Graduating Guidance: Michael’s Musings

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Michael Martinez is a senior at SJN. He is in Choir, Spanish Club (Vice-Secretary), Jazz Band (Informal Leader), Economic Society, House Council, Mock Trial (Vice-President), Model UN, Scholar Bowl (Captain), and Neumann Heraldic Society (President). Additionally, he is Band President and Saxophone Section Leader/First Chair. Not only does Michael excel in extracurricular activities, he also excels academically. Michael will be attending Ave Maria this fall, and agreed to share some of his tips to help other students succeed.

What is your advice to underclassmen?

The end of the school year only feels like you have little to do, you actually have a ton of homework.

If you could go back to prior years, what would you do differently?

Get better grades in the first half of sophomore year, it’s really dragging down my GPA.

What class do you recommend taking and why?

Band, 1000%, absolutely! Why is it not already on your list? We need flautists, but any wind ensemble instrument will do.

What was your favorite high school memory?

I have a few I can’t really pick between. There was finding out I got a 100 on my Chem midterm, finding out I got a 5 in AP Calc (happened during summer, doesn’t count), getting a nod from Mr. D during the Spring Concert last year meaning I didn’t fail, the Rookery Bay trip from winning last year’s STEM day, and finally (and probably the best contender) winning the Scholar Bowl Championship with my brother as a freshman.

How bad is your senioritis?

I’ve never skipped a day, but I tend to zone out and ignore a lot of things, much to my later chagrin.

What do you plan to study in college, and how did your interests change throughout high school?

Currently it’s History and Computer Science. Previously it had been Linguistics instead of History, but the schools for that have, let’s say, fallen short of what I wanted. I still hope to pursue things related to Linguistics, but it is definitely a very tight field.

Which teacher helped you out the most throughout high school?

The best answer is Mr. Desmarais. I get to do Concert Band, Jazz Band, talk to him about music. I’ve helped him out after school finished. If he can’t give an answer he’ll probably give a pretty good dad joke instead, and he’s just a fun guy to be near.