Alayna McCarville (left) and Madison Bowers are pictured at the Kiwanis luncheon with School Counselor Andy Palzkill.
The Mineral Point Kiwanis Club honored its November Students of the Month at its meeting Tuesday, November 21 at the Pointer Cafe.
The students, who are members of the senior class, are selected for this honor through a voting process by staff at the high school, and their biographies are written by themselves.
Madison Bowers
Madison was born and raised in Mineral Point. She is the daughter of Mitch and Tricia Bowers. She has two younger sisters, McKenna and Elin. McKenna is a sophomore and Elin is in 6th grade, all of which attend the Mineral Point School District.
Madison is very active at MPHS. Her passion is golf and she is very proud to follow her dad’s love of the sport. She received second team all-conference her junior year. She is a four year football cheerleader, co-captain her senior year. She has been wrestling manager for the past three years and plays on the golf team. She is a reporter of the Skills USA club and has participated in the high school musical for three years. Madison is a member of the National Honor Society and forensics team for four years. Lastly, she was honored with the award for Student of the Year for her freshman class.
Madison belongs to the Mineral Point Youth Group. The community is very lucky to have such a wonderful organization for young students to join. Youth Group is an organization that helps people in poverty. Students in Youth Group work all year to raise money to go on this summer trip. Madison has been involved in Youth Group all throughout her high school career and has traveled to places such as Washington DC and Denver.
During the summer, Madison works at the Mineral Point Pool, and has been active in the junior PGA golf tournaments.
Madison is proud to announce that she will be attending the University of Dubuque next fall to continue her athletic and academic career. She will be studying biology in the hopes of becoming a physician’s assistant.
Madison is very proud to be a Pointer! She would like to thank the teachers and staff and also thank the Kiwanis for being selected and honored as Student of the Month and would like to congratulate Alayna McCarville.
“Madison Bowers has been a strong participant in and advocate for the high school choir, and her confidence and dedication serves as a model for others in the ensemble. She also performed in last year’s musical theatre production, “The Addams’ Family,” in which she portrayed the lead role of Wednesday Addams. For both of these engagements, she has received numerous compliments over the last two years. I have offered Madison multiple opportunities to experience various choral festivals and vocal competitions during her upperclassman years, and this year she intends to represent the MP High School Vocal Program at the Solo & Ensemble Competition. I am very glad that she is stepping into more of a leadership position as a senior in the ensemble class. She is seemingly kind and courteous towards her peers, multi-faceted and well-rounded in interests, and a hard worker in both extra-curriculars and academics.” ~ Ashley McHugh, choir teacher.
“Madison consistently maintains a positive attitude in AP English. I’ve also been very impressed by her willingness to help her classmates both during class and outside of class.” ~ Brittany Roscovius, high school English teacher.
“Madison has always been a sweet girl with lots of smiles for everyone. In kindergarten, she was always a helper to her friends and shared her caring ways with everyone. As she has grown into a young lady, she has continued to show MP spirit in all she participates in! Good luck in the future, Madison!” ~ Jill McGuire, kindergarten teacher.
“It’s hard to believe that it was ten years ago already when Grandma Max started bringing Madison into the Democrat office to visit me on newspaper pick up day. She was a friendly, kind girl then and I’m happy to say that hasn’t changed even though she’s now a young lady. Seeing her succeed at her various activities, and how much joy she brings to her family and friends, makes me excited to see what the future has in store for her.” ~ Joelle Doye, Communications Director.
“‘Use your smile to change the world – don’t let the world change your smile.’” Anyone who knows Miss Madison knows that her smile truly lights up the room. This smile coupled with her enthusiastic attitude truly will change the world. I have had the privilege of teaching and coaching Madison for the last four years. She has always been a standout student and leader. Most impressive is how she accomplishes this while being genuinely kind and caring to those around her. I will absolutely miss her next year but am so excited to watch her bright future unfold. “ ~ Kristin Staver, high school English teacher.
Alayna McCarville
Alayna has grown up in Mineral Point throughout her entire life. She has grown up with her father, Dean McCarville. Alayna has one half sibling, Elizabeth, who lives with her boyfriend in Muscoda and graduated from Boscobel High School.
Alayna partakes in many extra-curricular activities with her favorite being volleyball. Alayna has been playing volleyball since her 7th grade year. She played club volleyball for Southern Heat during her 8th, 9th, and 10th grade years. She was co-captain her senior year as well as earning an all-conference honorable mention award. She is also involved in softball, Key Club, Future Business Leaders of America, Math Team, and National Honor Society.
Alayna had a job at Subway for two years. During the summer before her Senior year, she worked for Mineral Point High School doing summer maintenance. She is currently employed at Wal-Mart. Through these jobs, Alayna has learned many lessons for the future. She has been taught how to communicate clearly, how to be responsible, and how to never give up.
Alayna has yet to decide where she would like to go to college; however, she is hoping to either attend UW-La Crosse, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, or Ball State University. Alayna would like to pursue a degree in either finance or accounting. She would also like to continue her volleyball career throughout college.
Mr. Matt Nevers and Mrs. Kip Bakken have been teachers that have always influenced Alayna. Mr. Nevers has always shown his passion for music throughout all four years of her high school band classes. His excitement in teaching has always made Alayna love band. Mrs. Bakken has taught Alayna in Personal Finance and Accounting. Mrs. Bakken’s knowledge of these topics has dramatically influenced Alayna in wanting to continue with one of these topics throughout her future. Both of these teachers have also taught Alayna never to give up or quit when things get hard; just keep practicing and it will come.
Alayna would like to thank the Kiwanis Club for honoring her as Student of the Month. She would also like to congratulate her classmate and good friend, Madison Bowers.
“Alayna is really improving as a writer already in AP English. She is prompt with completing drafts so that she can receive feedback and implement it. I’ve been very impressed by her work ethic.” ~ Brittany Roscovius, high school English teacher.
“I have had the pleasure of having Alayna in my classes from her eighth-grade year in Careers to Junior year in Personal Finance and now for Accounting her senior year. Alayna is also an active and valued member of Future Business Leaders of America. It is wonderful to see how she has grown and matured. She is a sweet, caring, and genuine young lady. She has a warm smile and a kind heart. She is strong, courageous, and determined. Alayna works hard and strives to do her best in everything. She prepares very carefully for all she does. She is the flash card and quizlet queen. I look forward to seeing what the future holds and am quite certain it will be bright. Best wishes!” ~ Kip Bakken, business teacher.
“Alayna is such a pleasure to have in my band class. Alayna plays flute and piccolo, is a color guard member, and she is a go getter. Playing piccolo, the instrument is always aurally exposed, and Alayna has learned to handle that stress very well. She makes sure that she is able to play every single line of music that is on the page. She understands that the composer expects the part there, and she will spend the amount of time needed to learn the part so it is there. Alayna also is very involved with our bands color guard program. She volunteers her time to come work with our middle school color guard members to teach them the correct technique to succeed. Alayna takes pride in what she does, and it is an honor to be able to work with her in class.” ~ Matt Nevers, high school band teacher
“Alayna is a sweet, kind girl with a quiet demeanor. Her amazing strength has grown and she has become an intelligent young lady. Alayna has shown resilience and strength, growing up without her mom. She will continue to show the world her amazing talents. I know her dad is very proud and her mom is shining down with delight! Keep up the good work, Alayna! Good luck next year!” ~ Jill McGuire, kindergarten teacher.
“It has been my pleasure to get to know Alayna through my work with color guard over the years since she was in middle school. I did not coach the high school color guard this year, due in large part to my trust in Alayna’s leadership ability. One of the things I admire most about Alayna is her ability to be an advocate for herself. It’s not a trait I learned until I was much older than she is, and it will serve her well in her future endeavors.” ~ Joelle Doye, Communications Director