Maddie has had to come up with an idea that best benefits the community and Minarets. Maddie has already come up with a spectacular idea of painting a mural for a business of some kind, specifically somewhere in North Fork or Coarsegold. She states, “I would be painting something that represents the area or business. For example, If I were to do one in North Fork I might do one that represents Yosemite and the town itself.” Even though she is still working out the kinks of her SLE, we know whatever she paints will be amazing! An example of this is when Maddie was asked what Minarets C she lives by the most and she said creativity. Maddie further explains, “I say this because I always try to make what I do here at Minarets creative. I try to put as much effort into my work as I can.” From knowing Maddie, you can tell that she has a creative outlet and will most likely leave some creative, special mark here at Minarets when she leaves.
Since attending Minarets, Maddie has been working hard towards graduation day. She has many plans for the future, and we wish her the best of luck. Maddie elaborates on these plans by explaining that she wants to take the time to look into a college before attending. She is wanting to start off with a year or two of community college and then hopefully switch to a more legit college. Maddie explains, “I'm not set on what I would like to major in yet, but I do know that I want to pick one that will give me a good amount of options job-wise. I love art, and maybe I'll take a class or two for it, but I'm not sure if I want to major in that just because I know majoring in art hasn't always been worth it.”
The last thing we asked Maddie was what advice she wished she had as a freshman. Maddie explains, “I wish as a freshman that I was given the advice to always ask questions and speak up for yourself if you're confused. It's better to ask than not, it will benefit your grades more than you would think!” Maddie’s wishful advice can hopefully help and benefit other freshmen or incoming freshmen for the next year! We appreciate Maddie and all the hard work she has put into the years here at Minarets. We wish her the best, and hope she continues to work hard and do big things!
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