When Abigail Meiwes thinks back on her childhood, she remembers the books. Rows and rows of books.
“My mom turned a whole wall of our house into a library. And so there was a lot of reading when I was little, and card games and board games. We had a lot of fun,” Abigail said, recalling time spent with parents Becky and Paul Meiwes, and older brother Levi.
“My mom made learning fun, which was helpful because elementary school wasn’t very fun for me. There wasn’t a choice of classes you could take so I was very bored. When I came home, my parents did interesting projects with me, like making crystals in a science kit or testing the water in our pond and looking at it under a microscope.”
All the reading and activities paid off, as Abigail is one of seven valedictorian candidates for Iola High School’s Class of 2024. The commencement ceremony is at 2 p.m. Saturday at IHS.
Abigail grew up on a farm northeast of Iola and has been heavily involved in 4-H and FFA. She’s been active in several clubs and sports, including SADD, National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Student Council, volleyball, track and scholars bowl. She attends Colony Christian Church.
During her senior year, she also took 17 credit hours at Allen Community College.
“Kind of jumping into college so early has been difficult but I think it’s worked out. That’s been the biggest challenge, trying to balance classes and extracurricular,” she said.
Abigail plans to attend Kansas State University to major in agriculture. She’s not sure what career she’ll ultimately pursue, but will work as an intern for the Southwind Extension District this summer. She expects that experience will give her a better idea if she might want to become an Extension agent.
IN ADDITION to her family, Meiwes said her biggest supporter is Adam Wilcox, the gifted program adviser at IHS.
“His attitude is not to do stuff that’s just good enough to get an A,” she said. “It’s important to know why you want to do things. Do work outside of school that complements your schoolwork and what you are interested in. He’s big on trying to get me to do projects outside of school and expand what I know. He’s a ‘Don’t give up’ person.”
Abigail enjoyed moving on to high school, where she was able to choose classes that better suited her interests. The FFA chapter is very active, which keeps her busy with a variety of programs and activities.
“4-H and FFA have been the biggest driving factors for me. They have a lot of different opportunities and I think it’s important for kids to dedicate their time to something they’re interested in. That’s helped me stay interested in school and stay applied.”
