(Left to right): Andrew Schmidt, Rich Willette, Josie Willette, Tina Willette, Lauren Quigley and Kevin Foltz.
Flushing High School senior Josie Willette has been selected as the Flushing Rotary Student of the Month for January.
Willette received her recognition alongside her parents Rich and Tina Willette and her favorite FHS teacher, Lauren Quigley, at a recent Flushing Rotary Club meeting. Josie is ranked eighth in the senior class with a 4.02 GPA and is currently taking AP Chemistry and AP Calculus classes.
After graduation, Willette plans to attend Michigan State University to pursue a degree in elementary education. She said she would like to stay in Michigan for the time being and job shadow teachers while in college. Eventually, she hopes to continue her education with a master’s degree.
As a student at FHS, Willette is no stranger to the spotlight. Last fall, she was crowned the 2019 Flushing Homecoming Queen and played a key role in leading the senior team to victory in the Homecoming Powderpuff game. She has also been a three-time captain of the Flushing Girls Varsity Soccer team at Flushing and has been named to the All-League Academic team in all four years of high school.
Willette belongs to several clubs at FHS, including the National Honor Society, the Science National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, the Student Leadership Organization and Varsity Club (where she is a Media Specialist).
Willette also fills her spare time with volunteering. She has dedicated many hours to serving with the Special Olympics, the Flushing Candlewalk, soup kitchens and food drives. Additionally, she tutors kids from Central Elementary School every week and serves with the “Chain Gang” for youth and sub-varsity football games through Flushing High School’s sports officiating class.
Although she is focused on grades and athletics, Willette earns some extra money by babysitting and using her painting skills to create welcome signs to sell. For hobbies, she enjoys watching movies and TV (her favorite movie is “The Proposal”) and hanging out with friends, family and cousins.
Willette said that her favorite time at FHS was attending classes when her older sister Logan was a senior at the high school. Namely, because Willette — a freshman at the time—got to hang out with her sister and her friends.
Willette has designated her $100 Rotary donation to be given to Special Olympics, which she has enjoyed being associated with as a volunteer since seventh grade.
(Reprinted from The Flushing View, January 30, 2020, by Ben Gagnon, with permission)