The Portage High School graduating senior class is filled with outstanding individuals. However, perhaps one of the most accomplished is Kacie McGuire, who has achieved success in a wide range of areas during her four years at PHS.
“I will miss the people and the experiences,” McGuire said. “I’ll definitely miss all the teachers and mentors who have helped me grow to the point that I am now and of course my friends. Next year, it’s going to be a whole new world.”
In the Portage High School world, McGuire has made an impact in a variety of capacities since her freshman year. Her well-roundedness is evident through the fact that she was named PHS Distinguished Young Woman for the Class of 2012 her junior year.
“DYW was an awesome experience overall,” she said. “There were so many girls that I got the opportunity to meet. They were just like me. They work their hardest throughout school and in everything they do. It was awesome just to be around the people because the people always make the experience.”
After winning the Portage High School DYW Scholarship Program, she advanced to compete at the state level.
“The competition itself was fun,” McGuire said. “It was difficult. I’m not one to learn a dance routine in a day, but I had to do that. Overall, it was just a cool experience.”
In addition, she helped coordinated the PHS Outstanding Young Man (senior boys) program and ran this year’s DYW as junior girls vied to succeed McGuire. Last weekend the title was handed off to the Class of 2013 winner, Rachel Stewart.
McGuire, who aspires to become a counselor, listed the Natural Helpers Retreat as one of her favorite experiences during her tenure at PHS. During the retreat, students who were voted on by their peers as helpful and caring individuals get the chance to build relationships with each other. McGuire attended Natural Helpers her junior year before returning senior year as a staff leader.
“I absolutely love Natural Helpers. There’s so many people that you walk through the halls of this school with that you never get to meet or know their story. Natural Helpers really gives people the chance to break down their walls and get to know their true colors,” she said.
McGuire holds one of the most prominent roles in the school’s most prestigious organization. She is the Vice President of National Honor Society, coordinating many of the charitable events that the organization puts together.
“I’d tell next year’s officers to keep on task and don’t plan things over the top that you know you aren’t able to complete,” McGuire said. “Do lots of pre-planning and stay motivated throughout the entire year.”
McGuire recently concluded her athletic career after playing four years of tennis and volleyball at PHS. She worked her way up from being a novice tennis player her freshman year to holding the No. 1 singles position for the lady-Indians as a senior.
“I never picked up a tennis racket before my freshman year and when I told my mom I was trying out for the tennis team, she kind of laughed at me because I was that bad,” she said. “I never thought that I would be able to compete with most of the teams and actually win some of my matches, which is pretty awesome.”
McGuire has also participated in Art Club, Student Council, Foreign Language Honor Society and Pow Wow during her time at PHS, in addition to serving as a junior class representative and attending the ACES Banquet as one of the top 30 seniors academically based on grade point average. Outside of the PHS walls, McGuire has always been a member of her church’s youth group, which does a lot of community service.
McGuire will attend Anderson University in the fall to study nursing and minor in psychology. She will have mixed emotions on Graduation Day, which is less than three weeks away.
“I think it will be a little bit of excitement to finally move on to bigger and better things,” McGuire said. “There will definitely be sadness because I have so many relationships here. It’s a big thing to accomplish, to graduate, for us all to be there together, and it’s just going to be sad. It’s one last big hurrah.”