Someone’s passion can say a lot about who they are. They become a part of who someone is and what they are about. While most passions are a physical thing like calligraphy, dancing, and playing the cello, some are mental like making people happy and wanting to become a navy seal. Here are the passions of seven Buffalo High School students.
Delaney Elton (‘20)
Calligraphy
Around 8th grade, Delaney Elton saw videos of people doing calligraphy on Instagram and started to teach herself how to do it. “I didn’t have any of the pens or any of the equipment,” Elton said, “so I started using the tiny baby Crayola markers. It wasn’t really that good, but then I started getting brush pens and actual paper to use and started practicing.” She likes to do calligraphy when she needs to relax. “I have to do school and that’s super stressful,” Elton said, “but when I do that [calligraphy] it’s super fun and it’s a way to relax, cause it’s super satisfying.”
Sierra Chrissis (‘19)
Helping the Homeless
Sierra Chrissis goes to the cities a lot, and she sees much of the homelessness that lives there. “Seeing all the homeless people really makes me sad,” Chrissis said, “since I was little I have wanted to help but didn’t know how.” She has gone to the cities multiple times to help the homeless. Her first encounter with homeless was when her church, Spirit of Joy, served at Bethlehem Lutheran in the Midway in St. Paul. “That day was the best day of my life,” Chrissis said, “I knew right away this is what I am being called to do.” She wants to have a homeless center that would not only provide just beds but also the help they need such as life coaches and psychiatrists. “I wanted to work with the homeless because I want to help them achieve their dreams.”
Madelyn Hackett (‘21)
Dance
Madelyn Hackett has been dancing since she was three and she plans to continue dancing in her future. “I love dance,” Hackett said, “I love being in a team and how much growth I get from it, both mentally and physically.” She realized that dance was her passion when she joined the Buffalo Dance Team and saw how it was different than studio. “it’s more like a family” Hackett said, “I saw how like dance could be a community and I got more excited about it.” Throughout her years in dance she has made many friends and has grown as a person.
Zachary Michuda (‘18)
Becoming a Navy Seal
Zachary Michuda had always known that he has wanted to be in the military, but he didn’t know what part of the military he wanted to be a part of. “I bounced from the army to the marines,” Michuda said, “then I sat down and I finally realized that I had a bunch more family that was in the navy, so I said, ‘You know what, I’m going to stick with the navy. Stick with what my family has done.” His passion for becoming a navy seal has affected him in a lot of ways. “It’s actually given me a better point of view of what I actually want to do,” Michuda said, “I can’t see myself going to college personally, so I kind of figured well why not find something that I would be good at and something that I have the drive and motivation to do.”
Dominique Baker (‘20)
The Cello
In 6th grade, Dominique Baker created the Cello Empire. ”My friends and I were saying how cellos were so much better than violins, ”Baker said, ”I was also a huge Star Wars nerd so I was like ‘Cello Empire, that sounds good’” He currently is in Chamber 2 & 3, Varsity Orchestra, and Monticello Strings, a summer orchestra. “I feel awesome when I play my cello” Baker said, “it brings me such joy and happiness, and when I’m having the worst of bad days I can play my cello and I feel just fine after that” He wants to continue to play the cello after high school. “I want to join an orchestra professionally, as like a side job,” Baker said, “I’ll be an aerospace engineer during the day and then at night I’m Darth Cello.”
Stephen Schoder (‘21)
Science
Ever since he was little Stephen Schoder had a passion for all types of science. He loved playing with science toys and reading about science, his favorite type being chemistry. “I’ve always just had a hunger for knowledge,” Schoder said, “to know how things work, know why things happen, understand everything.” Schoder plans to continue to expand his knowledge in science, “I’m going to take a bunch of chemistry and science classes next year and the year after.” Schoder said, “I’m probably going to become a chemical engineer.”
Emily Kern (‘19)
Making People Laugh
Emily Kern enjoys running cross country, and being in theater along with other activities. Recently she realized that the reason why she likes all those activities is because of the people in them and the times you laugh with them. “I feel like it gives me a purpose,” Kern said, “like if I’m struggling some days to really feel good about myself or if I don’t feel like I’m a good student or a good singer or a good athlete I can just say, ‘Hey, at least I’m funny.’” Making people laugh is something that makes her happy. “The look on people’s faces when they laugh is like priceless,” Kern said, “It’s like my favorite thing in the world, because you know they’re not really like if it’s a true laugh they’re not really faking it and usually it’s like a really ugly face too and it’s just funny.”
