McNicholas High School offers many clubs to students, two being Rockets for Life and the Military History Club. Senior and president both of these clubs, Hayden Minnich, is this month’s Milestone Senior Spotlight. She talked about what being president of these clubs means and what her future after McNicholas holds.
Q: Tell us about yourself. What do you do for McNicholas?
A: At McNick, I participate in a couple of clubs and after school programs, including representing McNick outside of school. I am the President of the Rockets for Life Club, which is our school’s pro-life club, and I help organize activities such as handing out bracelets and prayer cards during lunches, overseeing the collection of baby supplies and diapers during the donation drives we host throughout the year, and attending the Golden Evening for Life Gala, which is a dinner banquet where club members listen to speeches given by pro-life activists, musicians, and public figures.
I am also the President of McNick’s Military History Club, which hosts many events in which students can listen to stories from veterans. We have spent the last 4 years cleaning up Fulton-Presbyterian Cemetery which is near Kellogg Avenue. At least 6 Revolutionary War soldiers, including Sergeant William Brown (the first person to receive what would become the Purple Heart from George Washington himself) are buried there. It has been left overgrown and unkept for at least 100 years, and I have watched it quadruple in size in the years I have worked there. We also organize the Veterans’ Day assembly, Memorial Day service, and Rededication of the McNick Military Memorial ceremony. Sometimes we have veterans come in after school in order to tell students stories about their military service, and we watch military history movies for fun.
This past summer, I represented McNicholas as a delegate to the 2024 Session of Buckeye Girls’ State, which is a week-long mock government program run by the American Legion Women’s Auxiliary. Organized in the city, county, and state levels, this mock government allowed the top 1% of young women interested in government in Ohio to run for political office for any job they wanted. On the first day, I passed a mock bar exam and was sworn in as an attorney, which allowed me to begin my campaign for Supreme Court Chief Justice at the state level. I was endorsed by my county and then by my state party for Associate Justice, but I lost my primary election. However, I looked for another job at the state level, and I became the Journal Clerk for the House of Representatives. My job was to write down anything that happened in the House (joint sessions of the House and Senate, introduction and passing of bills into laws) and then type it all out and print 40 copies of my notes and hand them out. I had a great time, and I became more extroverted than I usually am. I became unafraid of public speaking, and I have learned about how the U.S. government works in a way that I never knew existed while working in a huge group of wonderful women.
Q: How do you feel about the things you do for McNicholas?
A: I am very proud of representing McNick in all of these activities because it is our mission as a Catholic high school to respect the dignity of all human beings. Unfortunately, I often find the dignity of the unborn and those on death row, as well as veterans, ignored. I was always taught by my parents to uphold the dignity of all, and to use my talents and interests in order to do so. My parents also taught me to serve God and to serve my country, and I cannot think of a better way of how to live life, so I am very thankful for the opportunities in which McNick has allowed me to do so.
Q: Where are you planning on attending college and studying?
A: As for after McNick, I am not yet committed to a college, but I am leaning toward Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio. If I go there, I will be studying in a 3+2 year legal studies program that the university offers. This will allow me to study law there for 3 years and then either continue the next two years at the University of Dayton or the Catholic University of America. I really like the idea of possibly studying at the Catholic University of America because it is located in Washington, D.C., and I plan on becoming a Constitutional Attorney, so the idea of jumpstarting my legal career in the heart of America’s political system is exciting. I plan on studying law because I wish to serve my country as my family has done since the American Revolution. My family members have fought for the United States in the War for Independence, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and right now. I currently have two cousins who have either finished or are about to finish their service in the Air Force. One of them is in the Air Force Active Reserves and is facing a possible deployment to Iraq sometime this year, so the sense of duty to one’s country runs strong in my family. I naturally thought about joining the military, but I believe serving my country and fellow citizens through law is the right path for me.
The McNicholas Milestone 