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 A. Shannon—
MUNCIE, IN—Brycen McNeil is a busy young man with plans for a bright future. The Delta High School senior has been incredibly involved at school throughout his high school career in both athletics and music.
McNeil has played nearly every sport offered at his school including football, swimming, soccer and track. He was also the drum major for marching band this year. In fact, one of his proudest moments this past year was the band’s success.
“We went to semi-state this year, which we’ve never done since the 1980s,” McNeil, who plays alto saxophone, said. “That was really cool to be able to see the happiness from the other students and band members.”
In whatever activity he’s participating, McNeil strives to connect with other students and develop his leadership skills. Last year, for example, he was selected to participate in the West Point Leadership and Ethics conference.
“That got me interested in bigger roles for this year,” he said.
Though his school involvement keeps him busy, McNeil is active in the youth group of The Jar Community Church where he attends. He said the youth group often does ministry outreach and he enjoys opportunities to volunteer.
“I really like to help out the community,” McNeil said. “I like helping people…It’s really rewarding.”
His desire for helping people won’t stop any time soon. McNeil plans to attend either Ball State University or Taylor University to major in pre-med chemistry and minor in psychology. His goal is to become a medical doctor. Next summer McNeil will participate in a medical internship that will allow him to begin exploring different specialties in medicine.
To stay on top of his academics, sports, band and volunteering obligations, McNeil has learned to prioritize his activities and manage his time using a paper planner. Sometimes his schedule means having to sacrifice time with friends.
“Having those friends also who understand is nice,” McNeil said. “But sometimes those can hurt a little bit.”
Being involved in so many activities, though, has also allowed McNeil to make a variety of friends. In fact, he encourages students coming up behind him to get involved.
“Just try things,” he said. “Don’t be scared. I’ve done a lot of sports, and it was awesome…You make so many more connections and so many new friends. Just be yourself.”
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