Portage High School senior Emily Evans is the epitome of hard work and dedication. She spends countless hours at PHS in her effort to make the school a better place.
“I want to leave behind a lasting impact on not only Portage High School, but the entire community, so that people who are younger than me, like my little brother, can have some of the awesome experiences that I did,” Evans said.
During her stint at PHS, Evans has been involved in nearly every facet of the school. Her most defining role is her position as Student Body President, heading up the many school and community projects orchestrated by the PHS Student Council. Prom, Homecoming, Insomnia and Winter Formal are a few of the many events that are put together by the student-run organization.
“I basically oversee everything that Student Council does,” she said. “If something isn’t going right, I have to make sure that it does. I’m basically responsible for making sure that everything is running smoothly, no matter who is in charge of it. I knew that I could make the biggest impact on my school by being Student Body President.”
In addition to the impact that Evans has made as an active Student Council member for four years, she has also found time for theatre, journalism and a heavy load of advanced placement classes. She is also actively involved in the Natural Helpers retreat, National Honor Society, Foreign Language Honor Society and Distinguished Young Woman. She was a finalist and won the talent competition in last year’s Distinguished Young Woman program.
“The DYW girls were so great,” Evans said. “Honestly, it was like having a huge family. Any time you needed something, or if you were having a problem, there was always somebody willing to help. They were great; I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Evans relished the opportunity to interact with her school’s other leaders on the Natural Helpers retreat. She said that she is going to look back on high school and remember Natural Helpers as her most memorable experience.
“It was so unique and it really made me rethink the way I acted, the way I acted towards others,” Evans said. “It’s really the most unique experience that I’ve ever had.”
Evans has a passion for designing and visuals, which makes her a perfect fit for her role as the design editor of the Pow Wow student newspaper. She also serves as the webmaster of PHSNewsOnline.com and the camera director for the Indians News Network.
“I love design; I really enjoy working with InDesign to make all of the newspaper pages visually appealing,” she said. “I think the role of a newspaper is extremely important and I like to be involved in that.”
In order to fit everything into her busy schedule, Evans makes one simple sacrifice.
“I don’t sleep,” she said. “I really have to manage my time. I still enjoy talking to my friends and going places, but I make sure that I get my work done before I do any of that. I probably don’t sleep as much as I should, but I wouldn’t give up what I do to get a couple extra hours of sleep.”
Evans credits her family for laying the foundation for her success. Her parents, Chris and Kari, and her brother Jacob play important roles in her life. Others who have impacted Evans include PHS staff members Melissa Deavers-Lowie (journalism), Marsha Hobart (English), Jodi Barney (English), Cathy Nye (history) and Josh Cavan (English). Her biggest student inspiration was Class of 2010 Student Body President Emily Carpenter.
Next year, Evans plans to attend Purdue University to study health and disease biology with a minor in journalism, with hopes of eventually becoming an emergency room doctor. Leaving the school that she has called home for the last four years will be a difficult transition.
“I think I’m going to miss the familiarity,” Evans said. “I’ve been with these people for 12 years. I know them; I know how Portage High School works. I think, or I hope, that I’m pretty well respected and I’m going to have to start over in the real, grown up, college world. I’m going to miss the interactions in high school.”