Ovid-Elsie Area Schools provides our students with the skills they need to succeed in the real world. This feature helps show how we do that, in addition to being able to keep in touch with some of our past graduates. Today’s feature is Evan Beach.
When I went to Ovid-Elsie schools it was always proudly advertised as “A World Class School District” and from my experience it truly was. The reason is because Ovid-Elsie always had a world class staff. That fact is as clear to me today as it was then, maybe even more so. From the high school principal to the teachers, coaches, administrators, counselors, librarians, even the lunch lady’s and janitors, the entire staff truly care about the students. As long as it has been since I graduated from Ovid-Elsie (2002), I still stay in touch with former teachers and coaches. Even more than the academic side of things, they were the ones who helped mold and shape me into who I am today. My coaches not only helped me achieve success in athletics, but they also helped me mature and take ownership in achieving my goals. If I didn’t have that mentorship from them there is no way I could have achieved the success I have had in my career. The opportunity to take college level courses, such as Advanced Writing and Public Speaking, and earn college credit was a huge advantage as well. Through outstanding teaching, I learned how to write a college level paper and my teachers never let me take the easy way out (as much as I wanted to). Obviously, knowing how to write a college level paper and being more comfortable as a public speaker was huge for me. As a communication major in college, papers and presentations were the majority of my course work and from the time I entered as a freshman I was a step ahead of everyone else. I never struggled to write a paper or do a presentation, instead it came easy for me because of the teaching I received at Ovid-Elsie. Being one of the few high schools in the state to have a radio station and a television production program was obviously a huge advantage for me as well. The entire Ovid-Elsie staff and many community members deserve a big THANK YOU!!! I truly appreciate what they did for me then and their continued support today. I am certainly a proud alumni of Ovid-Elsie and that is a big reason why I try to come back and visit with many former mentors, friends and students coming through Ovid-Elsie today.
Should you know of anyone who would make a good feature for this column, please send contact information to: Bonnie Ott, Ovid-Elsie High School, 8989 Colony Road, Elsie, MI 48831, or e-mail it to bonnieo@oe.edzone.net. We look forward to hearing from our Ovid-Elsie Alumni!
