WMU Class of 2019 graduates

The Winfield-Mt. Union Community School District is home to Class of 2019 valedictorian Sabrina Moody, and while she's ready for college, she is going to miss her close-knit community and big family get-togethers.

'I think it's pretty great here,” Moody said. 'Everyone is so supportive. It will be hard not to have that support (at college).”

Moody graduated alongside her peers on Sunday, May 26. She said that graduating high school hasn't hit her yet.

'When it does, it will not be very pretty,” Moody said. 'I'll definitely miss it, especially my teachers. They are the best people ever, and it's just going to be different.”

One of Moody's favorite moments of high school is playing Iowa Mennonite School in volleyball. Winfield-Mt. Union was down when Moody served an eight- streak run and they won.

'It just felt awesome that I would be able to do that for my team in that moment,” Moody said.

Moody also played golf, managed basketball, participated in 4-H, was on student council, served as class president and was the president of National Honor Society at Winfield-Mt. Union. Moody said that everything she participated in, it was the people she enjoyed.

Being involved in so much in high school was a little difficult, Moody admitted. She often felt like she had a lot on her plate and struggled with the anxiety of completing tasks on time. That taught her, however, not to procrastinate and to do her best in everything.

That's also the advice she would offer to younger students.

'Listen to teachers, don't procrastinate and do your best in everything because it will only make you better,” Moody said.

Moody believes her education at Winfield-Mt. Union has prepared her for the future. She said her teachers did a really good job of pushing students out of their comfort zones and teaching them the study and writing skills they need to be successful in college.

One of the most challenging lessons Moody learned in high school is not caring what other people think.

'My mom always says, ‘In five years, are you going to look back and care about whatever is bothering you?'” Moody said. 'I always think about that and working hard and not really expecting anything but bettering myself.

Moody plans to study math and actuarial science at Wartburg College. Wartburg was where Moody went on one of her first college campus visits, and she said that none of the other schools measured up to what she felt when she was at Wartburg.

'As soon as I got on campus, it was somewhere I could see myself,” Moody said.

Moody wants to become an actuary or work with math because it's just something she's always had a passion for, she said. Her math teacher, Mitch Wachs, always pushed her to do her best.

Moody said that while family will definitely bring her back to the area, she is unsure where she will land after college.

'I think it's pretty great here. I don't think there are many job opportunities in this area, especially for math, but the people are great and I don't think they could be any better,” she said.