Editor’s note: The Future Leaders of America series profiles high school seniors who display leadership qualities in their school and the community. The series is brought to you by Pridemark Construction.
By Stacey Shannon—
MUNCIE, IN—Though Clarissa Jones entered Muncie Central High School on the coattails of her older siblings, she marched her way into the school and created her own legacy. In fact, principal Chris Walker was quick to sing her praises about what a great student she’s been who gives him daily updates.
“She looks out for us just as much as we look out for her,” he said.
During her four years of high school, Jones has been incredibly involved. She played volleyball during her freshman year, golf her sophomore year and tennis her junior and senior years. But what’s stolen her heart the very most is band and guard.
Jones said she was looking for something to do during the winter as a freshman after volleyball season ended. She gave winter guard a try and fell in love.
“I’ve been doing it for the past 4 years,” she said. “It’s been really great – a great way for me to make friends [and] to build relationships. It’s helped me come out of my comfort zone a lot.”
Along with guard, Jones is also a member of the wind ensemble where she plays flute as she has since sixth grade.
“I love music, so it’s been really fun challenging myself with different rhythms and songs that we play in class,” Jones said.
Summer marching band and guard have also had a big impact on her. Jones said she’s most proud of the success she’s had with Spirit of Muncie Band and Guard.
“Winning state for marching band my freshman year was probably the best experience I’ve ever had,” she said. “Just having it all come together and make a product that we can really be proud of and are really proud of to this day is really something I can hold onto for the rest of my life.”
Outside of sports and band, Jones also participated in Shafer Leadership Academy as a sophomore and worked with other area students to collect personal items and toiletries for A Better Way. She remains involved in the community through her church where she sings in choir, is part of the dance team and does various outreach projects.
Jones said she’s come a long way since her freshman year. She realized she was struggling with procrastination and has worked on improving her time management each year since then.
Being so involved in school has been important to Jones. Her goal in high school was to experience all the things she could, and she’s done just that.
“I’m young, so I want to experience a lot and just enjoy my childhood,” Jones said. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. I want to go after everything I can.”
She is going to continue going after things once she graduates high school in the spring. Jones plans to attend Indiana University to major in biochemistry as a pre-med student. Her goal is to eventually become either an orthopedic or pediatric surgeon.
“I’ve just been really obsessed with anatomy and the human body and how things work,” Jones said. “And I love just helping people. That’s just my human nature.”
She wants to help the underclassman as well by leaving them with wisdom she’s learned through high school.
“Don’t become so focused on your grades that you lose sight of all the other experiences that are available to you in high school,” Jones said. “Becoming so obsessed, you can drive yourself crazy. Obviously, you want to have good grades…but you also want to be able to take time for yourself and really just enjoy high school.”
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