A Day in the Life

Written by Lion Life student editor, Serena Mair

In honor of Women's History Month, whilst reflecting on our past, we look forward to the progressions of our future. Middle Schooler Kristin Pate holds a promising future in the primarily male-dominated engineering field through her various pursuits in robotics and related STEM opportunities.

As an 8th-grade student, Kristin holds significant leadership in her presidency of the M/J Robotics Club. She serves as a mentor and role model to her peers stemming from her keen interest and dedication to service whilst prioritizing the well-being and success of others. Kristin highlights her encounters with team members to collaborate and strategize to receive the best possible outcomes from their tactics during competition.

Bridging her interests with noticeable problems in our community, problem solver and innovator Kristin, alongside a select few of her fellow highly-skilled peers, designed a sort catalog app for campus Environmental Club members to track the input of waste collection.

"They could use it to input the amount of trash they collected, what date it was collected, and where they collected it. We also met other competitors and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who gave us all certificates for participating in the challenge. Which was really cool!"

Flipping the pages forward and looking toward the bright future Kristin holds, we are so honored and excited to be able to have the opportunity to watch her grow deeper into her interests and continue to branch out to explore collaboration and skill-based opportunities as she follows the path of leadership and scholarship through perseverance and character.

Established earlier this academic year through the collaboration of 12th grader Annave Noel and 10th grader Jatavia Sweeting, the Upper Campus Black Student Union, commonly referred to as BSU, is a collaboration-based club that encourages unity and equality through connecting interested students in mentorship, activities, and service. Highly dedicated and engaged member, middle schooler Barron Hill shares his personal experiences and perspective of the club and the opportunities this initiative has provided him during his middle school years.

"In BSU, I gained many new opportunities and relationships, unlike any other club I've been in. The club had many opportunities to help others; for example, we helped with the Weston World Festival and taught others about HBCUs in February for our Black History Festival. Not only that, it felt like we were all family, helping each other and helping others. I also enjoyed what I learned about black history and culture together. All in all, with the time I've spent in this club, I wouldn't have traded for any other club."

We want to thank not only BSU for their constant engagement and dedication to empowering diversity and inclusion on campus but Barron for his contributions and connections to spark collaboration further and strive as a leader in the community.