Gavin Collins – Performing Arts Student of the Year:

Photo taken by Isabella Nelson

     Senior Gavin Collins is a member of Chamber Singers, Crimson Chorale, Nixapella and NHS’s theater program. Collins has been in multiple shows throughout his high school career. He has been seen onstage as the Beatboxing Puffer Fish in ‘SpongeBob The Musical,’ the lion in ‘Wizard of Oz,’ and Angus Tuck in ‘Tuck Everlasting’ and Maurice in ‘Beauty and the Beast.’

   “I started theater in fifth grade, and I was Peter Pan,” Collins said. “It has given me that safe place in school. I mean, especially through high school, you kind of wondered where your loyalty lies and where other people’s loyalty lies with you. But I know that I can always go to choir and theater. ”

   However, Collins said his biggest accomplishment revolves around choir. 

   “I’ll probably say [my biggest accomplishment is] the national American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) for chamber,” Collins said. “[We] went to national ACDA up in Dallas, Texas, which is like the most prestigious choir competition you can go to.” 

Dr. Allison Fleetwood – Teacher of the Year:

Photo taken by Isabella Nelson

   Dr. Allison Fleetwood is the head of the Nixa Theater program. She teaches two dance classes, acting and dual credit theater. Fleetwood has taught many students throughout her twenty years of teaching, but says they are her favorite part of the job. 

   “You have to invest in the kids,” Fleetwood said. “You have to care about them as human beings before you’re ever going to teach them content. Because [the] kids know I care about them, in turn, they’re going to care about me and we’re going to work together.”

   Fleetwood said teaching her daughter, who is a freshman in high school, has helped her understand the freshman experience. 

  “This was the first year that it was like we were going to rehearsal together,” Fleetwood said. “It wasn’t that I had a lot of one-on-one time with her, but to see how she’s growing and flourishing in the program, like all my other past students have done, and to see her connect with students that I have relationships with … it’s opened my eyes to the whole freshman class and the shared experience that they’re having, because I do see it through my daughter’s eyes in a different way.”

Jackson Cantwell – Athletic Student of the Year:  

Photo Taken by Isabella Nelson

   Junior Jackson Cantwell is a double-sport athlete, football and track and field. He has been exposed to athletics his entire life due to growing up in a family full of sports enthusiasts. His father, Christian Cantwell, is a World Champion American shot putter, and his mother, Teri (Sheer) Cantwell, is an American shot putter. Cantwell said he appreciates the sports that he does and recognizes how they have impacted his daily life.

   “It’s made me who I am today,” Cantwell said. “[I get] to learn all the life lessons from it. It’s been very important to me.”

   Cantwell’s favorite memory from this year was getting named the Gatorade Player of the Year for football. Over the years, Cantwell has received a lot of advice. He said the best advice he’s received came from Nick Saban,  sportscaster and former professional and college football coach.

   “Nick Saban said to me, ‘Be where your feet are and just live in the present, don’t worry too much about the past,’” Cantwell said. 

Ariyanna Eckert – Visual Arts Student of the Year:

Photo Taken by Isabella Nelson

   Senior Ariyanna Eckert has been involved in art as long as she can remember, but started taking it seriously in seventh grade. She has taken Art Foundations for three years, Advanced Drawing for three years and Advanced Painting for one year.

   “Realism seemed like an impossible thing to make something look like a picture,” Eckert said. “Then I started testing things out with colored pencils and found out I could actually do it.”

   Eckert has spent many years practicing different forms of art, utilizing her knowledge of color theory and proportions.

   “[I like] figuring out proportions, measuring things in comparison to themselves, because when you put it on a page, it’s a different size than it is in reality,” Eckert said. “If you can relate it in its own sort of unit [of] measurement, is a lot easier to figure out.”

   Eckert said when making art, one should do it for one’s own enjoyment rather than for others.

   “Don’t judge every piece you make,” Eckert said. “Do a lot of [art] just for yourself, … and don’t throw anything away, … whether you like it or not.”

Ryan Davis – Academic Student of the Year:

Photo Taken by Emily Jenkins

   Junior Ryan Davis has worked to get his grades and test scores to where they are. Davis said he thanks the teachers who helped him with his academics.

   “The teachers help[ed] me get further along,” Davis said. 

   For Davis, the hardest thing about academics is staying on track and staying focused, especially in English and Advanced Placement Calculus, which are his classes with the heaviest workload. Davis said that staying on track and up to date with one’s work is a good way to do well academically.

   “Just try and keep a schedule,” Davis said. “If you’re doing work sporadically, it works for some of the easier classes, but once you’ve gotten further in, not having any study habits makes it a lot harder to get caught back up.”

Aven Goodnight – Person of the Year

Photo Taken by Emily Jenkins

   The NHS senior class president, Aven Goodnight, said she hopes to be remembered for her character after high school. 

   “When I look back to seniors in the past, the people that I remember were the people who were kind and inclusive,” Goodnight said. “I hope that the underclassmen would remember me the same way.”

   Goodnight’s influence at NHS spans far, from being a member of cabinet to being the president of HOSA. Students at NHS have felt Goodnight’s support throughout the community.    Goodnight’s favorite memory from her senior year was getting accepted into Chocolate University–International Business Immersion, a partnership between Drury University and Askinosie Chocolate. The program takes 12 students to Tanzania, Africa, over the summer, where they learn about small business entrepreneurship.

   Goodnight said she hopes the underclassmen understand the value of making the most out of high school.

   “Take advantage of everything,” Goodnight said. “[In] our school, we have so many awesome opportunities, but it’s up to you to utilize them, so if something inspires you or clicks in your head, do it. You never know where it could take you or how that could inspire you.”