2020 Jesse Carson High School All-County Schoolars
Published 12:05 am Sunday, May 24, 2020
Parents: Jennifer and Michael McGuire
Elementary school: Knollwood Middle school: Southeast
College: UNC-Charlotte to major in nursing
Career goal: Nurse practitioner
Lettering sports: Varsity cheerleading for all four years in high school.
Leadership positions: Al l-Region Cheer, All-State Cheer, and All-American Cheerleader
Activities beyond school: Student Advisory Committee and Crystal Joy Photography senior spokesmodel
Defining moment: Graduating with my associate’s in science degree before I finished high school. Due to the coronavirus, both ceremonies are postponed, but I still completed my degree as well as earned my diploma.
Secret to high school success: Taking a lot of college courses. This helped me get a feel for what to expect in college and what the course load is really like. College is a lot different than high school, and I’m glad I learned that now instead of later.
If I had $10 million, I would: Go to college debt-free and get a doctorate degree in nursing, as well as setting up scholarships for students in need.
Parents: Jim and Christine Barringer
Elementary school: Bostian Elementary School
Middle school: China Grove Middle School
College: I plan to go to UNC-Chapel Hill, majoring in one of the STEM majors available to me.
Career Goal: My dream is to work for NASA, being a pioneer in modern space exploration.
Project: My class wasn’t required to complete a senior project this year, however I did complete an Eagle Scout project at Happy’s Farm in China Grove. I made a “Salute to Freedom” memorial honoring veterans.
Sports: I lettered in football, wrestling, tennis and track.
Leadership positions: I was the student body vice president, as well as a member of Key Club, Student Leadership, Interact Club and National Honor Society.
Top activities: My top two activities that I participated in beyond high school were Governor’s School West and Boy Scouts.
Defining moment: I feel as though a defining moment in my life was my Eagle Scout project. It taught me to not just do things to satisfy an agenda, but to do things out of the goodness of your heart. I didn’t just do that project to get my Eagle Award. I did it to help Happy’s Farm.
Secret to high school success: Being an athlete. I got rid of stress through hitting people as hard as I could on the football field, dropping them on their head on the wrestling mat, throwing a shot put as far as possible and hitting tennis balls as hard as I could (I wasn’t very good at tennis).
If I had $10 million, I would: Quit my job at Chick-Fil-A and then promptly ask my parents what they would like.
Parents: Brenda and Sokolowski
Elementary school: Knollwood Elementary School
Middle school: Southeast Middle School
College: I plan to attend UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall to major in business administration.
Career goal: I hope to graduate from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at UNC with a focus in finance, and become a successful leader and administrator in the financial world one day.
Sports: I have lettered in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track all four years of high school. I served as captain of the Men’s Cross Country team both my junior and senior years at Carson.
Leadership positions: I served as co-leader of the Orange and Blue Crew Spirit Club as a senior.
Outside of school: I have been very involved with Rowan County Young Life over the past four years. I have also worked as a senior lifeguard at Pines Recreation Club in Mount Ulla for three years.
Defining moment: When I was selected to captain the Varsity Men’s Cross Country as a junior. My coach Les-lee Ihme gave me tremendous responsibilities that would normally be given to a senior, and believe that this experience was key to building the leadership skills I possess today.
Secret to high school success: Time management and work ethic. With so many responsibilities, between my academics, sports, community involvement and job as a lifeguard, I have had to use my time wisely and work diligently.
If I had $10 million, I would: Pay for my college education. After paying this off, I would put a large portion of this money into savings, and with the remaining sum I would travel the world with my mom.
Olivia Carolyn Kesler
Parents: Holly and Donald Kesler
Elementary school: I attended Millbridge Elementary until 3rd grade, then moved to Granite Quarry Elementary.
Middle school: Erwin Middle School College: I plan on attending UNC-Chapel Hill and double-majoring in music and biology.
Career goal: I hope to become a successful musician and performer. My dream is to perform, whether that be singing or acting.
Leadership positions: Vice president of Key Club, vice president of Leadership Team, Tri-M Music Honors Society co-event organizer
After school: I would typically head to Carson’s auditorium to participate in fall plays and spring musicals. Last year, I played the mother in Freaky Friday and this year I played Alice in Bright Star. Last summer, I went to Nebraska with my theatre troupe to compete at The International Thespian Festival, where I received a superior rating on my group musical performance. I was also a lead in North Carolina’s first All-State Musical in September of 2019. Aside from theatre, I was also a part of Carson’s Honors Chorus, where we would frequently perform songs at churches and other public events.
Defining moment: My time spent at North Carolina Governor’s School East. I went to Governor’s School for choral music my sophomore year and was surrounded by older, more experienced musicians. My time here taught me not to sit around and compare myself to others, but to better myself through working with those around me to reach a common goal.
Secret to high school success: Follow your heart. If you try to reach a goal that you’re not passionate about, you’re going to be miserable and you will regret these decisions in the future. You have to realize why you’re trying to achieve something in order to achieve anything.
If I had $10 million, I would: Pay my parents back for the countless years of putting my passions first. I would pay them back for the music lessons, the drives to auditions, and for the countless hours spent listening to me sing. Sorry mom and dad!
