Jaden Russell is one of the eight seniors graduating from Medora High School.
Mitchell Banks | The Tribune
By Mitchell Banks | The Tribune
Eight students will graduate from Medora High School on Friday night.
Seven of them have been in classrooms all year, and one has been taking virtual classes.
Of the seven students who have been in the classroom, only one is a male.
Jaden Russell, a senior at MHS, said being the only male in his classes comes with a caveat.
“It’s kind of weird because I get stuck with the girl drama, and they all forget that I exist,” he said.
Despite this, Russell said he still enjoys his classes because some of his cousins are in his class and that makes class fun.
His favorite class used to be home economics, but the school no longer offers that class.
History became a major interest of Russell’s, and he said it’s now his favorite class.
Russell said he likes learning about how things used to be and how we got to where we are today, like how America went from “log cabins with wood stoves” to “controlling your house with your voice.”
While Russell said he liked all of his teachers, he said his favorite is Christopher Sinnett, who teaches writing, because he made classes fun and worked with students on a one-on-one basis.
This year has been the only year Russell said he has been the only male in his classes.
He said the student taking online classes was the only other male in the class, and he started online schooling at the beginning of the year.
At one point, Russell said his class was up to 16 or 17 students.
“One person will be gone and it feels like the room is empty,” he said.
This summer, Russell is planning to go on a family vacation to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
He said he is excited to go to Gatlinburg because he has been a few times before but only stayed in the mountains. He wants to take a ski lift to top of the Smoky Mountains.
Russell then plans on moving closer to Columbus soon to pursue a job at Cummins. He said he wanted to work
there because there are financial opportunities where the company will pay for his tuition if he went to college for an in-demand skill.
Growing up “in a holler,” Russell said he’s excited for the opportunities that living near Columbus offers but is nervous to be in a different environment.
“I’m not used to the big city life, so it’s kind of scary,” Russell said. “I’m not used to interstates and all of that stuff.”
Russell gave a tip for future high school seniors.
“Don’t do what I did and be a procrastinator and wait until the last minute to do things because I’ve been having to stress myself out my whole senior year because I have to make up classes and do things online and make sure my work is done,” he said.
Medora High School’s commencement will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the gymnasium at the school, 82 S. George St., Medora.