Not many people can juggle school work, have advanced classes, participate in after-school activities, and have a part-time job at the same time and still be sane, but senior Samie Phillips makes it seem like a breeze. She demonstrates amazing work ethic in everything she does and is a great example of what it takes to be a leader in all aspects of her life. And being a leader means more than just acting as a commanding senior. “I just want to let people know that I’m here for them,” said Phillips. “Even though times get hard, there are people here to support them.”

   Phillips is involved in many after-school activities such as Spanish Club, Interact Club, and Sources of Strength. She also loves the feeling of community that she gets from being involved. Phillips is an integral part of Student Council as she was class president her freshman year, treasurer her sophomore year, secretary her junior year, and representative this year. One thing that Phillips loves is to help with community projects.  As co-president of the Interact club, she is preparing to help out Big Brothers Big Sisters by decorating a Christmas tree for one of their projects. 

   Even with all of her after-school activities, she still manages to find time to involve herself in indoor and outdoor track, positioning herself as a thrower. Marshall McEwen, who has coached the throwers for the last four years, has expressed his appreciation for Phillips on the team. “Samie has been a tremendous leader for our group of throwers, both boys and girls,” said McEwen. “She is always the first to practice, the first to get ready, the first to act, the first to volunteer, the first to carry equipment, and the first to set a great example of what a positive attitude looks like.” Track is different from other sports because sometimes one does not necessarily see the rest of the team depending on what other events they are involved in. Phillips, as a thrower, does not spend a lot of time with the people who participate in running events. On several occasions, she helps break down film of throws by herself and other throwers. “I never have to question whether I am getting the most of her or not,” said McEwen. “She always performs at her hardest.” 

   Along with her busy school schedule, Phillips also has a part-time job as an employee at the McDonald’s on Coffeen. “It makes me step up as a leader,” said Phillips. Learning everything there is to know about how to run McDonald’s the right way is something that she likes to do. Phillips expressed how working in a fast-food place has built her confidence in her communication, strengthened her leadership and management skills, and forced her to know how to work in a timely manner. Senior Logan Crumrine, a coworker and best friend of Phillips, admires her leadership skills. “She’s always twenty steps ahead,” said Crumrine. “She’s like the model employee.” 

   Phillips is mostly trained in the kitchen, whipping out food in a matter of seconds. Currently, she hopes to begin learning some service and has even started taking orders in the drive-thru, although the drive-thru is just a small part of learning service. On top of just taking orders, she would need to be able to understand how to count out the correct change should there be an error, know how to address a frustrated customer and ultimately, make sure everyone is very satisfied with their visit to McDonald’s which should not be challenging for her at all. Phillips looks up to one of her favorite managers, Rayne Dooley. Dooley is responsible for training Phillips in the kitchen and helping her learn how to be a crew trainer, which is how Phillips came to be one of McDonald’s most valuable employees. “You know when she’s not here,” said Dooley. “She’s definitely an asset to the team.” Dooley loves how Phillips always comes to work with a smile and a wave. There is never a dull moment when working with her.

   As far as her future goes, Phillips hopes to become a biomedical engineer and a computer scientist. She wants to be able to create prosthetics for people with disabilities or to help them regain an ability they lost or never had. Of course, college is the first step and Phillips is looking to attend either Michigan State with the STAR scholarship or South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, S.D. She wants to get a degree in engineering and a degree in specializing in prosthetics in order to achieve this large goal of hers. Due to her big ambitions, she understands that she must have decent grades in order to achieve this goal as well as learning how to be able to live on her own. 

   Phillips is the daughter of Paul Phillips.