What’s recently happened?
Michigan City’s summer is coming to a close. With the beginning of August comes the often dreaded return to school. The community has been coming together to prepare students and take some of that dread away.
The Back to School Rally is one of the first events held to help students prepare for the new school year. The event took place on July 29 and was held to help provide families with school supplies, other necessities such as vaccines, and simply fun events to get students excited about the new school year.
Another event held in preparation of this upcoming year was the senior academic boot camp at Michigan City High School (MCHS). The idea behind this event was to offer rising seniors an outlet to learn about the tools they need to prepare for college applications, such as Common Application, Naviance, and even possible local scholarships such as the Promise. On top of school system members who spoke to help inform students, also in attendance were two representatives from Purdue Northwest who carried valuable information from their experiences in admissions and financial aid.
On Friday, August 4, MCHS hosted its annual Freshmen Orientation. This event took place starting at 7 a.m. in order to prepare incoming freshmen for the realities and expectations of high school. During their time at the school, rising freshmen met with principals and teachers, were shown around the school by teachers, and assisted in way finding by MCHS upperclassmen from organizations such as the Student Council and Honor Society chapter.
Summer isn’t over just yet, though. The community is still coming together for special and enjoyable events. On August 3, the Michigan City Municipal Band performed one of its weekly concerts with a member of the U.S. Marine Band, euphonium player and soloist Sergeant Hiram Diaz. Performing "The Concerto for Euphonium and Band” by Tim Davoren, Diaz’s performance was a truly special addition to the performance.
What’s coming up?
Despite the heatwaves of summer, the biggest and most nerve-wracking moment of the year has arrived - the return to school. While teachers have already returned to work, the official first day of class is August 9.
MCHS’s Football Team’s first game will be on August 18. It will be at Ames Field versus the Warsaw Tigers. Excitement is building for this specific date as it will be the debut of new Head Coach Cody French. He comes to Michigan City this year from Calumet New Tech High School, as well as having worked at Elkhart in the past.
There is also significant excitement surrounding this year's team, as two rising seniors, Dion Smith and Jaden Hart, have already signed Division 1 scholarship offers with Ball State University and Syracuse University, respectively.
MCHS’s Girl’s Golf team has already begun their season. Their first match was on August 1, finishing in fourth out of five teams, with a score of 396. They played another match on August 3, winning a triangular meet by defeating South Central High School and LaCrosse High School with a score of 255.
Community member spotlight:
Drew White is the coach for MCHS’s Girl’s Golf team. This year being his 11th season, he has learned and seen a great many things during his time.
“Our program has accomplished some great things over the last decade; nine individual regional qualifiers, four team individual regional qualifiers, a sectional team championship, and two individuals, Lia Thomas and Taylor Skibinski, that each qualified for the IHSAA State Finals three times each. Our success has been a team effort,” White said.
Despite the necessity for teamwork in any sport, White has given something truly special during his time with the team. What makes it truly remarkable is the timing with which he entered the group.
“When I was leaving the ‘News-Dispatch,’ I wanted to remain involved in athletics. I offered to be a volunteer assistant for the previous coach, but he stepped aside and told me I should talk to Then-Athletic Director Bear Falls about the position. We briefly talked and he said the job was mine if I wanted it,” White said.
White was born and raised in Michigan City and an MCHS alumni. He believes this gives him an additional connection with the athletes he works with.
“I’m proud to be a Wolf. We’ve had a lot of good coaches that have come in from outside the community and done great things, but I also think there’s something to be said for having walked the same halls the kids now do. I have an appreciation for Michigan City and want to represent the community in the best way that I can,” White said.
The girl’s golf team is one of the few MCHS teams to have already begun their season. For this reason, White is able to give interesting insight for the team and their prospects this year.
“I think we have some opportunities for success that we didn’t necessarily have last season. I like the hand we’ve been dealt,” White said.
However, any team that has an automatic term limit of four teams is bound to see some struggles that major leagues may not regularly need to think of.
“One of our biggest challenges this season will be inexperience. We have older girls, but some of them have not had a lot of experience in golf. They have enthusiasm for it though, and that’s important,” White said.
White’s community contributions are in no way limited to golf. Since 2021, he has been Director of Operations for Access LaPorte County, a local cable access network. The overlap of this commitment with the MCHS golfing team has presented some difficulties.
“It gets really challenging during golf season. I love what I do, and that helps maintain my sanity. I have a great team and work with a lot of great people in Michigan City and LaPorte County. I think they see how hard I work outside of golf season, so when golf season rolls around, they do their best to help me out,” White said.
White’s schedule will no doubt be crowded during these remaining months of the season, but he remains excited for what the rest of the season will bring. After all, as he claims, his years with the team, on top of his other life experiences, have altered his perspectives on a great many things.
“Every season has taught me something new. Sometimes you learn something new about coaching, about kids, and probably most importantly, something new about yourself. I’ve found that focusing on the positives yields the best results, but you have to learn from the negatives, not dismiss them,” White said.