Finding one’s niche in high school can be hard, and it ultimately is a problem faced by most high school students. Rolla High School sophomore, Kylie Maxwell, struggled to find her one true passion.

  “I did choir for like 3 concerts, and this is not just my thing. I haven’t really found my forte.

I am in band, but I just don’t excel in anything, i’m just one of them. I’m not really good at art either. I am super ambitious, which is probably bad because I will for all these great things and then get bored and start something else.” Maxwell said.

  Every spring, the three history teachers at the Junior High take a group of hard working students to Vicksburg, Mississippi to tour the battlefield and learn more about the civil war battle that took place there.

   “I’m a big history nerd, I went to Vicksburg my freshman year and that really sparked my interest. Most of my family was always in the military, so i’ve really been interested in the wars and stuff, trying to find out exactly where they were. I’m pretty sure my super great uncle somehow was around vicksburg, I tried to track him down [while I was there] but I didn’t find out where he was, so hopefully i can go back and find out,” Maxwell said.

  Most National Parks have many memorials/monuments and a grand entrance way.

  “[The entranceway to the battlefield] was so cool,  I could only think of it as the entrance this big box of history. I had some of the best teachers around me, you could just see the passion in their eyes. I had my history and everyone else’s history there as well. To see everyone combined to two different passions, i just wanted to visualize it and make it all real. I had some of the best teachers around me, you could just see the passion in their eyes. Coach Croft, Coach Rinehart, and Mr. Loker,” Maxwell said.

  At Vicksburg, each state has a monument to memorialize those from their state who were there and fought in the battle.

  “The Kansas monument, is so simple, it’s just a bunch of wheels stuck on top of each other, but once you read the story, it’s so cool. It [depicted] the breaking of the nation and pulling back together again, it was pretty cool. The Missouri was my favorite just because it’s Missouri, it was big and pink. The Illinois Monument was the most expensive one to build, but it was a life saver because it was so hot! The eagle on top was pretty cool because it was gold. I love how Coach Croft made up all these stories about it,” Maxwell said.

   Each country has its own differences in history, but for Kylie Maxwell, her passion for other Era’s of history is equal.
“I also really like European history, I’m in AP Euro right now, but I think I like American History better. American history is more personal to me right now, but it’s hard for me to say i’m interested in just one era because there are so much out there that i haven’t looked into yet, there is so much out there and more to learn.” Maxwell said.