Inspiration: JKF senior valedictorians and salutatorians share theirs

By Kristine Thomas 

Jenna Bochsler said the word “inspirational” is defined along the lines of “something or someone that makes a person want to do something.”

So what makes a high school student motivated or inspired to achieve his or her goals?

Kennedy High School’s Class of 2014 valedictorians Jenna Bochsler, Phoebe Hill and Emily Schmidt and salutatorians Brent Lang and Cheyla Moranchel each offer a different answer.

Jenna Bochsler
Describing herself as an easily inspired person, Jenna said her motivation comes from her hero and role model – Grandma Barb.

“My grandma is hands-down the sweetest woman ever to walk this Earth,” Jenna said. “She never has one bad thing to say about anyone.”

“Grandma Barb lives to make other people happy,” Jenna said, adding her grandma always brings a smile to her face.

“She spends a lot of her hours at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church volunteering with various events and spreading her positive attitude to everyone around her,” Jenna said.

Her grandmother also volunteers at Silverton Hospital

“Grandma Barb will do anything for anyone ,which is why I strive to be just like her some day,” Jenna said. “Nursing has a lot to do with being there for others and putting myself in someone else’s shoes, just like she does every day. If I end up as half the woman she is, I will know I did my life right.”

Phoebe Claire Hill
For Phoebe, her inspiration starts with her alarm clock, reminding her it’s time to get out of bed. Motivation, she said, is what gets you out of bed in the morning.

“Inspiration comes from those you surround yourself, it guides the way to success. Motivation, however, comes from within. People generate their own motivation,” she said.

She said she is driven by two main philosophies – “Know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And always strive for happiness; for yourself and those around you. You’d be surprised how far that gets you.”

She credits her sports medicine teacher, Mr. Crapper, for inspiring her to study medicine.

“He exposed me to the incredible impact medicine can have on someone’s life, and made me realized that I wanted to be a part of that beauty,” she said.

She plans to work hard next year so she can travel the world or and perhaps transfer to an out-of-state school.

“The way I see it, there is a great big world out there and nothing is stopping us, so why confine ourselves? Why not explore it?”

Brent Lang
Brent said his passions and goals are inspired by random flukes and events taking place from time-to-time in everyday life. He became interested in advanced mathematics in eighth grade when he was looking through the high school curriculum guide.

“My decision to pursue a degree in mathematics came later when I discovered a book in the high school library that explained basic single-variable calculus in the context of a children’s story,” he said. “I was encouraged to do some of my own research and started looking into other areas of mathematics like topology, differential geometry, and tensor algebra, not that I understand any of these subjects. The possibilities of what I could learn in this field seemed limitless.”

Another example where “randomness” affected his life was when his dad was diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes.

“It was somewhat sudden and unexpected, but it was all for the better,” Brent said. “I began doing my own research about living a healthy lifestyle, and now I am a full advocate of living a healthy lifestyle.”

For his senior project, he did a blog on dangers of genetically modified food.

“I can thank randomness for much of my motivation because it causes unexpected things to happen, sometimes for the worst and sometimes for the best,” he said.

Cheyla Moranchel
Witnessing the struggles of her parents working as farm laborers has made Cheyla realize she wants a different life. To achieve her goals, Cheyla knows an education is essential.  “I strongly believe that the obstacles I faced define my attitude towards education,” she said. “A lot of students slack off in high school and don’t care about their grades. Seeing this makes me angry and sad because I know a lot of kids who would give anything to take their place.”

As soon as she discovered an interest in engineering, she decided to volunteer at Habitat for Humanity.  “Habitat’s mission to help low-income families own a home inspired me to be a part of their mission.”

When she graduates on June 7, it won’t just be her achievement, she said. “As a family, we all have been through a lot, made many sacrifices, and have shared successes and failures. On June 7, we will celebrate what we have accomplished as a family throughout these years,” she said.

Emily Schmidt
Emily credits her parents, Ron and Cindy, for being her biggest motivators.

“They have always been the ones to push me to be the best I can be, and, as I consider myself a perfectionist, I don’t want to be anything less than that,” Emily said. “My parents support me through absolutely everything I do.”

Seeing how hard her parents work to do the things they enjoy also provides Emily with the motivation she needs to achieve her goals.  “They have both inspired and challenged me to be just like them when I grow up and raise a family. “

She also credits her youth minister Emma Hare at St. Mary’s Catholic Church for being an inspiration.  “By meeting Emma and joining the youth group leadership team, I have grown tremendously, and I’m more comfortable with the person I know I am every day,” Emily said. “I admire her so much for just being herself all of the time, and that inspired me to step out of my little shell and not worry so much about what others say.”