Pathways Credit Union provides seminar
Karen Chuvalas, business development officer at Marysville’s Pathways Credit Union, recently gave a presentation on “What Affects My Credit Score?” at the Marysville Public Main Library. Besides local community members, Marysville High School’s business students attended as part of their accounting and finance classwork. Many relevant topics were discussed, such as the benefits of having a good credit score, how credit scores are calculated, what gets reported to credit bureaus, credit repair strategies and resources. Pictured are students who attended the presentation, left to right, front row, Maddie Powers, Hannah Moffett and Megan Cunningham; and back row, Chloe Powers, Cori Lee, Karlie Marlatt, Zach Rausch, Chulvalas, Amberly Demchak, Morgan McKillion and Madalyn Watts.
(Photo submitted)
Featured Seniors
Katherine Hazelbaker – By Faith Engle
Katherine Hazelbaker is a featured senior for January at Marysville High School.
She is the daughter of Amy and Matt Hazelbaker and is an active member of the Marysville High School (MHS) community.
She has been involved in both soccer and basketball for four years and was a captain of the basketball team for the past two years. She is also involved in National Honors Society and is currently the vice president of Leo Club.
Outside of school, she has been involved in club soccer through FC42 for five years. She enjoys boating and water skiing in the summer and snow skiing in the winter.
She had trouble picking one favorite memory at MHS but eventually decided her favorite moment was during the spring of her junior year when she and her friends were able to eat outside during lunch and play foursquare in the parking lot.
She said the three things she will miss the most once she leaves MHS are being able to see her best friends every day, playing sports for MHS and cookie day in her AP U.S. history class.
After graduation, she plans to attend the Ohio State University, the University of Cincinnati or the University of Kentucky to get a nursing degree and eventually become a nurse practitioner.
Micayla Kesterson – By Faith Engle
Micayla Kesterson, daughter of Chad and Christina Kesterson, is another featured senior for January.
She has been an active advocate for the student body of Marysville High School (MHS). She is a member of National Art Honor Society, Leo Club, student council, show choir, a capella and the school’s play and musical. She also co-leads a prayer group, a youth band at Marysville Grace youth group and summer theater workshop.
Outside of school and volunteering, she enjoys writing and arranging music, playing guitar and piano, singing, snowboarding, spending time with her family, traveling, watching movies, taking pictures, running her own photography business, posting on her YouTube channel and serving God.
She said her favorite memory of MHS involves when the show choir won a national tournament in Atlanta, Georgia, her junior year.
“Show choir has made me who I am as a performer and I will truly miss the amazing experiences,” she said. “Show choir may be underappreciated or misunderstood, but we work really hard and our group is like a second family.”
She said she will miss seeing her mom at school every day, show choir and the incredible friends who have had her back through everything.
Once she leaves MHS, she plans on attending Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, to study commercial music and artist development with a potential minor in cinematic art.
She said she dreams of being a solo music artist and actress and potentially writing her own music and plans to produce an album sometime in the next few years, but whatever she ends up doing in the future she wants everything she does to glorify God.
Sarah O’Neil – By Chase Cuteralli
Another featured senior of January to recognize is Sarah O’Neil.
She is the daughter of Randy and Kimberly O’Neil. A senior at Marysville High School, she is a member of National Honor Society, NC4K and Leo Club. She plays on the soccer team and is the captain of the basketball team.
Her favorite memories at Marysville High School involve the Friday night football games.
She said when she leaves for college, she’ll miss hanging out with friends and getting ready for events together. She plans on majoring in animal sciences or pre-veterinary studies at Bowling Green State University or the Ohio State University.
Mocking my dreams come true
By Dayo Adeoye
I do not like mock trial, I adore it.
Because of my time in mock trial, I have been able to be a version of myself who I love and never want to lose or forget.
The Dayo, in a black two-button blazer, white Calvin Klein dress with gold zipper accents and navy blue pointed flats: that girl is confident, secure and probably not one I would have recognized four years ago. I owe all of this to mock trial and highly recommend anyone, even those who may not think it’s for them, to try it.
Mock trial, being the most significant non-athletic competition in Ohio, is a three to six-month program run by the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education. Students take on the roles of attorneys and witnesses and host a “make-believe” trial with real judges, objections and etc.
Marysville has a long history of success in mock trial that was continued this year as Marysville took first and third place at the Union County District Competition, and will be representing Marysville at the regionals level. Plus, the Monarchs won a total of eight awards from districts.
I may be biased, but the ability to participate in mock trial is an opportunity.
Exchange students of the 2017-18 school year
Exchange students come to Marysville to learn about its culture and experience a school semester or year in America to see what it’s like.
These students live with a family who wants to share and learn more about the culture. They all speak English and are on J-1 visas, meaning they have been vetted and accepted through an approved exchange program. They each have their own health insurance and extra spending money.
The students this year are from Italy, Spain, Denmark, Austria and Norway. These students know participating in the exchange student program could make a difference in their chances of getting into their preferred job or university.
Maria Gomez Prieto and Marta Garayar Orellana are both from Spain and are living with different families in Marysville. Orellana enjoys running, art and drawing and does charity work at home. She’s living with Shawn and Bonnie McCormick, whose son is studying Spanish at Bunsold Middle School. She is an office worker at Marysville High School (MHS).
Prieto enjoys the Real Madrid soccer team and enjoys most sports. She lives with Lilly Bevins, who also hosts Ea Bruun of Denmark.
Bruun has heard about America’s holidays from others and movies, and is happy to be here to see them firsthand.
Pam and John Woerlein are hosting Mathilde Gangsoy, who originally lives southwest of Oslo, Norway. Gangsoy enjoys football, which is soccer here. She has been looking forward to seeing American football in real life. She is taking two history classes and a photography class at MHS.
Gianguido Betrami gets to live with Chad and Kathy Young in Marysville for one semester. He ended up enjoying the experience so much he requested to stay for the second semester and moved in with the Watts family. He ran cross country in the fall and is learning baseball. It is encouraged to ask him about “shooting an octopus in Italy.”
Laura-Sophia Fruedenthaler is from Austria. She is listed as a senior and will get to experience a graduation ceremony here, which they are very different than what Austrians normally experience. She is being hosted by John and Amber Kuchmek and enjoys the experience of being an exchange student in Marysville.
Fortunately, this region of Ohio gives a great taste of the American culture. The school receives the same amount of per-pupil funding from the state as a residential student does.
The hosts need to be at least 25 years old and there is no requirement for being married, having kids or having a student at the high school.
Now is the time when hosts can choose the student they want who best matches their family’s interests. If families in the area are interested in learning more about exchange students or hosting, they are encouraged to contact JBingman@MEVSD.US.
If a local family sends their student on an EF Education First (EF) tour through the school and hosts an EF student, there is a 10 percent gratuity discount on the cost of the tour. EF is a not-for-profit organization.
EF exchange students return to their home countries with a realistic impression of the United States. The Department of State heavily regulates the J-1 visas these students arrive in on.
The students have undergone a very thorough application process, including both oral and written English proficiency evaluations, so the expectation is they will not require English as a Secondary Language services.