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a community engagement initiative of Momence CUSD #1
Heidi Lovell, a Senior at Momence High School, yearns for a simpler time when people spent less time on screens and more time making real connections. In fact, she is that rarest of unicorns: a teenager who does not use social media! Instead, Heidi prefers to actually call or text her friends. And there are many friends to stay in touch with—class friends, band friends, and trapshooting friends (some overlap categories). Heidi is a young woman who has clearly come into her own in high school.
No Social Media, No Problem
By Lisa Cannon
Describing herself as a shy kid when she was younger, she has become more comfortable socializing and really enjoys it. She reflects that she has become more adaptable, and thinks she could “figure out how to be friends with just about anybody.”
This lifelong Momence resident didn’t grow up on a farm, but sees her future teaching others about agriculture. She credits the school’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) with igniting this interest. Heidi, who is third in her class, takes lots of AP and Honors courses to keep her GPA high. Her favorite subjects include Agriculture (of course) and English, which she says “just makes sense” to her. She mentions a friendly competition with her older sister as being part of what spurs her on academically. Mostly though, she admires her sister’s accomplishments (currently enrolled at Olivet Nazarene University) and she aspires to achieve similar goals herself.
The recent departure of both her Agriculture teacher and the School Band Director has left Heidi and her friends uncertain about how the year will play out. The lack of certainty has created a kind of leadership void into which Heidi has stepped—listening to students and seeking counsel and ideas from them, their parents, and their teachers. Following the advice she might have given her younger self, she is pushing past her nerves and just “doing something.”
Her next big adventure is an Agricultural Education internship through Joliet Junior College. Further down the road, Heidi aspires to have both a job and a family that she loves and a home of their own. She would be fine if that happens to be in Momence, but otherwise has little interest in the rest of the state. And she has no patience for out-of-staters who only know about Chicago!
In her downtime, Heidi likes to watch ‘80s TV shows that her parents have turned her onto—Saved by the Bell is a favorite. Some of us who grew up in that era would agree!
When asked how her friends might describe her, Heidi smiles and says, “She’s the crazy one who never stops talking and is always thinking about the most random stuff.” It’s refreshing to converse with a young person who not only has an active intellectual life, but also communicates well with others. Life can be so much richer when we are actively engaged in the world of ideas, friends, and new activities. A small town like Momence is a fun place to be when you are all in!
[I’m] the crazy one who never stops talking and is always thinking about the most random stuff.
