By: Cali McPeak & Leila Evans
Southeast prides itself on building and maintaining an inclusive culture. Having a safe environment allows both students and teachers to experience less stress, reduced anxiety, and higher job satisfaction. This leads to fewer disciplinary problems and more cooperative student behavior.
Adam Jenkins is one of our history teachers here at Southeast. One of his highlights during his time at Southeast was last year when almost all of his sophomores passed the American history state test. Jenkins not only is a great teacher, but he also contributed to the football program, as a coach, for ten years. His favorite memory was in 2016 when our football team played West Branch for their Hall of Fame induction night, and we won 20-0. Anyone who walks into his classroom can tell that Jenkins loves nature, but what students don’t know is that Jenkins also enjoys hiking in old growth forests, back country camping, and backpacking. He also loves reading historical nonfiction books-which aligns perfectly with his career. If you see him around the school, don’t be shy and say hello!
Isla Zinz, a junior at Southeast, is involved in track, tennis, Leo club, science club, link crew, National Honor Society, and additionally 4H. Zinz makes sure to put maximum effort into everything she works on. Zinz embraces challenges, learns from mistakes, and accepts feedback for improvement. Zinz is grateful for a reliable support system that helps to encourage her to develop skills that are valuable for both her career and personal life. Zinz says “My family, teachers, and coaches have all influenced me in positive ways as I have grown into the person I am today.” Zinz is genuinely motivated to understand how things work. She shows grit and resilience when facing difficult academics or personal problems.
At the end of the day, what makes Southeast special is our people. We have staff who care deeply and show up for students every single day. Our students lead with heart, kindness, and a drive to make things better. We’re proud to call Southeast home because of the amazing community we’ve built.
The Pirate Post 