By Emme Townsend
She’s up early and at the school more than an hour before the bell rings sending students to first period. This morning, she has a Chick-fil-A Leaders Academy meeting at 7:30. During her student resource time, she has a meeting with the committee of RIley Dance Marathon. Right after school, she reports straight to the pool for a two-and-a-half hour swim practice. After her practice, she stays at the school until 8 p.m. volunteering as a lifeguard for the middle school swimming and diving team.
Not every day looks exactly the same. Some days she is at the school early for an FCA meeting, then has a freshman mentor meeting during SRT. This spring, she will have tennis practice daily after school.
But any day of the week, junior Grace Flowers is non-stop.
“I have a lot of self motivation, and once I’ve committed myself to something, I make sure it happens,” Flowers said. “I’ve learned that once a certain group of students have been labeled leaders, a lot of students kind of then rely on those people to get things done. So I think that motivates me in the sense that if we leaders don’t make things happen, then it may not happen.”
As a junior, Flowers is involved in 11 organizations and is a leader in some. These clubs include:
- Environmental Club -President,
- Riley Dance Marathon -President,
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes -Leader,
- National Honor Society -Service Chair,
- Class Officers -Secretary,
- Chick-fil-A Leaders -Member,
- Freshman Mentors -Member,
- Student Council -Member,
- Prom Committee -Member,
- Ping-Pong Club -Member,
- and Concert Choir – extra-curriculars.
Flowers dedicates much of her time to Riley Dance Marathon. RDM is the second largest student-run organization in the nation that raises funds and awareness for Riley Hospital for Children.
Delta’s Riley Dance Marathon will take place on March 10, 2023. Grace is working with a committee of 24 members. 2022 Graduate Katie Alexander was the president of the 2022 dance marathon. Last year, the Riley committee raised $23,861.22.
Grace was a Vice President and the only sophomore on the council, the rest were seniors. With a whole new council this year, Grace is still determined to reach her goal of $24,000 or more for the kids.
On Friday, February 10, Flowers and the RDM committee put together a new event for fundraising. They hosted a carnival in the auxiliary gym with all of the proceeds going to the kids at Riley Hospital.
Junior class officers are responsible for putting together the prom for juniors and seniors. Along with prom planning, officers are required to run the concession stands for both football and basketball.
Flowers is the secretary, but is considering changing her role when her senior year rolls around.
“I do want to run for class president next year instead of secretary,” Flowers said.
FCA meets every Tuesday morning, and the Environmental Club meets every Thursday morning. Grace is one of four student leaders for FCA. She frequently presents a Biblical lesson to the members on Tuesdays.
Flowers starts her day off every day of the week with Choir first period, and they perform two to three times each quarter. The rest of the clubs that Flowers is involved in meet at least once a month, but meetings vary among each club.
After school, Grace is one of the last students to leave. During the winter swimming and diving season, Flowers had practice from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.. She then volunteered her time to be a lifeguard for the DMS swimming and diving team until 8 p.m..
After a short break between seasons, Flowers will jump right into workouts for the girls’ tennis team with official practices starting in March.
Some might ask how she does it all, but Grace wants to be as involved in the community as she can be.
“I just really like being involved, and I really enjoy being a leader,” Flowers said. “I’m also very much a people person, and since I am so involved, I get to know a lot of different people and teachers. Plus, I just like to stay busy and have things to do.”
To her friends and family, Grace lights up a room. Junior Layna Bowman has been friends with Grace since they first met in fourth grade at Royerton Elementary School.
“Grace is one of the hardest working people I know,” Bowman said. “She’s very selfless. She puts others before herself. She’s always thinking of others and would do anything to help anyone.”
Although Grace’s schedule would be too much for some, she still recommends that every student gets involved in a club or activity.
“I really encourage students to get involved because it lets you meet new people, and it just makes for a better high school experience,” Flowers said.
