Tracy O'Brien

You are King/Queens for the Day. You can make one change at your high school and it would be changed forever. What change would you make and why? If I had this unbelievable power, I would change the amount of respect that exists within each student, between students, and between students and their teachers. The respect within each of the students would give them self-motivation, which is very rare in my high school. The respect between all students would relieve the peer pressure that exists so prominently in my school. While it would be unrealistic to expect everyone to like each other, it is not unrealistic to ask them to respect each other. The respect between students and their teachers would elevate the level of education within Woodstock High School. More learning and active participation could take place inside the classroom. Respect in all aspects of the school would make it a much more enjoyable and beneficial learning institution.

It is the year 2012. You have received an invitation to your Ten Year High School Reunion. You must send in the RSVP with a brief update on the last ten years of your life. Write the bio/update below. After high school graduation, I attended a prestigious private university and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology. While there, I met my soul mate and married him two years after graduation. I have traveled extensively throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Africa studying the native tribes that reside there. I have written one book on my research on the tribes in Africa and their interactions. I love my career, however, my joy had come from living my life. My husband and I are involved in many community service projects, along with playing together in a local concert band. We reside in beautiful upstate New York. I love my life because I live it to its fullest extent.

King/Queenfor the Day

Responses from Trailblazer nominees when asked — "You are King/Queen for the Day. You can make one change at your high school and it would be changed forever. What change would you make and why?

- I would place more emphasis on education. I go to Etowah High School, and one thing that is most noticeable is how much everyone doesn't care about what they are doing. Teachers usually act as though they don't want to be there, and students aren't going to listen if they don't think that you care. Most of the students aren't interested in their classes at all and I know you can't always help that, but I would try to get the teachers to make things more interesting. I believe that if a teacher wants their kids to learn, they will find ways to teach them, and I would work with teachers to get them to pay more attention to the students and get the students interested in their futures and more ready for the "real world."

- Being king for a day, I would increase the amount of money given to programs that would broaden the horizons of students such as music, sports, and ROTC. I believe that students should be able to experience things other than academics. I believe that such programs allow minds to develop and make more well rounded individuals to cope with the pressures of life.

- If I were queen for the day and could change one thing about my school, I would make it a school known for all of its qualities, wonderful teachers, and excellent students, and I would have the student body be full of school pride. Because of several events in the past two years, Woodstock has developed a bad name as a result of the mistakes of a few. I would have all of these negative thoughts replaced with all of the many more positive things about school. This would increase the school spirit and the overall attitude of the student body for the better. Then, people outside of the school would learn about all of the wonderful individuals and their works going on inside the school.

- Though this is a bit out of the power of a king, I would change each and every student's attitude towards themselves and humanity. I would have each person have complete respect and tolerance of each other's beliefs and values, and each person would push their abilities and talents to the edge to become better people. I would do this in hopes to spark a change in the whole world to make a brighter future for all people.

- If I could change one thing, I would bring uniforms into my school. Very many students put themselves into categories by the way they dress. I think someone's personality could click with someone of another category, but we do not let ourselves try. We are so afraid of what our own friends, in our own cliques, will think of us if we associate with someone who doesn't dress like us. I believe bringing uniforms into the picture will unify the school as a whole.

- Woodstock High School is an excellent school to attend, however, one change is hard to make. My change wouldn't be to the school, but it would be to change the kids that go there. School is only what you make it out to be in my opinion, because I have lived it. My years have been wonderful because I had a positive attitude. If I could make one change, I would give the kids a positive outlook.

Trey Clark

they litter the sidewalks and hallways with trash. Students need to realize that teachers are there because they want to be, therefore we should respect them. Also, there are schools a lot worse off than ours, and we should be thankful for what we have.

It is the year 2012. You have received an invitation to your Ten Year School Reunion. You must send in the RSVP with a brief update on the last then years of your life. Write that bio/update below. After graduating from GA Tech and earning an MBA from Duke, I have landed a great job that provides enough money for me to support my wife and two kids, yet at the same time allows me to be able to attend and be involved in my children's activities.