Being involved in a sport and two career programs helped bring Sierra Fletcher out of her shell.
She joined the archery team her freshman year at Seymour High School and continued the next three years.
She took cosmetology classes at C4 Columbus Area Career Connection in Columbus her junior and senior years.
She also got involved in Jobs for America’s Graduates as a senior.
Through it all, Fletcher said she gained confidence in herself.
"I feel like it has been a good experience, and it has really helped me grow," the 18-year-old said of her four years at SHS.
At 2:30 p.m. Sunday, members of the Class of 2021 will participate in commencement in the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium. Principal Greg Prange said 286 of the 327 class members will be a part of the event.
Fletcher said she’s nervous and excited about graduating, but it’s also bittersweet because graduation signals the end of her career attending Seymour schools.
She started by attending Margaret R. Brown Elementary School, where she said her favorite subject was reading.
"Just being able to escape reality and feel like you’re experiencing another character’s life," she said of what she likes about reading a variety of genres.
The next step was the Seymour Middle School Sixth Grade Center, and then seventh and eighth grades at SMS. She was in choir throughout middle school, and taking an agriculture class in seventh grade resulted in joining FFA as an eighth-grader.
"With FFA, I did soils judging, so I really enjoyed going out to different areas and being able to see the land and different types of soil," Fletcher said. "Then choir, I really enjoyed the choir concerts. Especially my eighth grade year, it was a decades theme, so I got to wear a poodle skirt, so that was really fun."
Once she reached high school, a friend in physical education class talked to her about archery, so she became involved in that sport.
"After watching ‘The Hunger Games,’ I really got into archery," Fletcher said. "My first bow came from Walmart, and I went from shooting trees and targets hanging in a tree to shooting a target on the ground. … I had to change my aiming point, so that was really weird."
Receiving guidance from head coach Jill Purkhiser, other coaches and her teammates helped Fletcher succeed. She went from shooting in the low 100s as a freshman to going as high as 269 out of 300 later in her career.
"When I went from shooting in a tree, I didn’t stand a certain way. I just stood straight and shot at a tree," she said. "Then Jill showed us how we stand, and that really helped a lot."
Fletcher said she’s glad she chose to give archery a try.
"I got to get out of my comfort zone," she said. "Freshman year, I went from just sitting in a corner reading my books to kind of coming out and talking to people. Archery really helped with that."
Watching her cousin cut and color hair drew Fletcher toward attending C4 to learn about cosmetology.
She’s finishing tests to wrap up her 1,500 hours required by C4, and then she plans to take another test this summer to earn her cosmetology license.
"I want to use it as a side job so that way, I can focus more on my college work instead of working and stressing," Fletcher said.
Joining JAG as a senior helped her perfect her résumé, land a job at JayC Food Stores and figure out what she wants to study in college.
In the fall, she plans to attend Indiana University Southeast and major in psychology.
"I went through some stuff as a child, so I figured I would be able to help a child or a teen or even a young adult who is going through it and be able to help them get past that trauma," Fletcher said.
Her ultimate goal is to pursue a doctorate degree and have an at-home practice.
"I just like helping people," she said. "I’m really looking forward to college."
Based on her high school experience, Fletcher offered advice to other students.
"Stay on top of things," she said. "Freshman year close to the end of the year, I kind of started to slack, and I felt like the homework just started piling up, so I would spend all day doing my homework. So just stay caught up."
Also, have fun and enjoy the experience, she said.
"I feel like it really flew by," Fletcher said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Fletcher file” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Name: Sierra Fletcher
Age: 18
Hometown: Seymour
Residence: Seymour
School: Seymour High School
School activities: Archery, Jobs for America’s Graduates and C4 Columbus Area Career Connection
Future plans: Attend Indiana University Southeast and major in psychology
Family: Mother, Connie Campbell; father, Jeremy Fletcher; stepfather, Jason Campbell; stepmother, Jenny Fletcher; 10 siblings
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: Seymour High School graduation
When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium at Seymour High School, 1350 W. Second St., Seymour
Who: 327 members of the Class of 2021
Valedictorian: Zachary Thompson
Salutatorian: Eleanore "Ellie" Cornn
[sc:pullout-text-end]