Jazlynn Raydean Bechtold is a senior at Callaway High School, and takes pride in the fact that she is the first generation to graduate from high school. That was one of many facts about herself and future plans that she shared in her senior presentation to the student body.

Jazlynn lives in Oconto with her older brother Swade and his wife, Kaela and their five children. Her biological parents are Jessica and Douglas Bechtold.

She describes herself as “very bubbly”. “I can always lighten the mood when it is needed,” she added.

As the president of the Callaway FCCLA chapter, Jazlynn said she just wants to help make a difference in the world around her. That is also the desire that has motivated her in a career choice.

Jazlynn enjoys working with children and has gotten plenty of experience with that during her senior year of high school. She has served as a teacher’s aid in the second- grade classroom for Mrs. Anderson, worked as a para at the school, and did an internship at 7 Valleys Childcare.

“I chose to be a para because I wanted to know more of the elementary kids, had a free period open, and it was something new,” Jazlynn explained. “I enjoyed working with the kids outside. Part of my job was to make sure the kids were abiding by the rules and that everyone felt included,” she explained.

At 7 Valleys Childcare Jazlynn got plenty of hands-on experience with all aspects of child care - from diaper changes to lunch preparation. She said she believes her work there provided her with some great transferable skills for the future, including patience - “Kids are always on the move and when you have many tasks it is easy to become overwhelmed.”; conflict resolution - “Kids love to fight over toys and not share.”; and adaptability - “Each situation is a new one and I had to be able to adapt to them.” While she has enjoyed her work as both a para and at the childcare center, Jazlynn said neither of those areas are careers that she is interested in pursuing. “However, a job in Child Protective Services involves being around kids and helping take care of them. Being able to understand kids and being around them has been a good asset to have,” she said. Following her graduation from Callaway High School, Jazlynn plans to attend Wayne State College next fall and major in criminal justice. She explained that a criminal justice degree would qualify her for a career in the FBI, Secret Service, adult or juvenile probation officer, child protective

cont. PAGE 7 - Bechtold services officer, or as an alcohol and drug counselor.

Jazlynn has already met her future college roommate, Kennedy Bocock of Chappell. “I attended RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) and Girl’s State with her. She is really nice,” Jazlynn added.

She said she chose Wayne State primarily because it is known to have a good criminal justice program. She plans to minor in family life sciences. Jazlynn said she will need to complete 36 hours of classes for her criminal justice major, of which she has already completed six hours.

Her main career interest is in child protective services. “I chose that career mainly because of my childhood,” she explained. “I want to help kids that are in a similar situation as I was, situations that no one should ever experience at a young age. I want to be able to help make a small difference,” said Jazlynn. “I want to be able to help kids know that the life their parents choose for them is not the path that they have to go down.”

She said Callaway Public Schools has helped prepare her for her future by allowing her the opportunity to take dual credit courses in a field of interest. “Without this I would not have known for sure what I would have wanted to study once attending college,” she added.

As for where she sees herself in 10 years, Jazlynn said, “I hope to have helped many kids and be living in Oregon or somewhere near the coast, being on my own and maybe even fostering kids.”

In closing Jazlynn offers the following advice to underclassmen. “It’s just high school - don’t take it too seriously. Don’t base your future off of your relationships and friendships because you are the only one who is holding yourself back from reaching your full potential.”