🎓#21 Salutatorian – McKinley Paige Mendes
➡Next Steps: I’ll be attending Oklahoma State University this fall.
📚Field of Study: Architecture
🦓Zebra Since: 1st Grade
🔴 What advice would you give your freshman self?
“As a band student who's spent a significant amount of time in the PAC and knows the staff on that part of campus well, USE THE PAC BATHROOM ONLY!! Unless there's an event going on, there's never a line, and should there be any sort of problem, it's so liberating to know that the band directors will not hesitate to take care of it. Thanks Mrs. Acord!”
🔴 Through my journey to becoming a salutatorian,
“This journey has taught me that it takes time for things to fall into place. If experiences shape who we are, then every day, you're a new person, because you've had more experiences now than you did the day before. It's okay to change your mind, even if it's about something really important. What's even more important than the decisions you make themselves is that you make them for the right reason. You are the only person that gets to decide your fate. People often ask me why I come to school dressed so professionally. Truthfully, I used to think that I was making up for what the rest of the world wasn't doing. I used to hope that looking nice wasn't becoming something lost to the past, that putting a better image of yourself out there wouldn't be something completely absent in my generation. Over time I've changed my mind about why I continue to make myself presentable every day. Now I do it for me, not for anyone else. I enjoy looking nice, & I would even go as far as to say that looking nice increases my performance in school. It's important to do things for your community & the world you live in, but make sure you do things for yourself too.”
🔴 What are you most proud of in your high school career?
“My proudest accomplishment was a team effort, truly. This year, Claremore's Marching Band WON the Stallion Battalion Marching Competition! Like, the ENTIRE competition. To put things into perspective, we haven't won that competition since the year before I was a freshman. We put so much hard work into our show this year, and so many beating hearts had to fall into a perfect rhythm to make that happen. That goes beyond just students. There was also a lot of help from parents and staff members, and I'm so glad we could make them all SUPER proud of us this year. My best friend and I got a picture next to the trophy, & it was taller than me!”
🔴 What were the hardest challenges you overcame to achieve this honor?
“The biggest challenge I had to overcome to achieve this honor is simply realizing that I hold a tendency to overcomplicate things in my head. Not everything has to be inexplicably difficult. Taking the time to stop and think about something beforehand is not a disability. Even Taylor Swift says, ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.’”
🔴 What does this accomplishment mean to you?
“To me, this accomplishment highlights the importance of believing in yourself. If you've ever heard the story about the little engine that could, that's me. I think I can, every day with every word I write, and truthfully, I'm hoping that this accomplishment is just the first on a long list of accomplishments that I make throughout the course of my life, and I know that as long as I think I can, I'll be there before I can blink.”
🔴 Looking back on your school experience at CPS, what does being a Zebra mean to you?
“Being a Zebra means not being afraid to keep your nose to the grindstone. Out of all the things I've learned here, I think that staying focused on the task at hand is the most important. Sometimes that means taking things one day at a time. One assignment at a time. One question at a time. It's important to look at things logically before beginning, think about the numbers and the amount of work you have to do with the amount of time you have. Chop it up into manageable pieces, and go from there. There was a poster in the hall one day with a picture of a little goldfish that read, ‘your direction is more important than your speed.’ It's 100% true, but I guarantee, as long as you can stay focused on your direction, your speed will increase as well.”
🔴 What elementary staff member impacted your life most, and how?
“When I was a tot, I went to Catalayah Elementary School. One staff member that made a really big impact on my life was the librarian, Mrs. James. If you've never been to the Catalayah Library, I'm sorry for you. It's undeniably one of the most beautiful rooms I've ever been in in my life. As soon as you walk in, you're invited by comfortable chairs, perfectly lit high ceilings, and my favorite, a big window overlooking the playground. I remember the first time I visited the library, and Mrs. James was so kind to me, asking me about what books I liked to read (Green Eggs and Ham was a preschool favorite of mine). She used to read stories to my class, and then walk us through the life lessons each book held. I would visit the library all the time, and each day, Mrs. James was there to recommend new books to me. It always astounded me that she consistently got my name right, even though she probably saw a hundred students each day, maybe even more. At that early age, she instilled within me a love of reading. I continue to read for hours on end. I read in bed at night, in the car, and often I used to get in trouble for reading in class, but I just loved it SO MUCH! How could I stop?! Even to this day, I read a lot. You can usually find me scouring the shelves of Walmart & Target, looking for my next read from my favorite authors.”
🔴 What junior high staff member impacted your life most, and how?
“The Will Rogers Jr. High staff member that made the biggest impact on my life was the band director, Mr. Mudd. Sitting in a room and trying to learn a musical instrument you've never even touched before in your life sounds like a really difficult task, but Mr. Mudd made it fun. He would always tell us stories between lessons about preposterous things, like lemons the size of basketballs and pumpkins no bigger than your palm (you had to be there to get it). Mr. Mudd came to be someone that I admired, and with him around, it didn't take long before band went from some class my mom made me take to something I had a lot of fun doing and looked forward to every single day.”
🔴 What high school staff member made the most significant impact on your life, and how?
“This question is difficult. Maybe because I have more vivid memories of high school since it's more recent, but there are so many people I feel deserve to be listed as having made a big impact on my life. First, Mrs. Acord is the band director here at Claremore High School. She came here in my freshman year, and we have grown so much together in my time at the high school. I'm so glad to have had her as not only a mentor, but also a friend. It's no surprise that the teacher of the year, Mr. Riggs, has also made my list. I got lucky and had Mr. Riggs as my pre-AP biology teacher in 9th grade. During that class, he talked a lot about his biomedical courses, and I liked his teaching style and the class so much that I decided to enroll in his courses and kept returning to his classroom each year, all the way through the capstone course. Finally, Mr. Douthitt. He has taught me the importance of being passionate about what you choose to do. It's very clear that Mr. Douthitt is passionate about studying American Government by the lectures that he gives, and it's teachers like these that are so important, because their passion becomes your passion. If not professionally, it certainly helps make the class more interesting.”
🔴 What activities have you been involved in?
“AP / Pre-AP Programs, Band (please list which one(s) on the ‘Other Option’ line below.), Concurrent, Marching Band, Concert Band, Biomed Club”
🔴 What is the one thing you will absolutely take with you to college?
“My brain. It's in my head, so I can't forget it! But seriously, I have a feeling I'll be making a lot of important decisions in the following years, and I think it's going to be critical to, like I mentioned previously, stop & think. You definitely need a brain for that.”
🔴 Scholarships
“So far, I've received $25,375 in scholarships.”
🔴 Awards and Honors
“I received the Z Award in Principles of Biomedical Science & Creative Writing, as well as band awards for Outstanding Freshman, Outstanding Sophomore, & Outstanding Junior (going for Outstanding Senior to complete my set this year!). I was also a GCBDA Member for 6 years, and received Superior ratings at Solo & Ensemble competitions for 4 consecutive years.”
#cpszebrapride