HEART OF STEELE

We’re working over the next few weeks on issues that pay tribute to the Class of 2023, and I was assigned to find a Medford High graduate to profile.

Principal Jen Ford responded to my emailed request with the name and contact information for Isis Warner. I didn’t ask why; with young people, I’ve found it’s better to walk into the room with a blank slate.

And without spoiling the story you will soon read, what I heard from this inspiring young woman blew me away. Despite many challenges, she is shaping her life into something very special.

What I love about this time of year, along with the weather warming and the promise of spring, is meeting young people whose lives are full of possibility. As community journalists, we have the privilege of recording their achievements and the hard work they put in during the year. And time and again, I think how different these kids are from who I was at their age.

In the small towns where I grew up, there wasn’t always the expectation that young women would go to college–even by the late 1970s. We joked about going to get our “MRS” degrees; some married right out of high school.

At the time, it felt like we didn’t have many choices. But the world today is wide open for women. I recently interviewed a female Owatonna firefighter who has known since first grade that’s the career she would pursue.

Over my career, I’ve talked with women who have children and those who don’t, women who have careers outside their home and those who have devoted their lives to making a wonderful, loving home. Many have combined the two, finding success in family and in work.

The key for all of us–women and men alike–is to do what makes us happy, what lights us up inside and spurs us to get out of bed every morning, ready to serve.

That’s what I wish for all of our Steele County high school seniors, from the bottom of my heart.