People are always talking about the clubs they’re in, the sports they play, the activities they are a part of, or the things they are involved with. There are roughly fifty clubs, sports, or activities that anyone at Rolla High School can be a part of. One senior is an active member of nine of these activities and a leader in two of them. Morgan Moats is a part of Future Teachers of America, French Club, Speech and Debate, soccer, National Honors Society, crochet club, and band. Moats is the Student Council secretary and cross country captain. Combined, these commitments consume a lot of time.
“We have like a three hour band practice every week, and then cross country is like two-ish hours each day. But then there’s other stuff thrown in there for sure,” Moats said.
Moats estimates that each week she spends about five hours working on school work and fifteen on extracurricular activities. Including her seven hour school day, Moats dedicates roughly 55 hours each week to classes, school work, extracurriculars, or school-related activities.
“Time management is really important. It’s also easy to overbook yourself, so you have to be careful about that,” Moats explained.
With so much time dedicated to school over the course of her high school career, she comments on the merits of being an active participant.
“I think being involved is good because…you can be involved in so many different ways, so just find what interests you and what you’re passionate about,” Moats said.
To offer some insight into some of the activities Moats is a part of, she elaborated on what Student Council hosts.
“The big thing is we put on Homecoming, do blood drives, host the Cardinals Caravan, and do different activities with the Special Olympics,” Moats said.
Student Council is very different from Speech and Debate. One hosts events for people all around the school and the other gives students an opportunity to improve their speaking, writing, and performance skills. As an insider to both, Moats gives a suggestion to anyone considering Speech and Debate.
“Don’t join Speech and Debate just because you want to argue with people because it’s more work than that, and there’s a lot of different aspects to it that’s not just arguing with people,” Moats said.
As cross country captain, Moats wants to disprove any misconceptions about cross country and instead emphasize its inclusive nature.
“We’ll welcome you with open arms in cross country, it does not matter. I mean, it’s hard, but if you’re willing to work hard and try, come to cross country,” Moats said.
With that encouragement, she offers one final thought for new, or old, RHS students.
“Try whatever you want. If you don’t like it, you can always quit. I mean, I think high school should be about, to some extent, figuring out what you like and what you don’t like,” Moats said.
