Student Champion Spotlight: Lexi Jarrett

Student Champions do so much for EAST—both their individual programs and EAST as a whole. That’s why we are going to take time in every EQ to spotlight a Student Champion who is making a difference in the lives of students and facilitators at their schools.

For this edition, we sat down and talked with Lexi Jarrett from Cross County High School. Lexi is in the tenth grade and her second year as a Student Champion. It’s no surprise that she rose to take the mantle so quickly, as she’s been familiar with EAST long before she enrolled.

“My dad actually used to be an EAST facilitator at Harrisburg High School,” Lexi said. “So I’ve been introduced to EAST for awhile and always knew I wanted to be a part of it.”

Lexi joined EAST in 7th grade. Initially she focused on 3D printing, but that wasn’t something that drove her. She found her passion the next year.

“In 8th grade I was given the opportunity to provide playby-play commentary for our live-stream program which at the time was an EAST project,” Lexi said. “That’s where I started developing this whole role to where I speak for our EAST program. Everything I do now is oriented around speaking or teaching other students about live streaming.”

Her involvement in providing play-by-play commentary for Cross County athletics events took Lexi out of her shell. Lexi says she now loves to talk to people, no matter if they’re a student, teacher, or community partner. This rapid growth is what led facilitator Jason Blake to appoint her as Student Champion when she reached 9th grade.

“I’ve always selected students that are very well spoken and students that are really good at keeping track of deadlines,” Blake said. “That role of Student Champion has always been a role with responsibilities beyond just normal classroom responsibilities. She was just a natural fit because as she has moved grade-by-grade, she’s taken on more roles and responsibility.”

While many high schoolers are involved in several different extracurricular activities, Lexi’s sole focus is EAST as Blake describes.

“She’s bought into the idea of EAST,” Blake said. “To some kids, EAST is just a class. But to her, EAST is what she does. She’s an EAST student first and does other things second. A Student Champion is someone who isn’t only just going to champion EAST, but also champion our program.”

Lexi was brought into her role as Student Champion in a time of great uncertainty for every student across the nation, and while that might have served as a potential excuse for her to slack in her role, she never even thought about it.

“When Mr. Blake told me I was student champion, my first thought was being excited that I could get out and talk to people,” Lexi said. “I kind of took it to heart. If I get chosen to do something like this I’m going to do it to the best of my ability. As Student Champion, you’re involved in the background of everything that goes on like EAST Night Out and EAST Conference.”

During her time as Student Champion, Lexi has already begun inspiring her fellow students to become more involved with broadcasts. Blake says he’s watched several young girls be encouraged by her role.

“I’ve seen more of how our female students are wanting to get more involved with having speaking roles,” Blake said. “It started with Lexi doing commentary and now we’ve got like three or four young girls that are wanting to be on camera and want to interview people. That started with Lexi leading the way. Champions like Lexi push other students’ boundaries by challenging them to do more.”

Lexi recalls one of the students who came to her with an idea, and by working with her, was able to unlock her passion for broadcasting.

“A student came up to me one day last year during EAST, and she had this note written out on her phone with an idea, and I thought it was a really cool idea,” Lexi said. “She tried to work on a podcast but figured out she wants to be more on camera, so this year she started filming for our sports broadcasts called CCHS Live, and is working as on-air talent at halftime and doing game recaps. It’s definitely been fun helping her get where she wants to be and kind of teaching her.”

Being a Student Champion has given Lexi the opportunity to teach others while learning the real meaning of education. She’s learned many lessons herself.

“I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that there’s always room to improve,” Lexi said. “EAST gives Student Champions support to help those champions find ways to improve and even help some schools win the Founder’s Award.”

As with her future, EAST has revealed exactly what Lexi wants to do for her career, even with two-and-a-half years of high school still ahead of her!

“My dream job is to be a sports analyst or have my own talk show like Colin Cowherd,” Lexi said. “Or I’d like to report on the sidelines and interview players. Before EAST I was terrified of speaking to people and trying anything new. I was not that kid at all. But when I became involved with EAST, it just started opening doors and I got to experience new things and figure out what I wanted to do. EAST has definitely shown me what I want to do and helped me be who I want to be.”