4 minute read
Pathfinders
HUBERT WORLEY
BY AUBREY SCOTT MOAK
Jackson Prep means something different to everyone. Do you remember the exact moment, the exact building, teacher, friend, or game that sealed your decision on our school? Despite the differences in how we made our decision, every student at Jackson Prep has two things in common: we are members of a family; we are working parts of a great whole.
There are not enough good words to explain Jackson Prep, yet I could speak on what it means to me forever. I could never recount the opportunities it has provided me. I want to share one of the most special:
When I was in the ninth grade I stumbled across a meeting and continued walking; I almost didn’t notice an upperclassman waving for me to come in and sit with her. What was going on in here? I decided to walk in and immediately turned my focus to Mrs. Tracie Mallard at the podium telling of an incredible vision she had for the admissions process at Prep. She wanted a group of students to become the face of Jackson Prep. When families came to visit the school, she wanted a Prep student to tour the visiting student: student to student...She called them Pathfinders, and at that moment, I wanted to be one more than anything.
In short, a Pathfinder serves as a student recruiter, a tour guide, and overall a friend of prospective students and families. We believe
HUBERT WORLEY
Back, from left: Tracie Mallard, Director of Admission and Pathfinders sponsor, William Deas, DJ Johnson, Megan Tang, and Kimmons Sheppard. Middle, from left: Win Speights, Bradley Carter, and Akhila Adari. Front, from left: Emerson Rhinewalt, Noah Mallard, Hannah Polk, and Edward Wilson.
that it is important to convey a welcoming environment, and we do this by surveying the prospective student to match him or her with a Pathfinder who has walked a similar path. For example, I have toured a young girl whose interests were athletics and writing. I was able to relate to her because of my involvement with the volleyball team and the newspaper staff. I shared with her the ways Jackson Prep had grown my abilities in these areas and was able to give her a glimpse into what her path could look like as a successful Prep student.
Another thing that is striking about Jackson Prep is our facilities. It’s important for a family to see physically all that Prep provides before making a decision. Prep’s campus is so nice and wonderfully tended. Therefore as a Pathfinder, it is so exciting to show prospective students the beauty that could be their everyday life because we are so blessed that it gets to be ours. Seeing a 4th-grade boy run from endzone to endzone on the football field or encouraging a little girl to stand on the huge McRae Stage while you dim the lights is what makes Pathfinding so special. These experiences are not ones that prospective students would get to have if an adult was filling their ears with statistics and information about our school. We work as the hands and feet to make tours for students special and memorable.
There are 42 Pathfinders. Each was selected based on his or her own individual Prep experience. We are made up of students who came from many different elementary schools, entered Prep in different grades, and are involved in different campus organizations. Pathfinders is not only a way to create relationships with prospective students, but also with other high schoolers whose path you may never otherwise cross.
The program selection process is complete after answering a series of short essay questions and an interview. The application calls for prospective Pathfinders to describe their individual Prep experience and reflect on how they have been leaders in our community. The next round, the interview, focuses more on the person’s interpersonal skills: personality, involvement, and ability to engage. Being a Pathfinder has developed my leadership skills beyond my expectations and provided me with personal connections within and beyond the Prep family.
I became a Pathfinder when I was in the tenth grade, the first year the program was offered. Over the past three years, I feel that I have grown up and developed parallel with the program. Pathfinders has evolved from the day Mrs. Mallard shared her vision, and so have I.
The school’s mission statement claims it is a place that challenges and inspires students. I can confirm that just from the experience of being a Pathfinder: it was a test of my skills, but it was some of the most pure fun I had in my time at Prep.
Altogether, I feel prepared for college, while at the same time I feel that I left a mark on the Jackson Prep community because of this program. Apply for Pathfinders. You won’t regret it.
RYAN SHERMAN
From left: Win Speights, Olivia P. Smith, Sammie Zoog, Jake Vineyard, Emily Van Uden, Katherine Speed, and Will Upton
From left: Olivia Smith, Romney McLeod, and Olivia Thompson
HUBERT WORLEY
