Madison Swesey named April Senior of the Month

Perkins County High School senior Madison Swesey has been named the April Senior of the Month, an honor awarded by Pinnacle Bank in recognition of academic achievement, school involvement and community service.

Swesey is the daughter of Vernon and Jordan Swesey and has been actively involved in a wide range of activities throughout her high school career.

At Perkins County, Swesey participated in one-act all four years and was involved in fall play and musical productions from ninth through 11th grade. She also competed in quiz bowl from 10th through 12th grade and ran cross country all four years. As a freshman, she participated in golf, track and speech, and she was also involved in trial during her sophomore year.

Her accomplishments include being named to the honor roll all four years of high school. As a junior, she earned third place in 3-D art at the McCook Art Show and was part of a quiz bowl team that placed eighth at state. She was also selected for the University of Nebraska at Kearney honor choir in 10th and 11th grade and has been a member of National Honor Society since her junior year.

Outside of school, Swesey has been active in Lions Club since her sophomore year, Fellowship of Christian Athletes from 10th through 12th grade, and youth group during her junior and senior years. She also attended RYLA as a junior.

Swesey said her work experiences have helped shape her perspective and work ethic.

“I babysat for two years and still do occasionally, but now I work at Hatches and have been for over two years,” she said. “An important lesson that I’ve learned is to stick it out through rough patches because every place has them. If you leave every time something gets tough, then you’ll never be there when things get better.”

Following graduation, Swesey plans to continue her education and pursue a career in teaching.

“After high school, I plan to go on to college in hopes of becoming a high school English teacher,” she said. “After that, I will go to whatever town will hire me.”

Swesey said her proudest accomplishment during high school has been her academic success.

“The accomplishment that I am most proud of is being on all A honor roll,” she said. “I’ve taken advanced math classes for all my high school career, and sometimes I didn’t think that I would finish the quarter with an A. Some classes were challenging, and it felt good to end the class with an A.”

She added that time management is one of the most valuable skills she has gained during her high school years.

“The thing that I value most from my high school experience is the ability to balance home, school and work life decently that school has taught me,” she said. “There are times when one of them takes up a lot of my time, but I’m still able to do others as well. I will take this time management experience with me to college so that I can spend my time in the best way possible.”

Swesey also credited the Perkins County community for its continued support and said she has worked to give back in return.

“This community has been supportive of me throughout my high school career,” she said. “I noticed this a lot during cross country meets. People in the community come to support the team and cheer us on. Community members have done this for pretty much everything I have done.”

“I’ve given back to the community by working around in it,” she added. “For Lions Club, I have helped pick up trash and alleys in the park, and in NHS I helped paint the senior center, and I’ve also helped with the blood drive. Those are just some of the ways I’ve given back to the community.”

For being selected Senior of the Month, Swesey’s picture will hang in the lobby of Pinnacle Bank in Grant and she will be eligible for a scholarship awarded at the end of the school year.

The Student of the Month and scholarship program are sponsored jointly by community members and Pinnacle Bank in Grant.