Cecelia Shaw

Parents: Tracy M. Shaw

Cumulative GPA & Class Rank: 4.08 GPA (1 out of 58)

Activities: NHS - 2 years (2022-2024), President for NHS - 2023/2024, Art Club - 4 years, Art ClubTreasurer - 1 year (2020-2021), Art Club Secretary - 1 year (2023-2024), Leo Club - 1 year, DnD Club - 4 years, Volleyball - Two Years (2020-2022), Track (Disc/Shot) - Two Years (2020-2022), Band - 1.5 years (2020-2021), Honor Bands - Middle/High School, Strawberry Festival - Marching Band, Marching Band, Concert Band, Community Band - Tarnished Brass Band - 1 year, Choir - 4 years (2020-2024), Honor Choir - Middle/High School, Fall Festival, Dinner Concert, Solo Ensemble - 2 years, All State - 2 years (Never made it but auditioned), Large Group Ensemble - 2 years, Show Choir - 2 years, Various Solo, Small Group, National Anthem Performances - 4 years, Art Conference - 2 years, Won 2nd place award for Monochromatic Charcoal piece, Assisted in setting up Art shows, painting pumpkins, gift wrapping, Middle/High School Play.

Other clubs outside of school: Iowa Girls State - 77th anniversary, June 2023 - Was appointed City Clerk for City of Young, Bloodrives - NHS sponsored, donated 6 times, volunteered 4 times, NHS Hours - 30 hours community service: painting sets, tutoring, decorating Festival of Trees, Bloodrives, etc. Art Club - Volunteered for Art Club related Activities - Farm Crawls, Fall Festival, Painting High School and Community Sets, Leo Club - Bake sales, cooking baking for Festival of Trees.

Future plans: I will be going to the University of Iowa to study for a Genetics and Biotechnology Tech Major under the Biology Major. My goal is to earn my master’s degree to help study and research disease on the genetic scale to help find treatments or cures for those suffering from genetic diseases.

How will your high school experiences help you in coming years? High School taught to me to be resilient and not be afraid to ask for help. There was some classes I struggled with throughout the years and seeking help for those classes helped me understand the material. Also, being responsible and getting stuff turned in on time is important when getting stuff done for classes. Without turning stuff in on time, I was able to keep up with my class load. Building relationships in high school also allowed me to learn to identify those who care versus those who don’t. Keeping a close group of five friends was more beneficial then a group of 20 friends.

Fondest memory of high school? I have many fond memories of high school that makes it hard to choose which one I am fond of the most, but perhaps my favorite one occurred on an art club trip. Members of the art club, myself included, were heading down to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for the trip, and on our way there, one of the members had hooked up their phone and began playing music. When we were just coming into Gatlinburg (I believe), the song “Highway to Hell” began to play, and all of us in the Suburban began to sing along, including the Art Club Sponsor who was driving the Suburban. The next song that played after “Highway to Hell” was “Careless Whisper,” a drastic change from the previous songs. This caused the whole car to erupt into laughter, and our Art Club Sponsor to exclaim (very loosely of what they said) “I need a moment! That was a whiplash of emotions!”

Which teachers have had the biggest impact on you and why? One teacher that had a significant impact on my life is Doug Mossengren, who is one of the science teachers of the Van Buren County Community School District. He has played a massive role in my interest in Genetics and disease, as well as where I wanted to go for college. He always pushed me to do my best while also being a great teacher to discuss oddball things. Mr. Mossengren was also fun to learn from, and one of the best teachers I have had when it comes to the sciences. He has impacted my life, and I cannot express my thanks enough for the support over the years I have been here at Van Buren.

Who is your role model and how did they influence you? This may sound cheesy, but my mother is the biggest influence and role model in my life. Without her guidance, I would not have achieved what I achieved nor would I have learned what I learned. She taught me to be resilient, to be determined, and to always give your best no matter what subject you are learning about. She also taught me compassion, empathy, and caring for others instead of oneself. My mother is the one who went through thick and thin to be able to provide me the tools necessary to achieve my goals and future dreams.

What is special about your high school? The willingness of teachers to work with students is something I have noticed here at Van Buren. Whenever I struggled with an concept or an idea, I was able to go to the corresponding teacher and receive help over the subject. Especially when it came to math. Another thing I feel is special about Van Buren is how many clubs we have that students can be apart of. With the use of clubs, us students are able to make friends, help out our communities, or just enjoy hanging out with people who like the same things we do.

If you go back to when you were a freshman, what advice would you give yourself? If I went back to being a freshman, the advice I would give myself is to not be afraid to build relationships with new people. I came to Van Buren during my freshman year, and I wish I was able to reach out more to my fellow students. The ability to know others in your grade is important, and there are still some classmates that I do not know very well in my grade. If I had interacted more with the other students, I think I would have a better idea of who is in my class, and have a solid relationship with my class.