Paige Toms is a great example of our local youth taking their high school years to grow intectually and mature on many levels. She had a fantastic four years as a Goodrich Martian… volleyball, marching band and ensembles, bowling, volunteering at Flint’s North End Soup Kitchen and National Honor Society are only a short list of Toms’ high school participations and achievements.
But even better for her were the mental hurdles she overcame as she matured through her high school years. “When you are a ‘band girl’ and also enjoying being an athlete, that is a unique mix,” explains Toms. “I wasn’t getting much play time on the volleyball court and the coaches sat me down and said, ‘How much work do you want to put in?’” Toms adjusted her attitude, put in the additional effort and find herself starting most games her senior year. “I learned that it’s ok that I am who I am,” she explains.
She credits much of her change of attitude to her dad taking time every morning, since her sophomore year, to read excerpts from The Power of the Positive Attitude by Roger Fritz. “I’ve really changed my mindset to a growth mindset,” she explains, “I’ve always had a good mindset, but my dad started sending me quotes, then I noticed things about myself and I could grow more – his influence has been such a good factor in my life.”
That altered mindset helped her adjust to two segments of virtual learning that the COVID shutdowns forced upon students. “I did all the assignments, kept active, found time to read Hamlet on my own, finished a large marketing class assignment virtually and found ways to continue to learn virtually in band,” as she explains the toughness of her senior year.
Toms’ personal evolution was noted by her community too – she was honored with seven scholarships totaling $25,000 this spring with three of them memorializing Goodrich’s finest - the Hannah Dawley Memorial Scholarship, Bill Duso Memorial Scholarship and the Coach Wolff Memorial Scholarship.
Congratulations to Paige Toms as she heads to Central Michigan University to pursue her degree in advertising and media arts.
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