Senior Bridget McMullin of Loda has been named the PBL High School Student of the Month for March. Her parents are Kelly and Jen McMullin.
Sheila Pickens, PBL High School Math Teacher, nominated the senior, writing in her nominating letter, “Bridget challenges herself by taking some of the most rigorous classes at PBL including AP English, AP Calculus, and Physics. She strives for excellence in her grades and also in her understanding. During class, Bridget works well and asks good questions. She is willing to explain problems to others who are having difficulty, yet humble enough to ask for help when she needs it.”
“Bridget is a leader and an active participant in several extracurricular interests including GIVE, National Honor Society, Scholastic Bowl, Student Council, and Math Team. All of Bridget’s activities require teamwork, compromise, and flexibility. These are soft skills that Bridget has mastered. She easily gets along with others and builds friendships and work relationships easily.”
Pickens went on, saying, “Bridget is always full of contagious joy! She is the person I think of when I hear the quote, “Spread kindness like confetti.” She is kind to all she meets and never without a smile. She cares about others and about our planet. She was instrumental in starting an organization at PBL High School called G.I.V.E. (Get Involved, Value Everyone), which at its core, is an organization to help others. The organization works to do community services like collect money and toys for Toys for Tots, pick up trash throughout the community, and recycle paper throughout the high school. Bridget was not satisfied being a single helper. Instead, she helped mobilize a whole group of students to help the community. Bridget models our PBL vision statement of Excellence through Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships.”
As her nominating teacher pointed out, Bridget is very involved in activities at PBL, being President and Founder of G.I.V.E., NHS President, Student Council Vice-President, as well as participating on the Math Team, Scholastic Bowl Team and Bridge Team.
Outside of PBL, Bridget tutors 6th graders at GCMS Middle School, and worked at CERL Research Laboratories in Champaign in the summer of 2018 and will again during the summer of 2019.
Bridget’s volunteer work is dedicated mainly to G.I.V.E., and to the Mississippi Delta Mission Trips, 3 of which she has attended and helped organize, with 2 more trips planned in the next few months.
As far as Bridget’s future plans go, she is waiting to hear back from several notable four-year colleges that she has applied to, and is considering a major in Public Policy.
The Student of the Month Award is administered by the PBL Education Foundation. The award focuses on recognizing students at the high school level who demonstrate the district mission of “excellence through rigor, relevance, and relationships.” Teachers are free to nominate students by any criteria they choose as long as it demonstrates the school’s mission.
Each month’s winner receives $50.00 in Paxton Area Chamber Bucks. The 2018-2019 Student of the Month Program is sponsored by Gilbane Building Company.
Pictured above: PBL H.S. Principal Travis Duley, March Student of the Month Bridget McMullin, and Nominating Teacher Sheila Pickens
