The Dryden Red and Black
December 18, 2023
Zack Ballinger
by Liv Reynolds
On November 17th in my senior seminar class, we had a speaker named Zack Ballinger present to the class. He was very inspirational, formal, and organized. I learned a lot from his speech. He was my favorite speaker so far because you could easily see how much passion he had while speaking and he enjoyed his job as a professional speaker.
Zach was very inspirational because he talked about how he dealt with the hardships throughout life. He gave some examples on what to do when dealing with a conflict. Zack said how he failed a test and he went to a dark place because of it, but then he realized that he had to work harder. It gave him motivation to be more successful in what he was doing. There was a time when he was dealing with his health and was in the hospital and learned that he had a disease that caused him to slowly lose his hearing. When going through that he became stronger because he was determined to succeed in what he wanted to do. He wanted to become a professional speaker, but people told him he couldn't because of his hearing. He proved them wrong.
He was very formal when speaking to the class. He showed up in a good suit ready to give a speech that he wanted to give. I think it is very important for a speaker to actually have passion in what they are saying so, their audience can feel emotion while they are speaking. He was successful in that because while he was speaking he allowed the audience to have a connection with the message he was giving.
Zack was very organized with what he was saying. While he was telling the story, he stayed on topic. Being a speaker and staying organized is very important for your audience. I could picture what he was saying and understand and learn from it. I could tell from the moment he started speaking that he was very professional in his career. When a speaker is presenting to your class and is unorganized or doesn't stay on track it is very hard to understand and follow what they're saying. He was so organized and easy to follow so I could focus very easily on the point of his speech.
Overall, I was very moved and informed by the speech that he gave. I learned that when things get rough keep moving forward and use it as motivation. When someone tells you you can't do something you're passionate about prove them wrong and do it. Live your life to the fullest because you only get one life.
Eastern Michigan University
by Hope Wilcox
Emily Gould visited Dryden High School to discuss the college experience at EMU and what they have to offer. She is a speaker and alumnus at Eastern Michigan University, helping people decide whether or not the school would be a good fit for them. It is a 4-year Public University located in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
When listening to Emily, you could tell she was speaking from the heart. She gave detailed accounts of her personal experiences at Eastern Michigan University. Explaining how beautiful her time living in Ypsilanti was and how much she would love to go back. She spoke about how diverse the university is and how great it is for people who don’t feel quite comfortable figuring out where they belong.
EMU offers over 150 majors, with the most popular major being nursing. She mentioned that she changed her major multiple times during her time attending. This had been a problem I was worried that I would personally run into, but hearing her talk about it and how Eastern Michigan University made it easy for her to do that made me feel way more comfortable.
Overall, Emily put Eastern Michigan University on the map for me. Before her visit, I knew almost nothing about EMU, but after the discussion, my interest was piqued. I am considering touring the campus and possibly applying.
Gavin Prusakiewicz
by Claire Wright
Gavin Prusakiewicz is an 8th grader, and he has been going to Dryden for 3 years. Gavin does cross-country. His favorite thing about Dryden is the people, he is mostly looking forward to the college classes in high school. Gavin’s dream career is going into the Navy. He likes to hunt, fish, and scuba dive.
Jaxon Buffo
Jaxon Buffo is a 6th grader who has been going to Dryden for 6 years. He does basketball and if we had a soccer team, Jaxon would like to do soccer. He loves the “small-town magic”, and his favorite thing to do outside of school is to hang out with his friends. Jaxon’s dream career is to do something with social media, and when he gets to high school he looking forward to having more freedom.
The Team
Ava DeVlaminck
Reporters:
Lily Finnigan
Audrey Napolitano
Penelope Spencer
Claire Wright
Faculty Advisor:
Ms. Sheryl Czerwinski
Email: Cardinal@drydenschools.org
Website: https://www.drydenschools.org/
Location: Dryden High School, Rochester Road, Dryden, MI, USA
Phone: (810) 796-2266
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drydencommunityschools