"My Experience at Jackson Hole High School" by Lindsay Dufault

I will first start off and say that I am incredibly grateful for the education I have received from our high school, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Well, that’s not completely true, I mean I would’ve loved to be able to leave my study hall if I had no work to do, or had open campus lunch more than three times a year, but overall I guess I wouldn’t change a thing.  

I started high school as an eager blonde, whose saving grace was having an older brother who was a senior. My first day, I called him, freaked out because I couldn’t find my math classroom. Honestly, if he hadn't helped me out, I probably would’ve broken down in tears right then and there. And how embarrassing would that have been! My brother taught me the ins and outs of being a Bronc. To leave out the orchestra doors when you want to skip lunch, have our older sister call us out, and the yogurt parfaits are surprisingly incredible. 

My sophomore year, I began to find myself as a student. I took the hard classes and knew that my mind was capable of not just doing good in school but actually doing great. Although I hated the content I studied in AP World History, I learned a work ethic and what having homework actually meant. I joined SPARK and discovered my passion to educate others through writing and the weight behind my words. These small movements to push myself made me into who I am today, and I couldn’t encourage anything more than to challenge yourself throughout these high school years. 

In my junior year, I found exactly what I’m passionate about. Thanks to Mr. Brazil’s capstone class, I was given the opportunity to spend an entire year studying the faults of Title IX in school districts. I got to work with the district’s Title IX Coordinator, Charlotte Reynolds, and really learn how the administration deals with the prevention and protection against sexual assault. Not only did I get to meet so many new people within this workspace, but I truly found how I hope to change the world. 

Finally, my senior year, I realized the importance of taking it all in. The people I have been with for the past 18 years of my life will no longer be just a class period away. The beautiful place I grew up in will become the town where I spend my college breaks. In all the excitement I have, there is a profound feeling of loss for the places and people that won’t be so easily reached once I graduate. 

Thank you to SPARK for giving me a creative outlet and peers who push my writing to be better. Thank you to my wonderful teachers and classmates for inspiring me every day. It has been a hell of an experience to be a Jackson Hole High School Bronc, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. FTS.